Imagine you receive an escalated buyer complaint about a late delivery of a high-value item that was supposed to be a birthday gift. The buyer is very upset and demands a refund. How would you triage this to determine which internal team should handle it?

Situation

A buyer messages in claiming that a laptop she ordered for her daughter's birthday arrived three days late, and the packaging was damaged. She has already contacted the seller with no resolution and is threatening to post about it on social media.

Task

I need to quickly triage whether the delay was caused by the seller's late dispatch, warehouse processing, or logistics courier, and route the complaint to the correct internal team for resolution, while de-escalating the buyer.

Action

First, I'd check the order tracking in the system: if the seller handed over the item late, I'd flag it to Vendor Operations to address seller performance. If it was delayed in our warehouse, I'd escalate to the Warehouse team to review processing times. If the courier had delays, I'd involve Logistics to investigate and possibly compensate. Meanwhile, I'd acknowledge the buyer's frustration, assure her we take this seriously, and set a clear 24-hour follow-up commitment. I'd also check if a partial refund or voucher is appropriate per our policies to retain her as a customer.

Result

The correct team gets the case with full context, leading to a faster resolution. The buyer feels heard and is more likely to continue using the platform, preventing a negative social post.