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How to handle urgent client requests without breaking the week

Every urgent request feels like the most important one. A fixed triage rule keeps real emergencies first and stops the rest from taking over the week.

Operations · 4 min read · Updated 2026-10-07

Sort the request in two minutes

  • Is money being lost now, for example spend running on a broken link, a wrong price or a paused offer?
  • Is a date at risk that the client was given in writing?
  • Can it wait for the next planned slot without a cost to anyone?

Use three levels

  • Stop now: spend or live content is wrong. One owner acts within the hour and tells the client what was done.
  • Same day: a deadline is at risk. The owner confirms the next step and the time by the end of the day.
  • Next slot: everything else. Put it in the backlog with a date and tell the client when it will be done.

Keep the rest of the team working

  • Only one person speaks to the client about an urgent item. Everyone else keeps their planned work.
  • Log the request, the level, the owner and the closing time in the same log as the account changes.
  • Review the log each Friday. Ask which urgent items were real, and which could have been normal work.
Made-up scenario: at 4 pm on a Friday, a made-up client asks for a new promo banner. The offer starts on Monday, nothing is live and no spend is at risk. It goes to the same-day level with a Monday morning owner check, and the rest of the evening stays with planned tasks.
When the request is really a bad result, read the guide on delivering bad news before you reply.

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