Outsourced customer service for Shopify stores
Backbone Customer Service (BCS) is a Dutch customer service agency that works exclusively with Shopify stores. Our 20+ agents take over email, live chat, social DMs and payment disputes, with AI support on the routine questions and real-time dashboards for you.
What does outsourcing customer service mean for a Shopify store?
You hand your customer contact to an external team that works in your name, with your tone of voice and your policies. At Backbone our agents answer your customers, AI handles the routine questions under those agents' supervision, and you see every ticket, refund and dispute in your dashboards.
The difference with a general call center is specialization. A Shopify store keeps getting the same kind of questions about order status, returns, Shopify Payments, PayPal claims, discount codes and address changes, and runs on the same systems. A team that sits in Shopify all day recognizes those questions immediately and does not have to read up on every ticket. If you run a dropshipping store, the page on customer service for dropshipping is more specific.
Every channel your customers use
Email is the biggest channel for almost every store. Order status, returns, delivery questions and complaints get answered within the response time we agree on. If you also want to catch questions during checkout, we put live chat in your Shopify storefront. WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger land in the same inbox as the email, so no message is left behind because nobody happened to open that app.
Chargebacks and claims through Shopify Payments, PayPal, Stripe, Klarna, Whop, Ocean Payments and other payment providers are built with evidence and submitted for you. This is how we handle disputes. Phone support goes into the proposal when it fits your store.
How humans and AI share the inbox
Our agents lead the conversations and are the face of your brand. In the background AI takes the routine work, such as "where is my order", "how do I start a return" and "what is your delivery time". Those answers go out within a minute with an agent watching. Across our clients the split averages around 64% resolved directly by AI and 36% by our people, though it varies by store and by season.
Complaints, disputes, complicated cases and anything custom stay with a person, because that is where a customer decides whether to order from you again.
What it delivers
For one of our clients, customer satisfaction (CSAT) went from 63% to 91% in four months. That came from a combination of things: a properly configured Zendesk environment, macros in the brand's own voice, AI on the routine questions and a fixed team that goes through the numbers every week. Read the case.
Then there is response time. A store that runs customer service itself, next to everything else, typically lands around a day. With a standard SLA at BCS you are around eight hours, with a premium SLA around three.
"I got a super fast answer, even in the evening, and everything was sorted for me right away. That is what I call great service! Very friendly and helpful contact."
From first call to live in four steps
- Intro call and intakeA free 30-minute call with Jeffrey about your ticket volume, channels, return policy and what your customers are missing today. Then you fill in one intake form.
- Tailored setupWe configure your Zendesk Enterprise environment and connect every Shopify order. Then we write the macros in your tone of voice, set up the AI workflows and routing, and build the four dashboards.
- Go-liveEmail forwarding on, channels connected. Most stores are live within three days, more complex setups within one to two weeks.
- OptimizationEvery week we refine the AI, the macros and the reporting. You get your own Slack channel with the team and can reach the founders directly.
What is always included: Zendesk Enterprise, configured and paid for. Four real-time dashboards (ticket dashboard, ticket portal, refunds overview, disputes overview). A fixed team that works inside your rules and gives you the final say. Every Shopify order connected in Zendesk, automatic reports on refunds, dispute rates and contact reasons, and a monthly conversation about what is causing disputes and refunds.
Frequently asked questions about outsourcing Shopify customer service
Do you only work with Shopify stores?
How fast can my store be live?
Do I keep control over the answers?
Which languages do your agents speak?
Do I need my own Zendesk license?
What does outsourcing customer service cost?
Related pages
Curious what this looks like for your store?
Book a free 30-minute call. You talk to Jeffrey directly.