The 90-Day Reset: Clearing a 90,000-Ticket Backlog

We walked into FIXD Automotive in 2018. They had a massive consumer hit on their hands, but their operations were paralyzed. They were staring down a backlog of 90,000 emails inside a shared Outlook inbox. Here is exactly how we cleared it in 90 days.

Phase 1: Stop the Bleeding (Triage)

The biggest mistake companies make in a backlog crisis is trying to answer tickets sequentially from oldest to newest. You cannot do this. We immediately deployed a 3-agent strike team whose sole job was categorization. We isolated high-risk tickets (cancellations, hardware failures) from low-risk noise (shipping updates, duplicate inquiries). You have to separate the signal from the noise before you attempt resolution.

Phase 2: The Dual-Track Execution

By week two, we scaled to 8 agents. We instituted a strict dual-track protocol. Team A handled the live incoming daily volume (850+ emails a day) to ensure no new backlog was created. Team B executed a systematic attack on the historical backlog using bulk-processing macros for common issue types identified during triage.

Phase 3: Migration and Normalization

By month three, the backlog was zero. The operation was normalized at 12 agents. Only then did we begin migrating them out of Outlook and into a structured Zendesk environment. You cannot migrate a burning house; you have to put the fire out first.