Customer Messages Page

Availability: all plans

Messages is where you chat with the service providers you work with. This guide explains how to start a conversation, send messages and read replies.

Before you start

You can message a provider only if you are connected to that provider. If you are not connected to any provider, the page says that once you are connected with a provider, you can message them here.

Steps

Open Messages. The page is headed Messages with the line Chat with the providers you work with.
To start a new conversation, choose New message. A list headed Start a conversation shows the providers you are connected to and have not yet messaged. Choose one.
Type in the box labelled Type a message… and send with the arrow button or the Enter key. The conversation is created when you send your first message, so the provider sees nothing until then.
To continue an existing conversation, select it in the list on the left. Each row shows the provider, the number of messages and a count of unread messages.
On a phone, use the back arrow at the top of a conversation to return to the list.

Tips

Your messages appear on the right and the provider's on the left, with the time shown in your profile time zone. Opening a conversation clears its unread count. The page checks for new messages every few seconds, so you do not need to refresh.

The message text is sent as written. Messages are plain text.

If something goes wrong

A message says We couldn't load your messages just now: refresh the page.
A message says Message could not be sent, followed by a number: your message is removed from the thread and your text is not restored, so type it again.
The text This conversation is closed. appears and the box is gone: that conversation can no longer take new messages.
New message is missing: you have no connected provider you have not already messaged.

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