The Best Way to Solve Zendesk Tickets

This guide covers a simple workflow for solving Zendesk tickets well. You'll see how ticket statuses work, when to use each one, and a few habits that cut down on reopens and back-and-forth.

In Zendesk, marking a ticket Solved tells the system two things: you're finished with it, and the customer is satisfied with the resolution. That second part matters more than most agents realize.

A solved ticket isn't locked. If the requester replies, the ticket reopens. That could happen because they disagree with the fix or because something new came up. So a ticket marked Solved before the issue is really resolved just comes back later, usually with a more frustrated customer attached.

It also helps to know that Solved isn't the final stage. Zendesk moves solved tickets to Closed through an automation, and agents can't close a ticket manually. Once you solve a ticket, the automation handles the rest.

Step 1: Read the whole ticket before you reply

Most tickets that need a second reply got a rushed first one. Before you respond, read the entire thread, including internal notes from other agents. Check what the customer has already tried and what they were already told.

This matters most on long threads and escalations. If a ticket has 10+ messages, a quick summary of what's happened so far can save you from asking questions the customer already answered.

Step 2: Answer from your documentation, not from memory

The fastest agents aren't the ones who know everything. They're the ones who can find the right answer quickly. Before you write a reply, check your help center and internal docs for the current, approved answer.

Answering from memory is how outdated steps, old pricing, and inconsistent answers reach customers. Pointing to the source article also makes your reply more trustworthy and gives the customer something to bookmark.

Step 3: Use ticket statuses on purpose

Every update in Zendesk goes through the Submit as button. If you're adding a reply or internal note without changing the status, just click Submit as [current status]. To change the status, click the arrow on the button and choose a new one. You can change the status whether or not you've made any other update.

Most accounts use five standard statuses:

New: Nobody has worked on the ticket yet.
Open: It's assigned and waiting on your team to act.
Pending: You're waiting on the customer to respond.
On-hold: You're waiting on someone else, like another team or a vendor. The customer still sees this as open.
Solved: The issue is resolved.

The most common mistake is mixing up Pending and On-hold. If the next move is the customer's, use Pending. If the next move belongs to an internal team or a third party, use On-hold. Getting this right keeps your views accurate and makes sure follow-up automations fire correctly.

Step 4: Confirm the fix, then solve

Before you mark a ticket Solved, ask yourself one question: If I were the customer, would I need to reply to this?

If your reply ends with "try this and let me know," set the ticket to Pending, not Solved. Solve it when you've given a complete answer or the customer has confirmed it worked.

To solve a ticket, open it, make any final updates, click the arrow on Submit as, and choose Solved.

Step 5: Capture the solution so the next ticket is faster

A solved ticket may contain an answer your help center doesn't have yet. If you had to figure something out, write it down. Turning a resolved ticket into a help center article or an internal note means the next agent, or the customer, can solve it without starting over.

Common mistakes that cause reopened tickets

Solving before the customer confirms a fix that depends on them
Using Pending when you're actually waiting on an internal team
Replying with steps that don't match the current help center article
Skimming a long thread and repeating questions the customer already answered
Solving tickets without capturing new fixes in your documentation

Making this workflow faster with TicketDone

The steps above work, but some of them take time: reading long threads, searching your docs, and turning fixes into articles. That's what TicketDone is built for.

TicketDone sits in the Zendesk sidebar and draws on your own support articles and internal documentation. Agents can summarize a long ticket thread in seconds and ask a question to get an answer sourced from the knowledge base. They can also draft a reply grounded in your articles, then review, edit, and send it. When a ticket is resolved, Draft Article turns it into a help center article draft, so solutions get captured instead of lost.

Your agents still write and approve every reply. They just spend less time hunting for the answer.

Try TicketDone free in Zendesk