I had a customer sent me a link on 6/15 at 7:36.40 with no message. Just the link to an item. Immediately on 6/15 at 7:36.40 he sent me another link followed by a message. I responded to that message. I did not respond to the first message that had no text. Etsy dropped my message response to 90% which will kick me out of a star seller status. How do I go about disputing the process?
You can't dispute it. The information is very clear in the star seller that ALL messages must be answered or put into spam.
Put the unanswered message in your spam folder.
You have to respond to all new messages or spam them if they don't need an answer.
This is explained in the information on the star seller.
Disputing won't work. You didn't follow the guidelines on the program about answeringt.
You don't dispute it, you manage your messages. Every message means every message answered or spammed. It's not a secret.
I know it's kind of painful to lose it, but you should accept responsibility here and not take up etsy's time trying to dispute it since the mistake is yours. The program is many, many months old at this point and the rules are laid out clearly. If you haven't read how the star seller works, read it now so you can get it back and keep it in the future.
If you put the unanswered message in SPAM right now, it will adjust within 24-48 hours. Do it before the end of the month, otherwise it will carry over.