Message system does not recognize replies to the same customer

[DesignCutters]

A customer initially sent a help request, then sent me messages in another thread, on the Etsy messaging system.

I replied to the messages in the message system in a timely manner and took care of the issue, the customer thanked me, and she re-ordered and all was good.

Etsy then lowered my response rate, because the initial help request was not answered in the help request thread, even though I did answer her and take care of the problem within a 5 hour window on the same day, in another message thread.

I feel this is a fluke or bug in the messaging system.

The intent of the star seller system is to provide great customer service - which I did. Responding in a separate thread to the same customer on the same issue should not penalize sellers and it should not create a "did not respond" situation.

Etsy software did not recognize I replied to the same customer numerous times in another thread and I took care of the issue (she wanted to change the shipping address, so I canceled the order and had her re-order with the correct address).

The solution to this is to make the software place all messages from the same customer, on the same day, in ONE thread only. Or make the software recognize all messages to the same customer within that initial 24 hours as being a valid response. 

[ArtDollsbyJD]

You have to answer both.  They are not linked together.  Help requests are different from general messages.  Any message done for refunds does not count as answering for the star seller as the message in refunds is not linked to the message system.  The messages should have the button that indicates it is a new message that needs to be answered by a reply or spam.  

Etsy does link but not the help message to other messages.  

[mommawhazelsquilts]

All help request messages have to be replied to.  They are the important ones.  They are highlighted in blue which means they are a MUST.

There's no bug - no fluke.  Just answer all first messages in a thread ESPECIALLY if highlighted with a blue border.

[BagmakerSupply]

@DesignCutters: "I feel this is a fluke or bug in the messaging system." Many sellers would probably agree with you but Etsy would most likely say it was a intentional design decision. Help Requests are important (and always spawn a new thread) because they start the clock ticking on a potential case being opened against you. And as it says right on your Star Seller page and elsewhere, you need to reply to the FIRST message of EVERY NEW INCOMING THREAD within 24 hours. It does not matter who sent it, the subject matter, if it is a duplicate or blank or anything else. If it is SPAM then it should be marked as such.

Since the unanswered thread is a Help Request you will probably not be able to mark it as spam to remove it from your calculations. But it might be worth trying and if it works please let us know.

[AAANativeArts]

Read the message on the Star Seller page. In case you didn't bother, it says you must answer ALL messages at least once, whether they are duplicates or not about an order or anything else, or else you have to mark them as Spam. It just takes a minute to respond with, "Please see my message in your other thread." Or something similar.