3-Contact Process or 3-Strike Rule

I got a query from one of my readers - 

Situation: 

“We are at times faced with the challenge of SLA violation due to client unavailability. Our staff then requests that we increase the SLA because they don’t want to be held accountable for something that was out of their control”  

Query: 

“Is this a proper practice to adjust the SLA? This SLA increase then becomes open for people to take chances to avoid violation. How does other organization handle such a matter?” 

Providing such options would always lead to malpractices and results in bypassing the process. This is not a good practice. 

A typical situation in which one could face such a situation could be a ticket has been raised which need either of the following: 

1. Clarification or additional information required from the user 
2. Availability of the user to fulfill the request or provide resolution (access to users laptop/device might be required) 
3. Confirmation needed from the user that the ticket can be assigned ‘Resolved’ status 

In all these situations if the user is unavailable and the clock is ticking then it might lead to a SLA breach. For all such cases the status ‘Pending For User Clarification’ should be used. Moment a ticket is assigned this status, the SLA clock stops (In case one does not have this status in their tool or the clock still keeps ticking, a customization would be required. Please note all standard ITSM tools have this functionality out-of-box.). There are instances when the user has gone on vacation or is not responding. In all such cases 3-Contact process, also known as 3-strike rule, is applied. 

3-Contact Process or 3-Strike Rule 

When a user does not respond within a stipulated time then this process/rule is applicable. User is contacted 3 times typically on 3 alternate business days (or agreed with customers). If the user does not respond then the ticket is automatically moved to cancelled or resolved status as applicable. Generally cancelled status is applicable if some additional information or clarification is required from the user while resolved status is applicable if confirmation of satisfactory resolution is required from the user. If user is on vacation then the first contact is applicable when he or she returns back to office. In many cases this rule is not applicable for VIP users. All such instances should be captured as part of the process document.