How to Set Business Hours and Away Messages Customers Actually Like

A customer in Eldoret messages your shop at 9:40pm asking whether a fridge is in stock. If nothing comes back, they ask your competitor too, and whoever answers first usually gets the sale. An away message will not close that deal on its own, but a good one keeps the customer with you until morning.

This guide shows you how to set business hours that are realistic, and how to write away messages for WhatsApp, website live chat and email that people do not find annoying. It includes examples in English and Kiswahili that you can copy.

Before you start

You will need:

• Agreed hours for each channel. WhatsApp, live chat and email can have different hours.
• A list of your most common after-hours questions, such as prices, delivery areas, opening times and directions.
• Access to your messaging tools: the WhatsApp Business app, your shared inbox, your live chat dashboard and your email.
• Someone responsible for the morning follow-up, by name.

Step 1: Decide your real business hours

Set hours that match when someone is actually watching the inbox, not when the shop is open. A Nairobi boutique might open 9am to 7pm but have nobody on chats during the lunchtime rush.

A simple way to decide is to look at when messages arrive over two weeks and when your team is free to reply. Write the hours down per channel:

Plan for public holidays such as Madaraka Day, Mashujaa Day and Jamhuri Day, and for the December season when many teams travel upcountry.

Step 2: Publish your hours everywhere

Customers forgive a closed shop; they do not forgive silence they did not expect. Put your hours on your Google Business Profile, your website contact page, your WhatsApp Business profile and your email signature.

On WhatsApp, the business profile has a field for hours. On your website, show hours next to the chat bubble or in the greeting.

Step 3: Write an away message that answers three questions

Every away message should tell the customer that you are closed, when they will hear back, and what they can do now. Keep it short, warm and specific.

WhatsApp, evenings: "Hi, thanks for messaging Mama Pima Supplies. We're closed for the night and will reply from 8am tomorrow. Send your question and any photos now, and we'll pick it up first thing. For prices, reply PRICE."

WhatsApp, Kiswahili: "Habari! Asante kwa kutuandikia. Kwa sasa tumefunga, tutakujibu kesho kuanzia saa mbili asubuhi. Tuma swali lako hapa na tutalishughulikia mapema."

Weekend or public holiday: "Happy Jamhuri Day! Our office is closed today and reopens tomorrow at 8am. Orders placed online are still received and will be dispatched on our next working day."

Clinic (urgent cases): "Thank you for contacting us. Our chat team is offline until 7am. If this is an emergency, please call our 24-hour line or go to the nearest hospital. For bookings, leave your name and preferred day and we will confirm in the morning."

Email auto-reply: "Thanks for your email. Our team works Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm, and we reply within one working day. For urgent orders, WhatsApp us on the number below."

Step 4: Set it up on each channel

How you switch the message on depends on the tool.

WhatsApp Business app. Under Business tools, turn on the away message and choose "Outside of business hours" as the schedule. The app uses the hours on your business profile. This works well for one person on one phone.

WhatsApp Business API and shared inboxes. There is no single switch in Meta's API; your platform provides the automation. In chat.or.ke, automation and flows let you send an instant welcome menu or keyword auto-reply, so after-hours customers still get an answer and can tap buttons like "Check prices", "Book" or "Talk to an agent". The AI assistant can answer open questions from your own business information day and night, in English or Kiswahili.

Website live chat. Set an offline greeting and a leave-a-message form. On chat.or.ke's website live chat, visitors outside working hours can leave a message with their contact details or continue on WhatsApp, and your bot or AI still answers common questions.

Email. Use your mail provider's automatic reply or vacation responder, scheduled for evenings and weekends if it supports that.

Step 5: Let automation answer the easy questions

An away message that only says "we're closed" wastes the moment. Many after-hours questions have fixed answers: opening times, location, delivery areas, prices and how to pay with M-Pesa.

Add those answers as quick-reply buttons or keyword replies, or let an AI assistant handle them. Keep anything that needs judgement, such as refunds, complaints or medical questions, for your team, and make sure a "talk to a person" option is always there. Our guide to WhatsApp auto-replies goes deeper.

Step 6: Keep the promise the next morning

The away message only works if someone follows up when the team returns. Start the day by clearing overnight messages, oldest first, before new chats pile up.

In a shared WhatsApp inbox you can assign overnight chats across the team and leave internal notes, so two people do not reply to the same customer. Remember WhatsApp's 24-hour customer service window: if a customer messaged at 9pm, reply before 9pm the next day and you can still answer freely. On chat.or.ke, a reply within that window costs KES 0.75 and the customer's own messages are free (see pricing). After the window closes, you need an approved template. Read how to reduce first response time for more on morning routines.

What mistakes should you avoid?

Avoid away messages that make things worse:

• Firing on every message. Send the away message once per conversation, not after each line the customer types.
• Vague timing. "We'll get back to you soon" means nothing. Say "from 8am tomorrow".
• Forgetting to switch it off. An away message during working hours looks like nobody cares.
• No escape route. Always give an option for urgent cases, even if it is a phone number.