Kestrel Supply answers cracked-lid emails in 11 minutes

Before

Kestrel Supply sells enamel mugs, cast iron pans and camp stoves from a warehouse on the north side of Bozeman. Six people shared one Gmail address, help@kestrelsupply.com. Whoever opened an email first either answered it or forwarded it to a coworker and asked “yours?”. In February 2024 the median first reply was 5 hours, and 41 emails that month got two different answers from two people.

The setup

Imani imported two years of Gmail history on a Tuesday afternoon. Dana set up five queues: Replacements, Shipping, Billing, Wholesale and Everything else. Each queue has one rule. Any message that mentions a crack, a chip or a dent goes to Replacements with a 2-hour reply-by time, because those customers are the most upset.

Chat was added in June 2024, with a 5-minute reply-by time during store hours.

What changed

The median first reply in 2026 is 11 minutes. Double answers stopped, because a message with an owner is locked to that owner until they hand it off. In November 2025, the busiest month Kestrel has had, the team answered 3,870 messages and 97% of them inside the reply-by time.

What they'd change

Dana wants a better phone app for the two people who pack orders in the morning. It is on our list for early 2027.