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Critical alerts: loud on the phone until someone takes over

When something has to be fixed right now, the phone rings loudly, even at night and in Do Not Disturb. The trigger is an important customer or a report from a machine, sensor or server via the API. Whoever does not acknowledge is skipped until somebody taps “I’m on it”.

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Good evening, Kessler Wholesale here. Our order flow in the B2B portal is stuck, 40 branches cannot reorder. Can anyone look at it tonight?

23:48 · Critical alert to “Night on-call” · contact in list VIP

Jonas: 5 minutes without acknowledgement · passed on to Anna

23:54 · Anna took over · Jonas has been told

Anna

I’m on it, Mr Kessler. I am looking at the portal now and will get back to you in ten minutes.

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Sound familiar? The important stuff arrives when nobody is looking.

One more push notification goes unnoticed at night. And if somebody does wake up, nobody knows whether a colleague is already on it.

  1. The notification gets lost in Do Not Disturb.

    Your most important customer writes at 11 pm that their portal is down. The phone lies muted on the bedside table, the answer comes the next morning.

  2. Everybody gets it, nobody feels responsible.

    The report goes to five people. Everyone thinks somebody else is on it. An hour later nobody has moved.

  3. The machine reports, but only by email.

    Water sensor, cold store, server: the warning lands in a mailbox nobody reads at night. In the morning the damage is done.

With critical alerts it rings loudly for exactly one person. If they do not acknowledge, the next one is up, until somebody takes over.

The flowFrom trigger to “I’m on it”.

A customer or a device reports something, Talkward checks your rules, and the first person’s phone rings. If they do not acknowledge, the next person is up.

  1. 1Trigger

    • VIP customer writesChat, email, WhatsApp
    • Line 3 has stoppedMachine control
    • Water in the basementWater sensor
    • Warehouse gate openBurglary sensor
    • Website not respondingServer monitoring
    • Cold store too warmTemperature probe

  2. 2Way into Talkward

    Devices and systems

    POST /api/v1/meldungen
{
  "titel": "Cold store 2: 9.4 °C",
  "quelle": "cold-store-2",
  "schwere": "kritisch",
  "schluessel": "temperature"
}

    also via Make, Zapier or n8n

    Customers

    ChatEmailWhatsApp

    Both become a conversation in the inbox, reports in the channel “Report”.

  3. 3Automation in Talkward

    1. TriggerReport via the API
    2. ConditionSeverity is “kritisch”
    3. ConditionTime 10 pm to 6 am
    4. Critical alertNight on-call · tone Tritone

    AcknowledgedNobody reached

    The same for customers: “New customer message” and “contact in list VIP”.

  4. 4Alert on the phone

    The alert rings for Jonas, person 1 of the group “Night on-call”, and repeats every minute. After 5 minutes without acknowledgement it rings for Anna, person 2. Anna taps “I’m on it”. Anna took over. The conversation is assigned to her, Jonas has been told.

Important: Talkward is not a certified alarm system and not an emergency call centre. Delivery depends on network and device.

Alert groups

A fixed order instead of a message to everyone.

Every alert group has its own people in a fixed order, sorted by drag and drop, plus a time limit and 1 to 5 rounds. Book as many groups as you need, for example “VIP support”, “Night on-call” and “Facilities”.

  1. Loud, again every minute

    The alert goes to person 1 and repeats every minute, with one of three deliberately dissonant tones: “Sting”, “Tritone” or “Cluster”. Urgent like a disaster warning, but clearly not an official warning signal.

  2. Passed on after the time limit

    If person 1 does not acknowledge within the group’s time limit, say 5 minutes, it rings for person 2. After the last person the next round starts.

  3. “I’m on it” right on the notification

    Whoever taps gets the conversation assigned, the others in the group are told. No guessing who is on it.

  4. Ready or not?

    The settings show for every person whether their phone is ready or still has to allow critical alerts in the app.

ExamplesSupport and real emergencies.

The examples are suggestions. What triggers an alert is up to you in the automation, Talkward does not prescribe scenarios.

  • Support

    Key account with an urgent problem, at night

    A contact from the list “VIP” writes after 10 pm. The on-call person is woken right away instead of the message waiting until tomorrow.

    1. New customer message
    2. List VIP
    3. 10 pm to 6 am
    4. Night on-call

  • Online store

    Checkout is down, the big customer writes

    The customer’s email ends with @bigcustomer.com and the message mentions “checkout”. The shop team is alerted before the evening’s revenue is gone.

    1. New customer message
    2. @bigcustomer.com
    3. Word “checkout”
    4. Shop team

  • Support

    Premium customer at the weekend

    Contacts from the list “Premium” get quick help on Saturdays and Sundays too, without the whole team being on duty.

    1. New customer message
    2. List Premium
    3. Sat and Sun
    4. Weekend duty

  • Production

    Machine failure, the line has stopped

    The machine control reports the failure via the API. The shift lead is alerted, then maintenance.

    1. Report via the API
    2. Source line-3
    3. Severity kritisch
    4. Maintenance

  • Facilities

    Water sensor in the basement

    The sensor sends its report via n8n. Facilities are woken before the warehouse is under water.

    1. Report via the API
    2. Source basement
    3. Severity kritisch
    4. Facilities

  • Security

    Burglary sensor at the warehouse gate

    The sensor reports an open gate outside business hours. The on-call person is alerted, and the conversation shows who took over.

    1. Report via the API
    2. Source warehouse-gate
    3. at night
    4. Night on-call

  • IT

    Server outage, website down

    Monitoring reports via Zapier or the API that the website is not responding. Further reports with the same key continue in the same conversation.

    1. Report via the API
    2. Source monitoring
    3. Severity kritisch
    4. IT on-call

  • Food

    Cold store too warm

    The temperature probe reports 9.4 °C instead of 4 °C. The on-call person is alerted before the goods spoil.

    1. Report via the API
    2. Source cold-store-2
    3. Severity kritisch
    4. Night on-call

How the alert reaches the phone.

The trigger is always a conversation in Talkward: a customer message from a channel or a report a device sends via the API. The automation checks your conditions and starts the “Critical alert” block. Talkward sends the alert by push to the Talkward app, repeats it every minute and passes it on after the time limit.

  • Reports via API

    POST /api/v1/meldungen with an API key: titel, quelle, schwere (info, warnung or kritisch), schluessel and daten. Every report becomes a conversation in the channel “Report”.

  • Same source, same conversation

    Further reports with the same source and key continue in the same conversation instead of flooding the inbox.

  • Your rules

    List, email address, tags, fields, weekday and time, words in the message or the severity of a report: you combine the conditions in Automations.

  • Also via Make, Zapier, n8n

    If you do not want to build your own interface, send reports via Make, Zapier or n8n.

Connection
Talkward automation with the “Critical alert” block; reports from devices via API (POST /api/v1/meldungen), Make, Zapier or n8n
Access
Loud alert in the Talkward app (iOS, Android), repeated every minute, passed on to the next person until someone takes over
Processing
Nuremberg (ISO 27001), Cologne, Paris. “Europe only” option. Credentials stored encrypted, orders only cached briefly.

The conversation shows who took over.

Alert, group, round and who took over sit as lines in the conversation. The conversation is assigned to the person who tapped “I’m on it”, and the others in the group are told.

  • Alert group
  • Tone
  • Title
  • Round
  • Taken over by
  • Status
KW
Kessler WholesaleList VIP · customer since 2024 · Nordriegel
Critical alerts
Alert group
Night on-call
Tone
Tritone
Round
1 of 2
Taken over by
Anna, 23:54

Set up in three steps.

From Professional, €5 per month per alert group. The tones and the alert screen come with the Talkward app for iOS and Android.

  1. Enable the extension and create a group

    Under Settings › Add-ons switch on “Critical alerts” and create an alert group: name, people by drag and drop, time limit and rounds.

    Screenshot to follow

  2. Get the phones ready

    Every person allows critical alerts in the Talkward app. The group settings then show “ready” next to them.

    Screenshot to follow

  3. Build the automation

    Pick trigger and conditions, add the “Critical alert” block with group, tone, title and text, and send a test alert.

    Screenshot to follow

“Critical alerts” extension

€5/ month per alert group, from Professional, provisional, net

€5 per month per alert group, from Professional, cancel monthly. As many groups as you like, each with its own people.

All plans and prices
  • Loud alerts in the Talkward app for iOS and Android
  • Three alert tones: Sting, Tritone, Cluster
  • Passed on after the time limit, 1 to 5 rounds
  • “I’m on it” right on the notification
  • Reports via API, Make, Zapier or n8n
  • Servers in Nuremberg (ISO 27001)
  • Data processing agreement
  • AI replies labelled (EU AI Act)
  • Extensions cancellable monthly

Questions about critical alerts

Question not listed? Write to us at hey@talkward.app.

Who decides when an alert goes out?

You do. Talkward does not prescribe scenarios. In Automations you combine conditions: contact in the list “VIP”, email ends with @bigcustomer.com, tags, fields, weekday and time, words in the message or the severity of a report. Only the “Critical alert” block triggers the alert.

What happens if nobody acknowledges?

The alert goes to person 1 and repeats every minute. If they do not acknowledge within the group’s time limit, say 5 minutes, person 2 is alerted, and so on. After the last person the next round starts, 1 to 5 rounds per group. After that the automation continues via the “Nobody reached” output.

Does it ring at night and in Do Not Disturb?

Android: the app’s alert channels may override Do Not Disturb once you allow it. iOS: full-volume critical alerts that ring even when the iPhone is muted need a special permission from Apple, which has been requested. Until then alerts arrive as time-sensitive notifications that break through Focus.

How do machines or sensors send a report?

Via POST /api/v1/meldungen with your API key, with title, source, severity (info, warnung or kritisch), key and any data. Every report becomes a conversation in the channel “Report”. Further reports with the same source and key continue in the same conversation. Make, Zapier and n8n work the same way.

How do I see whether a phone is ready?

The alert group settings show for every person whether their phone is ready or still has to allow critical alerts in the app. A test alert shows whether it really rings.

Is Talkward an alarm system?

No. Talkward is not a certified alarm system and not an emergency call centre. Delivery depends on network and device.

What do critical alerts cost?

€5 per month per alert group, from Professional, cancel monthly. Book as many groups as you need, each with its own people, for example “VIP support”, “Night on-call” and “Facilities”. All prices are provisional and net.

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