Business hours auto-reply on WhatsApp in Kenya

10:45pm: a buyer messages "Can I get the sofa delivered tomorrow?" Your riders finished at 6pm. If you reply "Yes same day!" you create a problem. If you say nothing, they assume you are ignoring them and message another showroom. Business hours auto-reply is the middle path — instant acknowledgment, honest timeline, order details captured for morning dispatch.

For full WhatsApp setup see WhatsApp Business in Kenya. Food sellers tuning lunch rush see food delivery on WhatsApp.

Set honest hours first

In Timi Settings → Business hours, define when you actually fulfill orders — not just when you are awake.

Example for a Nairobi retail shop:

• Mon–Sat 8am–7pm — same-day delivery available for orders confirmed before 4pm
• Sunday — replies only; dispatch Monday AM
• Public holidays — custom away message in shop context

Buyers respect clarity. "We are closed until 8am — leave your order and we confirm at opening" beats silence or a false promise.

What Timi sends after hours

During closed hours Timi can:

• Acknowledge immediately — buyer knows the message arrived
• State reopen time and when delivery or dispatch resumes
• Capture order details — product, size, quantity, delivery pin for morning
• Avoid promising riders you do not have at 11pm

You look responsive even when the team is offline. That alone keeps you in the comparison set versus shops that ghost until morning.

Peak vs off-peak Timi behaviour

• Lunch rush (food) — Timi setting: Timi on, full context; Goal: Speed on menu + pin
• Evening drop (fashion) — Timi setting: Timi on first 60 min; Goal: Handle spike after Reel
• After close — Timi setting: Hours-aware reply; Goal: Honest ETA, capture intent
• Overnight — Timi setting: Optional hard silence or soft ack; Goal: Match ops reality

Some sellers want Timi 24/7 (hotels, emergency plumbing). Furniture shops rarely need midnight dispatch promises — configure per vertical.

After-hours vs 24/7 replies

24/7 auto-reply makes sense when:

• You dispatch or confirm orders outside standard retail hours
• Buyers are in different time zones (export, diaspora gifts)
• Missed messages directly cost revenue (high-volume food)

Hard boundaries make sense when:

• Wrong promise creates refunds and bad reviews
• You cannot verify stock or payment until morning
• Team burnout from midnight "quick question" threads

Timi supports both — the mistake is defaulting to one-size-fits-all without thinking through fulfillment.

Morning handoff workflow

Queues built overnight should surface in Feed sorted by intent:

1. Open Feed at opening — filter payment-ready or pin-complete threads first
2. Send Paystack links or confirm till for ready buyers
3. Dispatch riders or schedule showroom pickups
4. Let Timi continue on new inbound while you clear overnight queue

Timi flags serious buyers — payment questions, confirmed totals, delivery pins.

Timezone and holidays

Timi uses your configured timezone (default Africa/Nairobi). Hours follow local time unless you change settings.

For Eid, Christmas, election days, or shop renovation:

• Add a custom away line in shop context
• Update Instagram bio the same day
• Optionally pause ads if you cannot fulfill CTWA traffic

Follow-up after 24 hours

If a buyer never replied overnight and the window closed, you may need an approved WhatsApp template to re-engage — not free-form blast. See follow-up without being pushy.

Common mistakes

• Promising same-day delivery at 10pm when riders finish at 6pm
• No auto-reply — buyer assumes you are ignoring them
• Hours in Timi do not match Instagram bio or Google listing
• Same midnight script for food (might dispatch) and furniture (never dispatch)
• Forgetting to turn hours back after holiday closure

FAQ

Can Timi reply in Swahili after hours? Yes — same language matching as daytime.

Do I pay for after-hours messages? Meta bills WhatsApp conversations per their pricing; Timi subscription is separate.

What about public holidays? Custom away message in shop context; update bio to match.

Can buyers still pay at night? They can send till payment anytime — your reply should set expectation on when you confirm and dispatch.

Food lunch rush vs shop hours — conflict? Use peak windows inside open hours; hours define when you stop promising same-day.

Can I override hours for one VIP chat? Pause Timi and reply manually on that thread anytime.