Emergency at Semantic

This is a quick reminder about how and when to declare an Emergency.

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Let's get it sorted...

First things first, if you have a genuine emergency we’ll do our best to help. We'll be glad that you asked us. Just remember, that emergency (out-of-hours) support is offered on a best efforts basis unless you specifically have a Semantic "Out-of-Hours" contract.

Initial checks

We still get the occasional Emergency email where the problem is not with the website as such. Before you email, it's worth checking the following:

  • If a site isn't responding then we'd be alerted, but we normally give it a few minutes to see if it's just restarting.
  • If the problem relates to an external service or API then be sure to check with that supplier too.
  • Check the Azure Status Page for known (that's where most of our clients host their sites). These are typically out of our control, but we'd be monitoring this.

If you have a genuine ‘out-of-hours’ emergency (e.g. major serious bug or technical hack) email emergency@semantic.co.uk right now!

Email emergency@semantic.co.uk

Should you email?

If you aren’t sure then STOP. Take a breath. Your email will interrupt the recharging of the whole team. Is this a genuine emergency?

If you aren't sure it's an Emergency then please just send a normal support request to support@semantic.co.uk - and it will be at the top of the list when we are back in the office.

Either way we know you'll make the right call, and either way we'll be glad you did.Thanks for understanding.

Normal business hours and contact details

As per our Support page we provide telephone and email support during normal working hours, 9AM to 5PM (BST), Monday – Friday (excluding Bank Holidays in England and our Christmas Break).

Exceptions

In exceptional cases the entire team may be out of the office on a particular day (e.g. attending a conference). In these circumstances we provide a minimum of two week’s notice on our Support page and email footers.  We also make sure we have measures in place to respond in the case of an emergency (e.g. laptops and mobile hotspots).