A lead shows up in After Hours Chat but it was during business hours. Why?
When a lead lands in After Hours Chat unexpectedly, it usually means your business hours in RootLogic are set incorrectly — or the chat widget captured the lead just before or after a business-hours boundary.
1
Understand how After Hours Chat is triggered
The chat widget on your website checks the business hours configured in RootLogic settings — not what's posted on your website or in your Google Business Profile. If a visitor starts a chat at any time that falls outside your configured hours, the lead lands in the After Hours Chat pipeline column, regardless of what your actual office hours are.
2
Check your business hours settings in RootLogic
Go to Settings → Business Info (or Settings → Business Hours depending on your RootLogic version). Review the hours set for each day of the week. Compare them to your actual office hours. A common mistake is having the hours set in the wrong timezone — if your office is in Eastern time but RootLogic is set to Pacific, every lead before 3 PM Eastern will look like "before hours" to the system.
3
Correct the timezone and business hours if they're wrong
In Settings → Business Info, find the timezone selector and confirm it matches your practice's local timezone. Then update the business hours to match your actual office schedule. Save the changes. Going forward, leads that come in during true business hours will route to the main pipeline instead of After Hours Chat.
4
Move the misrouted lead to Lead Received manually
For the lead that's already sitting in After Hours Chat incorrectly, drag the opportunity card to the Lead Received column. Then follow up with a call — treat it exactly like any other new lead, because the person reached out during business hours and is expecting a timely response. After Hours Chat leads need a follow-up call the same morning you spot them.
Important: If this keeps happening after you've corrected the hours, let VMMG know through the RootLogic portal request form. It may be a chat widget configuration issue that needs to be fixed on the backend — not just in Settings.
Pro tip: Check the After Hours Chat column every morning as part of your opening routine, even when you think your hours are correct. A lead that came in at 8:58 AM on a day you open at 9:00 AM will land there, and they're a warm prospect who deserves a fast callback.