---
title: "Start a conversation from a contact"
description: "Write to a customer first: the Send message button opens their newest conversation, or asks which channel to reach them on and creates one."
updated: "2026-08-28"
audience: [agent, administrator]
source: "https://helpdesk-docs.svr1.feedapp.click/en/lien-he/mo-hoi-thoai-tu-lien-he"
---

Sometimes you need to write to a customer rather than answer one. This page goes
from a customer record to a conversation open in the queue.

## Goal [#goal]

From a customer's record, open a conversation with that person on the channel
you want the message to go out by.

## Before you begin [#before-you-begin]

* Write access to conversations on your own account. The matrix is in
  [Roles and per-feature permissions](/en/khai-niem/vai-tro-va-quyen).
* At least one working channel in the workspace. Without one, do
  [Create your first channel](/en/bat-dau/tao-kenh-dau-tien) first.
* The customer's record already exists. This button opens a conversation for a
  record that is there; it does not create one.

## Steps [#steps]

1. Open **Contacts**, find the person you want to write to and press **View
   details** on their row.
2. At the top of the record, press **Send message**.

   ![The head of a demo customer record: a Contacts breadcrumb, the customer name, a Block contact button and a blue Send message button on the right](https://helpdesk-docs.svr1.feedapp.click/images/docs/lien-he/mo-hoi-thoai-tu-lien-he/02-nut-gui-tin-nhan.en.webp)

   *The Send message button sits at the top right of a customer record.*
3. If this person already has conversations, the console opens their newest one
   straight away, including a conversation that was resolved.
4. If they have none, the **Start a conversation on** panel opens on the right,
   under the line **Pick the channel to reach this customer on — it is the route
   the message goes out by.**
5. Click a channel name in the list. When the workspace holds a single channel, the
   console does not ask and opens the conversation itself.
6. Write and send as you would anywhere else. The composer is covered in
   [Handle your first conversation](/en/bat-dau/xu-ly-hoi-thoai-dau-tien).

> **The lookup follows linked records:** If you have linked somebody's Zalo record to their Facebook record, this button
> may open their Facebook conversation — it takes the newest one, whichever
> channel and whichever record it sits on. Linking and unlinking are covered in
> [Link two records as one person](/en/lien-he/lien-ket-ho-so).

## Verify [#verify]

The browser address becomes `/conversations/<number>`, and the right-hand panel
carries the name of the customer whose record you were reading. That is the sign
the conversation belongs to the right person.

Open the **All** tab in the queue and filter by the channel you picked: the new
conversation is in that list. Two operators pressing at the same moment still
land on one conversation, because the server looks for the customer's open
conversation on that channel before it creates another.

## Troubleshooting [#troubleshooting]

| Symptom                                                 | Cause                                                                  | What to do                                                             |
| ------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **There is no channel to start a conversation on yet.** | The workspace has no channel                                           | Do [Create your first channel](/en/bat-dau/tao-kenh-dau-tien)          |
| **Could not open a conversation with this contact.**    | The channel you picked was deleted, or the account lost write access   | Reload the page and pick another channel                               |
| The console opens another customer's conversation       | Two records are wrongly linked as one person                           | Unlink them, following [the linking guide](/en/lien-he/lien-ket-ho-so) |
| The conversation that opens is already resolved         | The button takes the newest conversation and does not filter by status | Answer inside it, or move its status back to open                      |

## Next steps [#next-steps]

* [Link two records as one person](/en/lien-he/lien-ket-ho-so)
* [Handle your first conversation](/en/bat-dau/xu-ly-hoi-thoai-dau-tien)
* [Working the shared inbox](/en/hop-thu)