THE ESSENTIALS

Queues & Stages

A queue consists of a set of stages which a Service Request progresses through during its life cycle. Multiple queues can be set up to cater for different types of Service Requests. When a Service Request is created it’s assigned to a specific queue which determines its course. Queues can be configured via Settings.

States

Every Service Request has a state reflecting its current situation; the state changes as the Service Request progresses through the stages of the queue, from the moment of creation until completion. The Service Request's state is determined by its current queue stage. Possible states that a Service Request can assume are:

• New - This is the first stage that a Service Request acquires upon creation and is automatically set by the system

• In Progress - This state signifies that the Service Request is underway

• Closed - This is the final state in every queue and indicates that the Service Request has been completed

Owner

A Service Request is always assigned to either a system user or a team (and optionally a member of the team) who is responsible for handling the Service Request at its current stage. If no user or team are assigned upon creation, then the Service Request will, by default be assigned to the user creating it. You can also configure Automations to automatically assign a Service Request to a user or team upon creation.

Priority

Each Service Request has a priority allowing the Business to categorise them based on their importance or urgency. Priorities can be configured in Settings.

Categories

Categories provide a business classification for the Service Request; multiple categories can be defined for a single Service Request. This helps organise and manage Service Requests more effectively and allows for better reporting and filtering options to analyse and track specific categories of requests.

Charges

CRM.COM allows for the inclusion of applicable charges in Service Requests. However, Contacts will only be invoiced for these charges once the Service Request has been Closed and marked as Resolved, ensuring accurate and timely billing for the requested services.

• Ad Hoc Discount - An amount or percentage discount can be applied to the total Service Request charges. The discount will be distributed equally between the charges on the Service Request.

Getting Started

Navigate to CRM > Service Requests

Select the queue for which you want to view the Service Requests. Service Requests are visible in either Kanban view or List view. Switch between the views using the icon in the top right-hand corner.

Open

Service Requests in Kanban view

Open

Service Requests in List view

Creating a Service Request

Select the Create Service Request option in the top right-hand corner of the screen.

Queue

Select the Service Request Queue from the list of available queues.

Contact

Link the Service Request to the Contact for which it’s being raised.

Description

Describe the issue; this is for internal use only.

Priority

Set the Impact and Urgency level of the Service Request; the Priority is automatically set based on the priority matrix set up in Settings. The default priority is medium impact and medium urgency.

Categories

Select either a main category or sub-category for the SR based on configuration.

Charges

If the Service Request carries any charges, select the items that the Contact will be charged for upon completing the Service Request. These charges can be added at a later stage too.

Assign Owner

Select the team and (optionally) a team member or a system user to assign the Service Request to, the owner can change throughout the life span of the Service Request. If an owner is not selected, then the Service Request will, by default be assigned to the user creating it.

Linked Service Requests

It's possible to link a service request to another if the service requests are somehow related.

Tags

Assign tags associated with the Service Request. Tags can be used as a filtering option on summary screens and can be configured via Settings > Platform > Tags.

Address

Optionally select one of the Contact’s addresses which might be of importance, e.g. if the Service Request has been raised for a technical issue which requires an on-site visit, then select the address where the service will take place.

Affected Services

If the Contact associated with the Service Request is a subscription service member, and the Service Request is being raised for a particular service, then select the options button (…) > Edit option to specify the service related to the issue.

Activities

An Activity can be created if a task needs to be scheduled as part of the Service Request. To create an Activity, navigate to options (…) > Create Activity.

Notes

Create notes relevant to the Service Request for internal use only. Important notes can be pinned to appear at the top of the list of notes.

Attachments

Upload attachments related to the Service Request for easy referencing. Acceptable file types include .png, .doc, .docx, .jpeg, .jpg, .pdf, .json, .log, .svg, .eml, . xls, .xslx, .msg, .txt, .csv. The maximum file size is 4MB.

Managing Service Requests

Select a Service Request from the Summary screen.

Progressing & Regressing a Service Request

To progress a Service Request, simply select the next stage in the queue. A Service Request can only be progressed to the next stage, following the current stage. Alternatively, the Service Request can simply be Closed if it has been completed.

To regress a Service Request, select the previous stage in the queue; the user will have to provide a reason for regressing. The history of regression is displayed beside each stage on the progress bar where regression took place.

Progressing and regressing a Service Request can also be done from the summary screen in Kanban View; use the hamburger icon to drag and drop the request to the desired queue stage.

Closing a Service Request

Close a Service Request by selecting the Close button either from the summary screen or from the Service Request screen itself. The user will be prompted to specify whether the request has been resolved or not. If resolved, the Contact will be billed for the itemised charges on the Service Request; if not, no charges will be applied.

Delete

A Service Request can be deleted at any time prior to completion. This action is not reversible.

View Events History

It’s possible to view the changes made to a Service Request from the View Events History option.

Service Request Settings

To configure Service Request settings navigate to Settings > Contacts & CRM > Service Requests.

Queues

Queues define the stages a Service Request will progress through until it’s closed. Multiple queues can be defined, and one must be assigned to each Service Request when it’s created.

The New and Closed stages exist by default, and it’s not compulsory to define any others if not required. The New stage will be automatically assigned to a Service Request upon creation, and Closed is always the final stage where a request terminates. A description and unique (to the queue) colour code must be provided for each; select the green tick button to save a stage.

Once a Queue has been saved, three additional options are available to the user:

• Edit alert times for queue

• Edit completion times for queue

• Configure application settings

Edit Alert Times for Queue

Configure alert notifications to inform users when a Service Request has not yet progressed from the New stage. The alert times can vary depending on the priority of the Service Request.

Notifications for overdue progression will appear as below on the Service Request screen.

The overdue notification appears on the Service request card on the summary screen.

Edit Completion Times for Queue

Set how long a Service Request should take to be completed from the time of creation, based on its priority.

Closure dates are calculated and shown as below on the Service Request screen.

The closure date appears in red on the summary screen when the Service Request expected completion date has passed.

Configure Application Settings

Suppose you will allow your Contacts to create Service Requests themselves for this queue (using another platform such as the contact application or contact web portal). In that case, you will need to enable the Self-Service feature and complete the following information:

• Classification - Define the classification option the Contacts will see and be able to select for their request. Upon creation, the service request will be created in the respective queue related to the classification chosen by the Contact

• Resource - Set the system user to whom the service requests of this queue will be automatically assigned to

• Default priority - Set the impact and urgency to calculate the priority of requests assigned to this queue

• Default tags - Select the optional tags to be assigned to all requests of this queue

Numbering Schemes

Select the numbering format for Service Requests. Each new Service Request will be assigned a sequential number based on the given format.

Priorities

Set up the model to be used by the system for prioritising Service Requests. Select the priority based on impact and urgency combination.

• Impact - Represents how important the request is for the customer  

• Urgency - Relates to how quickly a resolution must be provided 

Categories

Optionally set up Categories to provide a business classification for Service Requests; categories can be defined in a hierarchical structure. A Service Request can have multiple categories which can be used for reporting and filtering purposes.

Closure Reasons

Define the closure reasons a system user can select if a Service Request is closed without being resolved.

Reference Material

You may also find it helpful to refer to the following manuals for further reading about Service Requests.

Contacts

Contacts

Activities

Activities

Applications

Configure Service Requests settings for Applications.

CRM.COM Apps

Generic Settings

Configure Tags for Service Requests.

Generic Settings | tags

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