Chapter 1 - What is Enterprise’s Support Commitment to Me, Their
Customer?
Support Mission Statement
Enterprise Support will deliver a superior level of customer service, unparalleled in our industry. Our primary mission is to provide our customers with whatever assistance is necessary to enable them to get the most out of the Enterprise application software they are using.
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The overall mission of ECS is to increase our market share by constantly increasing our value to our business partners. Long term, sustainable growth can only be accomplished by:
• • • • • • • • • • • •
Hiring outstanding people and empowering them to take charge of their area of responsibility. Making ECS a great place to work so that tenure turnover is minimized.
Delivering service that exceeds customer expectations.
Manufacturing high quality products and providing high quality, innovative services.
Being a FAST company. FAST to market, FAST to solve problems, FAST to innovate, FAST to make hard decisions, and FAST to seize new business opportunities.
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• We strive to identify, recruit and retain talent. We reward impact and results.
We provide education to our associates to help them become more effective. We expect associates to take the initiative for their own self-improvement. We listen to our associates.
We reward innovation.
We promote from within when possible.
We constantly evaluate our talent to make sure associates are in roles where they have the most impact.
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We are focused on extending our position as the technology partner of choice to the Pro Dealer segment of the building materials industry. In all areas of our business we strive for constant incremental improvement. How do we accomplish this?
–
By providing outstanding service and allowing customers to focus on their business. We aggressively review all service metrics and processes to insure that we exceed customer expectations.–
We realize it’s what we know about; 1) The challenges our customers face and2) how to solve these challenges, that really matters. Many companies sell software for our industry, but to differentiate ourselves, we have to know as much about our customers’ business as they do.
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Maintaining the trust of customers by adding value to their investment in ECS technology. We do this by being experts in their business, adding vital functionality to their current systems when possible and finding ways to increase their connectivity.–
Identifying innovative software and services concepts to help our customers drive costs out of their business, gain a competitive advantage and improve productivity.–
By investing in R&D so that ECS customers remain at the forefront of technology. Speed will be the mantra when it comes to recognizing the need for and developing new capabilities and products.–
New business is essential to our long-term success. Therefore we constantly strive to develop “new generation” solutions that will allow us to succeed in the “new business” arena.–
We also work hard to drive costs out of our business so that we can provide products and services to our customers at the lowest cost possible. However, we will not sacrifice long term quality and outstanding service for short-term profits.N
Neeww MMaarrkkeettss •
• •
We aggressively seek out new business opportunities that take advantage of our core
competencies. This can result in offering new products and services to our target market, or developing products for new markets.
We reward associates that take risks to grow our business, as long as the course is charted and monitored closely. If we fail in new ventures, in spite of proper preparation, we will encourage new ideas and in no way penalize creativity.
We always look for new markets to enter and new product/service offerings to offer our current markets.
All ECS associates contribute to our success. We are the best in the business and we work diligently to maintain this status. Being the best demands tremendous fortitude. We do not rest on our past success - we know that this will result in long term failure. We will not become complacent.
Chapter 2 - How and When Do I Contact Productivity Products Support for
Assistance?
Method Contact Information
Availability When to use Information needed from you Telephone Support 1-800-569-9521 Dispatcher Mon. – Fri., 8:30am – 5:30pm EST (except on holidays)
Appropriate for all incidents.
Contact name and phone number
Company name & ID# Detailed description of issue
Case number if calling on an existing case Web Support Internet site: www.ecs-inc.com 24 hours a day, 7 days a week Recommended for incidents that are less time-critical in nature. Use to obtain technical documents and search for solutions, or to log your own call.
You will need a valid support contract, a user ID, and a password.
Detailed description of your issue
Fax 1-864-987-6401 Faxes can be
sent 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Recommended for incidents that are less time-critical in nature
Contact name and phone number Company name Detailed description of issue Case # if fax is on an open case. After Hours Coverage 1-800-569-9521 Option #3
Sends you directly to our after hours cell phone. Week-nights from 9:00pm EST until 7:00am EST Weekends beginning at 9:00pm EST on Fri. and ending at 7:00am EST Mon. morning. Recommended for critical incidents only, as this service is usually billable at T&M rate of $175 per hour.
If the analyst doesn’t answer the cell phone please leave a detail message, with Company Name, Phone Number and Contact person, also a brief description of the problem. The analyst will return your call.
Notes on Productivity Products After Hours Coverage
Productivity Products Support offers emergency service after-hours and on weekends. If you have an urgent issue and need assistance outside our normal hours of 7:00am EST – 9:00pm EST, or on the weekend, you may page our “on-call” analyst. On weeknights (Mon.-Fri.), any use of this service after 10:00pm EST and before 7:00am EST is billable. On Saturday, between the hours of 8:00am EST and 8:00pm EST, there is no charge for the use of this service, if you have
a down system. Calls other than down systems are billable. A down system is a system that is completely inoperable for business, stemming from hardware issues (terminals and printers hung at POS), or software problems, preventing the normal conducting of business, such as statement processing on DocMan. See the definition of P0 Down Systems in the Call Priority section below. After 8:00pm EST Saturday evening and until 7:00am EST on Monday morning, any use of our emergency service is billable.
Please keep in mind that there is only one on-call analyst. Once a customer pages the on-call analyst, the analyst responds as quickly as they can. The on-call analyst typically does not have access to all the Enterprise resources that are available during normal business hours. The analyst will make every reasonable effort to resolve the problem, but may not be able to do so. Customers are billed for the use of this service even if the analyst is unable to provide a final resolution to the problem. Our charges to you are for the use of this service, not for call resolution.
How And When Do I Utilize The Other Service Organizations Within Enterprise?
Organization Responsibilities Contact method
Productivity Products Professional Services
Provides in-house, on-site, phone training, and web training
Productivity Products Professional Services at 1-800-569-6309.
Productivity Products Sales Acts as single point of contact for customers evaluating Productivity Products and services
Coordinates any purchases of subsequent products or services after the initial purchase
Productivity Products Sales 1-800-569-6309
Loss of Telephone Service
Occasionally, due to circumstances beyond our control, one or more of our offices may
experience a temporary loss of telephone service. In these cases, we immediately go to beeper service. While we will do everything in our power to alert you, we may not always be successful. If you are calling Support and find that the phones seem to be inoperable, please follow these instructions:
First, try the appropriate cell phone number. The Productivity Products cell number is currently 864-421-3533.
If you still experience problems, please try contacting one of our other offices:
Greenville, SC 800-569-9521
800-569-6309 800-944-0414
Salt Lake City, UT 800-755-5911
801-364-5687
Chapter 3 – How Do I Know If I Am Eligible To Receive Support?
Am I Eligible To Receive Assistance from Enterprise Support?You are eligible to receive assistance from Enterprise Support if you are current with the payment of your quarterly or annual support maintenance fees and are using versions of Enterprise applications that are currently eligible for support. See Support of Old Releases for details on our policy that requires customers to stay current with application versions.
Who Should I Contact To Verify My Eligibility To Receive Support?
We strongly recommend that you review your quarterly or annual maintenance billing and compare all the hardware and software listed to what you are actually using. You are eligible to receive support assistance only for those items listed on the maintenance billing, so any discrepancies need to be corrected promptly. If you have any questions regarding your maintenance billing, please contact the appropriate maintenance specialist for your product at 800-569-6309.
What Assistance Am I Entitled To Receive, Given My Eligibility For Support?
Your maintenance payments entitle you to receive software, hardware, and enhancement support, as outlined in your Support Maintenance Agreement. Examples of software support are overcoming issues in the software, correction of operator errors, installation of any applications purchased through Enterprise, as well as assistance in updating your Enterprise software packages. Examples of hardware support are troubleshooting and correcting problems with supported hardware. Enhancement support covers the R&D costs incurred as we continually add features and correct issues in the software.
It is also important to note what is not covered under your support contract. First and foremost, training of new employees or newly purchased software packages is not included. If you have a new employee who needs to understand the procedures involved in Document Management, Dispatch & Delivery, EIS, ECS Commerce, etc., Support cannot adequately train in many of these functions over the phone. When possible, an appointment should be scheduled at a time when it will have the least impact on Support. Appointments need to be made well in advance. Please do not call to say a new Credit Manger started and needs to know how to print statements from DocMan and get them in the mail that same day in! Not only will your employee not get the proper training on such short notice, but also it is not fair to the other customers who need service. In many situations, on-site training is required. In that case, Support directs you to the appropriate department. All training is billable at our current rate, which is $175.00 an hour.
Second, any equipment or software packages purchased through Enterprise, but not placed under support at the time of purchase, are not covered. Please do not assume because you bought it from Enterprise, you are covered. In the majority of the cases, you are covered, but we have run into cases where the person making the purchase opts not to take support coverage in an effort to save money. This gamble rarely pays off.
Chapter 4 - What Should I Do Before Calling Support?
Support analysts ask a number of standard questions before troubleshooting your issue. Having the information available when you contact Support may greatly reduce the time it takes the support analyst to provide a resolution. Also, please keep in mind that we always ask as a matter of course that you review your documentation before placing a Support call, in case your
question/problem can be answered there.
• What information should I gather?
Please consider or collect the following information prior to contacting Support:
• Define the problem
• Be able to articulate the symptom(s) of the problem
• Provide any error messages associated with the issue
• Provide as many details related to the issue as possible
• Gather relevant information
• Determine if this problem has occurred before or if this is an isolated incident
• Can you duplicate the problem at will?
• Determine what occurred before the problem was detected
• Determine if any changes have been made recently to the system (i.e., upgrades or system configuration changes)
• Does the problem appear to be related to any one location, pc, user, printer, etc.?
• Determine the version of the software application you are using
• If your equipment was purchased from ECS and you are calling with a hardware problem, be sure you can provide the model, make, and serial number of the hardware item in question, and also be sure you have it covered under your maintenance contract
• Determine the business impact
• Determine how this affects your system and your ability to meet your business needs
• Collect the proper contact information
• Your Customer ID number
• Appropriate phone number
• Alternate phone numbers, if possible
• If not responding to you, the name and contact information for the person Support needs to contact
Chapter 5 - What Kind of Service Can I Expect From Productivity Products
Support?
Productivity Products Support’s primary goal is to respond as quickly as possible to customer issues, then resolve those issues in as timely a manner as possible using whatever resources are available.
Call Priority
When a call is placed to our Support Center, we do our best to prioritize the call based on the information we are given at the time the call is logged. Basically, there are four categories:
• P0 - Down Systems: These calls include, but may not be limited to, a system that is completely inoperable for business, stemming from hardware issues (PC’s and printers), or software problems preventing the normal conducting of business.
• P1 - High Priority: Although the hardware may be functioning so the customer is not “down,” there are critical software issues needing immediate attention. Examples of this are: missing data in DocMan, problem scanning, or problem faxing.
• P2 - Medium Priority: Examples include: need to turn on new report for DocMan and have it parsed, need address on form changed, or need to delete a page of a document.
• P3 - Low Priority: All other calls. Typically these are “how to” in nature. We recommend that you only use WebSupport for non-critical issues.
Within these categories, the calls are further prioritized based on the time the call was logged, and in cases of hardware, whether the customer is on an annual maintenance contract or a T&M basis. All maintenance agreements are honored first. Not being on an annual support contract may result in excessive down time.
Case Handling
Please see the flow charts on the following page for a summary of how Productivity Support handles new cases, bugs, and enhancement requests.
Case Handling Flowchart
You’ve found a problem. Gather relevant information.
Case is created and prioritized in the VIEW support system and dispatched to the appropriate pending queue.
No As much relevant information, as possible, is entered into your case and will be addressed by that analyst.
Is this a hardware or software issue ?
If not a problem that can be corrected by the analyst, necessary information is gathered and a Scantron, or IBM Technician is dispatched. Software Issue Training Issue Possible bug Isolated Incident Installation or appointment
Analyst guides you to the appropriate documentation or schedule the necessary training. Bug Procedures followed. See accompanying flowchart. Assigned analyst picks up the case and performs the task. Analyst works on your case
in the allotted time in an effort to find a resolution.
Case Closed Case Solved Yes Case Solved Hardware Issue Contact Productivity Support via:
Web: www.ecs-inc.com
Phone: 800-569-9521 Fax: 864-987-6401
Bug Procedures Flowchart
The software is broken — you’ve
found a bug.
We give you our FIX number, so you can watch for the fix in
an upcoming release.
Call is closed.
We don’t know about it.
We check it out on multiple databases to
see if:
It is an error only on your system.
We work with you to isolate the problem.
Call is escalated to Development department. If a fix is readily available, technical support sends it to you. Call is closed. If a fix is not available, a FIX number is assigned and
we track it. We get a FIX number, so you can watch for the fix in a
release. We know about it
and are tracking it.
A FIX is assigned and we track it. It’s an error on both
our systems… We investigate the
bug for one of the following:
We investigate your call to determine
e of the following
on :
We log your call into the system and give it a case number. Reporting a problem?
Enhancement Request Flowchart
Analyst initially researches the request.
If it is a previously reported request.
We give you the MOD number so you can watch for
it in an upcoming release.
If it is a new request, not previously reported… Case is closed. Call is escalated to Development department. Case is closed. Investigation determines the enhancement is feasible… Investigation determines the enhancement is not feasible.
We tell you the reason the request was declined.
A MOD number is assigned and given to you to you can watch for it in an upcoming release.
Case is closed. We log your call into the system
and give you a case number. Want us to make a change
Additional Case Handling Notes
Method of Correspondence - At times, the analyst may need some time to do research and discuss the issue with other analysts to try to find a solution. As a reminder, please be aware if you have an e-mail address, responses to your issue are likely to come via e-mail. Please check your e-mail regularly if you utilize this feature. And, if you are working on an existing case with an analyst, and the analyst leaves you a message requesting some additional information, please respond as promptly as possible to their request. If an analyst leaves three messages over a period of time and all go unanswered, they close the case in question.
Re-opening Cases - If your case has been closed and you feel it is not resolved, we encourage you to reopen the original case. As discussed above in the Automatic Notifications section, you can reopen a case by responding to the Case Closure survey appropriately or by placing a support call. Please note that you cannot reopen a case via WebSupport. Reopening the original case is very important. Doing so ensures that all information relevant to that case is contained within the original case, as opposed to it being scattered across different cases. When you reopen the case, please give a specific reason for requesting it be reopened.
Bugs in the Software – Sometimes during the process of resolving a reported problem, it is determined that the problem stems from a bug in the application. If the discovered bug is an existing one already being tracked by Enterprise, the analyst gives you the Fix number for that bug. They also tell you if it is currently scheduled to be fixed and on which upcoming release it is, if scheduled. If the discovered bug turns out to be a new one, your case will be escalated to Development, and assuming it is reproducible, Development assigns a Fix number for that bug, and the analyst relays that information to you before closing the case. The severity of the bug and the number of affected customers are two critical factors in determining when a fix will be
When Does Support Close a Case?
The following is a list of situations when Support closes cases: 1. The customer agrees the issue has been resolved.
2. The support analyst feels they have given a reasonable solution that will be implemented later by the customer. (Remember, if the fix doesn’t work, the case can be reopened.) 3. Support has attempted to return your call a minimum of three times within your normal
business hours, and you have made no attempt to return our call.
4. We have requested additional information from you a minimum of three times and have received nothing.
5. The problem is a one-time or sporadic occurrence that neither you nor Support can recreate.
6. A Modification (Mod) has been turned in by either Support or Development. This means the resolution will be considered for a future release. Although the case is closed within Support, it is still an open issue for Development.
7. You call in to schedule an appointment for a specific purpose. When the appointment is scheduled (i.e., the purpose for the call), the case is closed until the appointment is begun.
In reference to #2 above, some customers wonder why we don’t call back later to follow-up before closing the case. While we have attempted this in the past, we found this procedure was not practical for these reasons:
1. The amount of time it takes to make these return calls is enormous, and takes valuable time away from taking initial calls from other customers. To reinstate this procedure would mean additional hires, thus raising support fees to offset the cost.
2. We found if the problem was resolved, we had a difficult time getting the customer to come to the phone; necessitating another call from us later.
We have found that most of our customers are willing to enter into a partnership with us, and let us know when the problem persists. If you receive a Case Closure notification and do not feel the case should be closed, let us know immediately by calling us back and requesting the case number (listed on the notification) be reopened. Or, circle “No” and send in the Case Survey that comes with every Case Closure notification. As long as the reason for closure does not fall into categories 5, 6, or 7 listed above, we will promptly reopen the case. (It is not beneficial to reopen for reasons 5, 6, or 7, as there is nothing else Support can do at this time.)
Chapter 6 - Internet Services & Web Support
We strongly encourage you to establish an Internet connection, as this enables you to interact more effectively with Support. If you have an Internet connection, you can simply place a regular support call and request to be provided with separate sets of usernames and passwords for both our Enterprise website and VIEW. The Enterprise website (www.ecs-inc.com) is a resource for you. We are gradually posting more information on the website, instead of disseminating this information via facsimile or through the mail, and we strongly encourage you to take advantage of this service. Some of the items you will find on the Productivity Products page are:
• Software documentation – You can download any of our documentation at no charge.
• Monthly Web Tips – Provides timely information and tips for your specific application, which are written by an analyst each month.
• How-To’s - The How To page gives step-by-step instructions for various system administration procedures and other tasks
• Release Notices – Download for complete details on functional upgrades and fixes on the latest versions of your specific application.
• Holiday Schedules – Check these out to stay abreast of your ability to receive support during holidays.
• Monthly Letter from the Support Manager – A monthly memo to all customers by the support manager for your application.
• Analyst Profiles – Read these to get to know the other person on the end of the line. VIEW WebSupport is a web-based interface to our VIEW database. WebSupport is a powerful tool that gives you more control over the entire support process. Once logged into WebSupport, you can do the following:
• Create a new case
• Look back through prior case history
• Add research notes to existing open cases
• Send an e-mail to the analyst working on your case
• Close an open case
• Run a query on our solutions database
• View and update your member profile
One of the biggest advantages of entering your own cases is that you are not relying on the dispatcher to interpret your problem over the phone. WebSupport enables you to take the time to give a detailed and complete description of your problem in your own words, which in many cases speeds up total resolution time. You can also easily look back over any of your prior cases for problems that may have occurred before and possibly resolve the issue yourself this time.
Chapter 7 - What Can I Do If I Am Not Satisfied With the Service That I Have
Received?
There are several ways to escalate an issue if you are not satisfied with the service or processes: Notify the Dispatcher:
Indicate your case number when you call and the dispatcher can quickly add an urgent e-mail to the case and copy the appropriate analyst and manager.
Case Closure Survey:
If your case is closed, in the closure e-mail message, you have an opportunity to fill out a satisfaction survey on that particular issue. This is a great tool for the managers to assess customer satisfaction and address problem areas. Please take time to fill these out. We do read them!
Manager Escalation:
You can call the Productivity Products Support manager directly at 800-569-6309 or send an e-mail. When calling, ask for the manager by name. If you get their voice-mail after being transferred, dial 0# to get back to the operator and ask that the manager be paged, if necessary. In all cases, you will receive a call back or e-mail from the manager within 24 hours.
Director of Operations Escalation:
If your concerns have not been addressed with one of the paths already described, then please contact Enterprise’s Director of Operations at 800-569-6309.
Please use the escalation path described above, as this is the most effective and efficient way to address your concerns. Our goal is to resolve your issues in a timely manner.
Also, the President of Enterprise welcomes positive and negative feedback by using the following forms that you can submit directly from the appropriate product’s Web page.
“You could have done better" card - This form enables you to voice your concern over a particular incident or process. This feedback goes directly to the President of Enterprise.
"You Didn’t Have To, But I'm Glad You Did" card - On a positive note, this form allows you to recognize a particular individual or group of associates that went above and beyond the call of duty. This feedback also goes directly to the President of Enterprise.
Chapter 8 - After-Hours and Weekend Appointments
On occasion, a customer asks to schedule an appointment with Support for assistance on an issue requiring that the customer’s system be taken down for a lengthy period of time. Some examples of these types of appointments are adding or replacing disk drives, or adding a device such as a tape drive. For some customers, taking their system down during business hours is not that detrimental, while for others, doing so has a tremendous impact on their business. Any requests for these types of after-hours appointments are handled by Support on a case-by-case basis.
In general, we discourage after-hours or weekend appointments. The primary reason is that both the customer and Enterprise are in a more vulnerable position when these appointments are performed. Keep in mind that most of these procedures are critical in nature and may involve some complex changes to your system. Also, remember that the analyst performing the procedure will, in many cases, be operating without benefit of the full resources of Enterprise behind him or her, were something to go wrong. On the off-chance that something does go wrong, a customer’s recovery time may be longer than if the procedure had been done during normal hours in the first place.
With all that said, we will make every effort to accommodate a customer’s request for this sort of appointment, if it is still deemed necessary. However, please understand that not all requests can be accommodated. The time and nature of the appointment are critical variables, in addition to the availability of an analyst that is capable of performing the particular task at hand, given its complexity and potential side-effects. We just want to be sure everyone understands some of the philosophy behind our handling of this type of request.
