Customer Support Handbook

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Customer Support Handbook

Revision: v3.2 08/12/2014

Prepared by: Grant Payne

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Version 3.2 ACT Systems Customer Support Handbook – Tel 01189 870 075 Page | 2

1.0 Objective

The objective of this handbook is to:

• Define the communication channels between the Customer and ACT Systems Ltd Customer Support department.

• Provide details of ACT Systems Ltd operational procedures relating to Customer Support

• Define the customer escalation process and how customers invoke the escalation Procedure

ACT Systems Ltd will advise the Customer of any changes to this document as appropriate. If any of the Customer contact details change, the customer should inform the Customer Support Desk or the respective Account Manager as soon as possible with the full details of the change. Special consideration should be given to changes in decision makers within the Customer organisation.

If further clarifications are required on the information provided or additional information on any procedures in this document, Customer should contact the Customer Support Desk or the respective Account Manager.

2.0 Purpose of this Document

This document focuses on the support delivered to ACT Systems Ltd customers. It provides the Support Team with procedures for recording and responding to calls or emails logged with the Support Desk, by ACT Systems Ltd customers.

The main purpose of the document is to help ensure that the support team delivers an effective customer focused support function to ACT Systems Ltd customers.

This necessitates customers to log their calls or emails via the Customer Support Desk. This will enable the support department to prioritise the calls or emails received and also ensure that a high quality service is given to all ACT Systems Ltd customers.

3.0 Customer Support Definition

The ACT Systems Ltd Customer Support Desk serves as the primary interface between ACT Systems Ltd and its customers.

Its function is to record and respond to customer requests for assistance with queries or problems and the resolution of these queries/problems with respect to all ACT Systems Ltd services and IT related systems.

Customer support commences when the customer has signed an appropriate Support Agreement (from Service Commencement Date) and continues to be effective until the agreement and/or the service(s) are cancelled.

The Customer Support Desk is a single point of contact for all ACT Systems Ltd customers.

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4.0 Support Request / Incident Reporting

The following procedure should be followed when the Customer requests support from ACT Systems Ltd:

The customer is required to log a call with the Customer Support Desk via telephone or email.

The contact details are as follows:

Telephone - +44 (0) 1189 870 075 (8.00am – 5.30pm Monday to Friday) Email - [email protected]

4.1 Telephone

Once a call is received, the Customer Support engineer is required to record the details into the Support Management Database.

When calling the Customer Support Desk to request support/log an incident, the customer should endeavour to have the following information at hand to assist:

 Primary contact name and surname

 Contact email and telephone number

 Company Name

 Location

 Asset/logmein name

 A brief description of the fault

 When did the fault commence?

 Is it continuous?

 Is it intermittent?

 Any Customer test results already available

 Customer reference for fault

The Customer should be prepared to answer any other questions as fully as possible; this will aid the engineers during the resolutions process.

ACT Systems apply pre-defined templates when raising a support ticket which will be categorised into the following:

Table 1:

Level Class Description (general)

1 Emergency Infrastructure / Communications issue affecting multiple users /Business Critical

2 Major Partial Infrastructure / Communications issue affecting multiple users / Business Critical

3 Important Individual user Desktop support / non business critical

4 Change Request Planned configuration changes

When all the call details have been entered in the Support Management Database, the customer will be supplied with an incident ticket number that provides a reference for the call logged. This number will be referred to in all further

communications and updates related to the incident.

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4.2 Email

Support requests/incidents that are reported via email will go directly into the Support Desk’s Inbox

([email protected]). Customer Support Engineers will review the request description and create a new incident ticket.

A support engineer will contact the customer by return e-mail or via phone communication, to discuss/advise on the most appropriate course of action depending on the type and class of the incident.

When requesting support via e-mail the customer should endeavour to include as much of the following information as possible to assist:

 Primary contact name and surname

 Contact email and telephone number

 Company Name

 Location

 Asset/logmein name

 A brief description of the fault

 When did the fault commence?

 Is it continuous?

 Is it intermittent?

 Any Customer test results already available

 customer reference for fault

4.3 Creation of the Support Request/Incident

At the time support is requested the incident is entered into Customer Management Database and will include the following details:

• The name of the customer/Company the incident refers to.

• The name of the end user reporting the fault

• The time at which the incident was reported

• The exact symptoms being experienced by the users and how many users are being affected

• Additional contact details

4.4 Negotiate Priority

The Support Engineer will assess what impact and urgency the support request/incident being reported is having on the customer and agree a priority level. As part of this process, the customer will be given an approximate time for the incident to be addressed. This can be obtained from Table 2 below, which defines call response and fix times according to the priority of the call as identified in Table 1.

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Version 3.2 ACT Systems Customer Support Handbook – Tel 01189 870 075 Page | 6 Table 2:

Description Customer SLA

Internal SLA Target

Support incident reported by phone (level 1,2,3) 30 min 15 min

Support incident reported by E-mail (Level 1,2,3) 30 min 15 min

Customer Update (level 1,2) 1 hour 30 min

Customer Update (level 3) 4 hours 2 hours

Support incident (level 4) 4 hours 2 hours

Second Line Escalation (level 1,2) 1 hour 45 min

Second Line Escalation (level 3) 2 hours 1 hours

Engineer site visit (Business Critical level 1,2) 8 working hrs. N/A

Engineer site visit (Level 3) 48 hours N/A

Please note: all SLA’s are based on technical response not final resolve.

4.5 Incident Resolution

Once an incident is logged, the Customer Support Desk will initiate diagnostics to confirm or rectify the issue if possible, either with the assistance of the remote management resource or with the help of staff at the fault site.

ACT Systems Ltd has three levels of technical support that work together to resolve any incidents that may occur.

First Line – Customer Support Engineers who answer telephones on the Customer Support Desk and perform the first stage of fault analysis and resolution. They will, for example, diagnose hardware/software and configuration issues.

Second Line –Senior Engineers that have specific skills associated to the incident, for escalation to if it is not possible for first line to diagnose and resolve the issue within the agreed SLA time.

Site Engineers – Engineers tasked with making customer site visits to resolve support incidents where remote support has been unsuccessful in a resolve.

4.6 Customer Updates

Each incident will be updated on a regular basis depending on the priority set for the incident to indicate the progress being made. Details such as attempts made to resolve the problem, information that is required from the customer or a third- party will be included in the updates.

A Support Engineer will monitor the progress of all support requests/incidents internally, and will invoke ACT Systems Ltd escalation procedures as and when appropriate.

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4.7 Closing the Incident

Incident closure occurs when a satisfactory resolution has been agreed and applied between the customer and Customer Support Engineer. On occasions where direct contact cannot be made with the customer, the Customer Support Engineer may deem the ticket as completed and proceed to closing the incident.

The Customer Support Engineer will send the customer a confirmation e-mail advising that the incident has been closed. If an e-mail is not possible, verbal communication will take place.

The Management Database will be updated with the following details:

• Description of the fix or advice given

• The exact nature of the fault and resolution process

• Name of the person who authorised/informed of the ticket closure

5.0 Support Escalation

In normal circumstances the Customer Support Engineers will execute and progress escalation in line with the documented SLA’s.

The Table below shows escalation contact details. Customers are encouraged to escalate an incident if they believe published SLA’s having not been satisfied or if they feel the actions being taken are not progressing towards a resolution.

Named contacts are generally available during normal business hours Monday – Friday 9.00am – 5.30pm, excluding public holidays.

Position Name Contact details

Escalations Service Engineer Josh Maynard [email protected] – 01189 870 075

Head Project Engineer Josh Hey [email protected] - 01189 870 075

Senior Customer Service Account Manager Graeme Jones [email protected] - 01189 870 070 Customer Service Account Manager Sam Barter [email protected] - 01189 870 070

Technical Director Andy Boudier [email protected] - 01189 870 070

Sales and Customer Services Director Grant Payne [email protected] - 01189 870 070

In the event the named representative is not available (due to holidays or other possible appointments) alternative members of staff will be nominated to attend to relevant escalations.

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6.0 Site Visit Escalation

In the event a support incident cannot be resolved via the Customer Support Desk or 2^nd line and by agreement with the customer it is deemed a site visit is required, the following process will take place:

 Customer Services will co-ordinate the visit time and date, first offered appointment will be within published SLA, in the event this is not suitable for the client, alternatives will be offered.

 The visit will be confirmed by e-mail, containing reference number, ETA of engineer arrival and name of engineer attending site. Verbal contact will also be attempted via telephone to confirm details.

 On arrival the engineer will report to the contact nominated by the customer, the engineer will confirm electronically to our Customer Service Team the time of their arrival.

 Engineer will resolve issues included within the scope of the initial site visit e-mail communication. If requested to carry out further activities they will oblige where time allows in line with their pre-planned schedule.

 On completion of the site visit the engineer will report to the customer nominated contact, identify any remaining follow-up actions and report this electronically to our Customer Support Team.

 The Customer Services Team will report back in full by the end of business the following working day of actions completed and time lines for any follow-up activities.

7.0 Security Changes

Any changes to system security or user rights will require written confirmation via e-mail from a pre-authorised Decision Maker. Our engineers reserve the right to question any such requests and may ask for further confirmation from the Company Director or similar.

8.0 Our database

All support incidents are recorded in our Customer Management Database, logs of all communications, times and

resolution in order to assist both the customer and Support Engineers in reaching a quick resolution. This log is available to the customer at any time by request.

Customer Support Handbook