A service request is a detailed record of a request or a complaint from a client. Service requests are used to manage and track client issues.

Administrators can enable the automatic creation of service requests based on incoming customer emails to a support team's mailbox. Support managers can then assign the service requests to members of their team.

If your administrator has enabled service level agreements and defined service level agreement rules, the First Response By and Resolution By service level agreement metrics are displayed for service requests. You can use these metrics to monitor the level of service provided to your client.

Service requests with service level agreements

Your administrator can configure rules that automatically set the First Response By and Resolution By service level agreement metrics upon service request creation.

The First Response By metric determines when you will need to provide an initial response to a service request and the Resolution By metric determines when you will need to close a service request. Service level agreement metrics are displayed in the service requests panel, in the individual service request's banner, in the Edit Service Request dialog, and in service request reports. Administrators can enable notifications to the assigned owner of a service request when a service level agreement metric is about to expire or has expired.

Service Requests workspace

The Service Requests workspace allows you to create, display, and edit service request information. Use the Service Requests workspace to manage your service requests.

On the Service Requests workspace, you can:

• Search for and find service requests using predefined filters, user-defined filters, or advanced filtering
• Search for and find service requests using filters for service level agreements
• Automatically create service requests based on incoming customer emails to your support team's mailbox
• Manually add service requests
• Accept pending service requests and assign them to support team members
• Edit open or pending service requests
• Merge pending service requests
• Cancel open or pending service requests
• Close open service requests
• Reopen canceled or closed service requests
• Monitor service level agreement metrics for service requests
• Delete a service request and bulk delete service requests
• Add activities to service requests
• Add contacts to service requests
• Email contacts for service requests

The Service Requests workspace is divided into the following areas:

• The service requests panel on the left. The service requests panel contains the service requests list and search area, which enables you to use a combination of the following to find service requests:

  Predefined filters
  You can edit existing predefined filters by clicking the Edit button and changing the filter's properties. You can also change the filter by clicking the Set Filter button in the filter field above the search field. For example, you may want to change filters to search for all overdue service requests. The Set Filter menu contains predefined filters as well as the following filter options: 

  • Other Filters
    Allows you to choose from the complete list of available saved filters.

  • New Filter
    Allows you to create a new filter for your own use. You can run the filter immediately or save it to be reused later. In addition, if you have appropriate permissions, you can create a new filter to be shared with other users.

  • Manage Filters
    Allows you to specify which saved filters should appear on the Set Filter menu, and in what order. 

Quick find tool
You can type the ID or the title of a service request as search criteria into the quick find field and click the Find button .
Advanced filtering
You can also use advanced filtering to find service requests by clicking the Show Filter button to the right of the quick find field. For example, you can search for service requests by user group team or who they are for or assigned to. You can also search by template, status, stage, severity, priority, first response due date, or resolution due date of the service request using advanced filtering options.

The service request list is organized using the following table columns:

• Resolution By
  The date and time by which a service request should be closed.
  
• Resolution Due In
  The number of days remaining before a service request must be closed based on service level agreement rules. If the service request is overdue, it shows the number of days late in red text.
  
• First Response By
  The date and time by which the service provider should respond to a service request.
  
• First Response Due In
  The date and time when the first response must be sent based on service level agreement rules. If the first response is overdue, it shows the number of days late in red text.
  
• First Response Time
  The date and time when the first response is sent for a service request.
  

For example, if you have a service level agreement rule that determines a first response by the service agent of 3 business hours and your work schedule specifies that your support agents are not available on weekends, for any service requests created on a weekend, the First Response By date and time will be 3 business hours into the next available business day.

• The service request detail zone on the right. This zone displays the service request banner. The banner contains information about the request, such as who the request is assigned to and the request priority and severity levels. It also contains buttons that you can click to perform quick actions. For example, you can click the Cancel button to cancel a service request. If your administrator enables the service level agreements feature, the banner also displays the service level agreement metrics, which vary based on the stage of the service request. For example, if the first response has not been sent for a service request, the banner displays the date and time when the first response must be sent, and if the first response has been sent, it displays the date and time when it was sent.
  
  The detail zone also has the following tabs:
  

  Detail tab
  Displays the basic properties of the service request, including the date when the service request was created and the service request's description. You can also view the resolution comments after an issue is closed.
  Activities tab
  You can add activities to a service request by clicking the Add button , selecting an activity, and providing the required information. You can filter activities to find an activity. You can view quick notes from activities.
  Contacts tab
  You can add contacts to a service request so you can track who should receive updates concerning the service request by clicking the Add buttonand selecting the required contact. It also displays any contacts associated with the service request.

Related links

Working with user-defined filters

Automatically creating service requests from emails

NexJ CRM can automatically create service requests based on incoming emails from your customers to your support team's mailbox and notify your customers that the service requests have been created. This automated process enables support teams to address customer issues more efficiently and quickly.

To automatically create service requests from client email, your administrator must have enabled the functionality.

After a service request is created, any subsequent emails from a customer about the same issue are attached to the existing service request so that the communication thread is available from a single location.

Inbound email flow

The following diagram shows the process for automatically creating service requests from inbound customer emails.

When customers send emails to support team mailboxes, NexJ CRM reads the emails using Microsoft Exchange and creates the required service requests.

Pending service requests

Pending service requests are created by default based on customer emails and the support manager is assigned these service requests if:

• Customers do not include IDs for existing service requests in the subject lines of their emails
• Customers include IDs in the subject lines of their emails but they do not match IDs for existing service requests
• NexJ CRM is unable to match the customer email addresses with the email addresses used for existing entities

The following diagram shows when NexJ CRM creates pending service requests.

The support manager uses the All Pending Service Requests filter to find pending service requests on the Service Requests workspace. The support manager can also filter service requests using mailbox names. The support manager then investigates the pending service requests and can edit the service requests to change the state of the requests and assign them to specialists who fulfill the requests.

Matched service requests

NexJ CRM uses the following logic to parse each incoming email and determine whether the email applies to an existing service request or whether a new service request needs to be created:

1. NexJ CRM checks the email's subject for a service request number. If a service request number is present, NexJ CRM matches it to an existing service request.
2. If the service request number matches, NexJ CRM checks if the sender's email address matches to a contact or company entity.
3. If the email address matches, NexJ CRM attaches the email to the matched service request.

When NexJ CRM matches customer email addresses with email addresses for existing entities, they are attached to the existing service requests, and the emails are added to the email log in the contact journal for matched contacts. The service request managers can filter for pending service requests in the Service Requests workspace so they can triage the service requests and assign them to the specialists who fulfill the requests. Customers are also notified when service requests are created and they are provided with the service request ID.

When a received customer email contains the service request ID of a known service request, a notification is sent to the Group Owner of the mailbox for the service request. The notification is titled using the following recorded email format: <requestID>-<title>. Clicking the notification link docks the email in a separate workspace.

Automatically creating a service request

At a financial institution, a customer named Liam logs into the online portal to perform a transaction. The transactions fails and Liam sends an email to the support mailbox for the institution. When Liam sends his email, a pending service request is automatically created by NexJ CRM , Liam is notified that it has been created, and is provided with the service request ID. The support manager uses a filter to find the pending service request on the Service Requests workspace, edits the service request, and assigns the service request to the specialist who fulfills the request.

Liam sends an additional question about the failed transaction using the same service request ID in the subject line of his email. NexJ CRM matches the email to the existing service request and it is attached to the service request for the specialist to address. The specialist completes the service request and notifies Liam.

Accepting pending service requests

A pending service request is created when a customer sends a request for assistance or a complaint. You can accept a pending service request and assign it to a user or multiple users.

To accept a pending service request:

1. On the Service Requests workspace, select the required pending service request.
2. In the banner for the service request, click the Accept button .
   The Accept Service Request dialog opens.
3. [Optional] To assign the service request to additional users, select the users in the Assign To drop-down.
4. [Optional] To change the contact for the service request, select a new contact in the For field.
5. [Optional] You can change the information in the Stage , Priority , and Severity fields.
6. Click OK .
   The system notifies assignees of the accepted service request.

The service request is no longer visible in the All Pending Service Requests filter.

Merging pending service requests with existing service requests

You can merge duplicate service requests.

To merge a pending service request with an existing open service request:

1. On the Service Requests workspace, use the All Pending Service Requests filter to display pending service requests.
2. Select the required pending service request, which is the source service request.
3. Click the Options button and select  Merge .
   The Select Service Request dialog opens.
4. Search for and select the required target service request.
   A confirmation message displays asking you to confirm the merge of the service requests.
   
5. Click Yes to confirm.
   A message displays in the Activities tab for the target service request that provides the date and time when the records were merged, the request ID for the source service request, and the name of the user who merged the requests.

Email, attachments, and notes for the source service request are appended to the target service request. The pending service request is canceled.

Adding service requests

Add service requests to track internal or external client issues.

To add a service request:

1. Navigate to the Service Requests workspace.
2. Above the service requests list, click Add button , and select the type of service request you want to create.
   The Add Service Request dialog opens.
3. [Optional] The Template drop-down, displays the template you have selected. You can choose to select a new template and click Override to change your original template selection.
4. [Optional] In the Description field, you can provide a title for the service request.
5. In the For field, you can specify users, contacts, companies, and households.
6. In the Severity drop-down, select the severity that defines how severely an issue is impacting your client's business.
7. [Optional] In the Channel drop-down, you can select the communications channel that will be used by support agents to resolve the issue with your customer.
8. In the Priority drop-down, select the priority that defines the order in which your organization will resolve a service request.
9. The Assign To field, displays your name. You can choose to assign another user to the service request by typing their name in the Search drop-down and selecting their name from the list of corresponding users or clicking the Select button  in the Search drop-down and adding a participant.
10. In the Status drop-down, select the status that the service request has achieved.
11. In the Stage drop-down, select the state that the service request has achieved.
12. [Optional] In the Notes field, you can provide a description of the service request. If you are adding a large note and you want to view the entire note and edit it, click View/Edit Full Notes .
13. [Optional] You can add related contacts in the Contacts tab.

14. In the Security tab, specify the view and edit security levels for this service request.

15. Click OK .

    Instead, you can choose to click Save and Dock . The service request item now appears as a workspace with its own tab to the right of the existing tabs.
    
    If your service level agreement rules are not configured properly, you may receive an error when you click OK . Contact your administrator and reattempt to add the service request after the issue is resolved.

The service request is added to the Service Requests list.

Editing service requests

After adding service requests, you can modify them from the service requests list. If your administrator enables the service level agreement feature, NexJ CRM displays the following service level agreement metrics as read-only fields in the Service Requests workspace and on individual service requests:

First Response By
The date and time by which the service provider should respond to a service request.
Resolution By
The date and time by which a service request should be closed.

To edit a service request:

1. Navigate to the Service Requests workspace.

2. In the service requests list, locate the service request you want to edit, click its Action button , and select Edit .

   You can also click the Options button and select  Edit in the service request's banner to edit a pending service request.

   The Edit dialog opens.

3. Modify the details of the service request as desired.

   You can edit details such as the severity and priority of a service request, and if applicable, fields related to service level agreements such as the First Response By and Resolution By date and time.

   After you send the first response, select First Response Sent . When you do so, the First Response Time field displays, indicating when the first response was sent. A comparison of the First Response By and First Response Time values shows whether the first response was sent on time based on the service level agreement rules defined by your administrator. When you close the service request, the Resolution Time field appears, indicating when the service request was resolved. A comparison of Resolution By and the Resolution Time values shows whether the service request was resolved on time.

   If you have appropriate privileges, you can override the system-generated First Response By and Resolution By date and time.

4. Click OK .

   Instead, you can choose to click Save and Dock . The service request item now appears as a workspace with its own tab to the right of the existing tabs.

   
   Your changes are saved.

Related links

Managing business processes

Canceling service requests

You can cancel pending or open service requests on the Service Requests workspace.

To cancel a service request:

1. On the Service Requests workspace, select the required service request.
2. In the service request's banner, click the Cancel button .
   The Cancel Service Request dialog opens.
3. In the Resolution Comment field, provide comments.
4. Click OK .

The service request is canceled.

You can reopen a canceled service request by filtering for it using the All Service Requests filter, and advanced filtering, selecting it, and clicking the Reopen button .

Deleting service requests

You can delete service requests.

To delete a service request:

1. Navigate to the Service Requests workspace.
2. In the Service Requests list, click the Action button  for the service request you want to delete and select Delete .
   A confirmation dialog opens.
3. Click Delete .
   The service request is permanently removed from the Service Requests list.

Deleting multiple service requests

You can delete multiple service requests.

You need the appropriate privileges to delete multiple service requests at one time.

To delete multiple service requests:

1. Navigate to the Service Requests workspace.
2. In the service requests list, select the service requests you want to delete.
3. Click Actions and select Delete .

The service requests are permanently removed from the service requests list.

Adding activities to service requests

Add activities such as activity plans, tasks, schedule items, or documents to your service requests.

To add an activity to a service request:

1. Navigate to the Service Requests workspace.
2. In the Service Requests list, select the service request you want to add an activity to.
   The service request's details appear to the right of the screen.
3. In the Activities tab, click Add , and select the type of activity you want to add to this service request.
   The Add dialog opens.
4. Complete the fields as desired and click OK .

The activity is added to the Activities list for this service request.

Adding contacts to service requests

Add additional contacts to your service requests as needed.

To add a contact to a service request:

1. Navigate to the Service Requests workspace.
2. In the Service Requests list, select the service request you want to add a contact to.
   The service request's details appear to the right of the screen.
3. In the Contacts tab, click the Add button .
   The Select Related Entities dialog opens.
4. Select the contact you want to associate with this service request and click Add .
   The contact is added to the list of associated contacts on the right side of the dialog.
5. When you are finished adding contacts, click OK.
   The Select Related Entities dialog closes and the contact appears in the contacts list in the service request details.

The contact is added to the service request.

Closing service requests

You can close a service request in the Service Requests workspace.

To close a service request:

1. Navigate to the Service Requests workspace.
2. In the service request's banner, click the Close button .
   The Close Service Request dialog opens.

3. In the Stage drop-down, select Closed .

   The service request must have a status of Open in order to change the stage to Closed.

   A message displays asking if you would like to set a first response time. If you click Yes , the First Response Time fields are updated with the resolution time.

4. In the Resolution Comment field, enter text that describes how you resolved the service request.
5. Click OK .

The service request is closed.

You can reopen a closed service request by selecting it and clicking the Reopen button .

Sending emails to contacts for service requests

Send emails to deliver personalized emails and documents to a contact in NexJ CRM .

You can include multiple Microsoft Word, PDF, and CSV documents in emails. You can use tokens in merge fields to personalize documents and emails so that you do not need to create unique versions of each for individual recipients. Documents created outside of NexJ CRM containing merge fields are populated during batch processes or when they are associated with a contact.

For more information about using NexJ CRM merge fields in a Microsoft Word document, see Using merge fields.

To send an email:

1. Navigate to the Service Requests workspace.
2. In the service requests list, select the service request with a contact that you want to email.
3. Click the Action button  for the selected service request and select Email .
   The Email Service Request dialog opens.
4. [Optional] In the Subject field, enter the email subject. By default, the Subject field is populated with the service request number, contact name, service request type, and date. You can change the information in the field.

5. In the Body field, enter the text for your email.

   You can use the toolbar at the top of the Body field to format the text as rich text with styles such as bolding, italics, bullet points, and hyperlinks. You can also copy and paste formatted text into the field. You also can click the Image button in the toolbar and upload images from your computer to use in email signatures. The images cannot exceed 2MB in size. The images must be in JPG, JPEG, or PNG format. To specify additional image settings, navigate to the Advanced tab. For example, you can specify the size of an image and its alignment.

6. [Optional] To insert a merge field into the Body field, click Merge Fields and select the required merge field from the list. For example, the ${firstName} merge field personalizes the email with the recipient's first name.

7. [Optional] To add your email signature, select Include Email Signature . To modify your email signature, click Manage Email Signature .

   You can create an email signature from the User Preferences dialog.

8. Adding attachments to emails overwrites the subject and body text that you may have entered in the Subject and Body fields. To specify attachments to include in the email:
   1. In the Files field, click the Select button . You can choose from the following options:
      Favorites > Manage Favorites
      Opens the Manage Favourite Documents dialog where you can select attachments.
      Select from Document Manager
      Opens the Select from Document Manager dialog where you can select attachments stored in the Document Manager.
      Select from Computer
      Opens the Select from Computer dialog where you can browse for attachments stored on your computer and select the required attachments.

   2. Select the document to include attachments for in the email.

      Selecting a document includes all of its attachments.

   3. Click OK .
9. In the Logging Options and Touches tab, select Create a journal entry for each recipient with personalized copies of the specified document to create a journal entry on the Activities tab for the selected contact. This checkbox is selected by default.
10. In the Log Item Description field, enter the name that you want to use for logging the record.
11. [Optional] Select the Add Subject checkbox to append the subject of the email to the log item description. You can choose to clear the checkbox.
12. Select an item in the Priority drop-down to categorize the email record.
13. [Optional] You can choose to attach a related campaign, opportunity, product, or service request. The Related Service Request field displays the contact name, service request type, and date.
14. [Optional] In the Follow-ups tab, you can choose to add a follow-up activity by selecting the Add drop-down and selecting an option.
    Assigning a follow-up activity adds a task to the assignee's My Tasks tab in the Home workspace. The system creates a task for the recipient of the email. If logging is enabled, the task is also included list with one task for the recipient, and it will appear with the email log in the contact's journal.
15. To send the email to the contact, click Send Email .
    A confirmation dialog opens that asks whether you want to send the email.
16. Click Yes .
    The confirmation dialog closes.

The email and attached documents are personalized and sent to the specified contact. If an error occurs, an alarm dialog displays that tells you what caused the error and what to do next.