Table of Contents:

Definition and Overview

1. An Environment without a Customer Care System

2. Develop or Buy

3. Needs of Consumers

4. Needs of Service Providers

5. Technology for Customer Care

6. Functional Requirements of a Customer Care System

7. Customer Service

8. Telemarketing

9. Repair

10. Implementation

Self-Test

Glossary

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Customer service is typically inbound (i.e., consumers call in and request a service). Most large telephone companies separate this function from telemarketing and repair. Consumers typically ask for the following:

• new service—When a consumer requests a new telecommunications service, the CSR enters customer information (if the customer is new) and service configuration information and then provides service information and orders the product. A customer care system implements this business procedure, guiding the CSR from one step to the next, providing service information, and automatically ordering the product.
• bill adjustment—When a consumer requests that some billing needs an adjustment (or, perhaps, a date extension of payment), the CSR must enter the reason for adjustment then enter the adjustment. A customer care system helps the CSR by providing easy access to billing information, allowing adjustments only on valid items and for valid reasons, and by checking the adjustment against the CSR adjustment limit. The customer care system also captures this event automatically and submits the adjustment request to the billing system.
• modification of service—When a consumer requests that a service be modified, the CSR must know about the service being modified, enter the modification, let the consumer know the pricing change (if any), and submit the order. A customer care system helps the CSR by providing product information, lets the CSR enter only the allowed modification, provides the pricing information, and automatically submits the order.
• discontinuation of service—When a consumer requests that a service be disabled or canceled, the CSR must verify the customer and service and then submit an order. A customer care system only presents the services that the consumer can cancel (or disable), captures the reason for discontinuation, optionally captures marketing information, and automatically submits the order.