Special Functions

Field Name

Special Functions

Phone # field

This field stores the requester's phone number. Search functions will be disabled if this field is not populated.

Note: All phone numbers must be entered in the same standard format (123 - 4567) for the software's search functions to properly work.

Search for Customers by Phone # Option

• If this option is set at “Yes,” in  Work Options, the system will use the Phone # field to check for duplicate requests or customers.
• If this option is set at "No," in Work Options, the system will not automatically use the Phone # field to check for duplicate requests or contacts; However, you can still activate these search functions by hitting F7 and/or F8 while in the Phone # field.

Here's how it works: When a customer calls in, enter their phone number in the Phone # field. Upon losing focus from the Phone # field (i.e. your cursor leaves the field), the system first searches for existing requests with that same phone number. If a match exists, a window will appear listing the matching request(s).

Before selecting a request, consider the following requirements:

• The location of the problem must match that of the pre-existing request.
• The complaint or problem must match that of the pre-existing request.
• The pre-existing request must be in an active status. It cannot be marked 'completed'.

If all three of these requirements are met, you can select a pre-existing request. Note: Upon selecting the request, you should use the Requester tab to document the current call. By doing this you are not creating a new request, but adding a new requester to the pre-existing request.

If all three of the requirements above are not met, ignore the prompt and close the Existing Requests window.

• Now the system will search for existing contacts in the Customer Contact module with that same phone number.
• If a match exists, the contact information for that customer will be auto-populated into the request.

Note: This is still considered a NEW request even though the customer data was auto-populated.

• If more than one match exists, a window will appear listing all the matching customer names and addresses. From here you can select the correct customer, and the contact information for that customer will be auto-populated into the request.

If you do not wish to select any of the matching contacts, ignore the prompt and close the Existing Customers window. Continue creating the new request.

Name Fields

Search for Customers by Contact Option

• If this option is set at “Yes,” in  Work Options, the system will use the Name field to check for duplicate requests or contacts.
• If this option is set at "No," in Work Options, the system will not perform any search functions based on the customer name.

Here's how it works: When a customer calls in, enter their phone # and a first and last name in the Name fields. Upon losing focus from the Name fields (i.e. your cursor leaves the field), the system will first search for existing requests with that same customer name. Then it will search for existing contacts in the Customer Contact module with that same name.

Note: This option works exactly the same as the Search for Customers by Phone # option described above, except this search is based on the customer's name rather than phone number. See the description above for further details.