SUPPORT CONTRACT and PROFESSIONAL SERVICES GUIDELINES
Getting Assistance When You Need It!
When you experience problems with your RightFax server or need to upgrade, you want the peace of mind that comes from knowing you have an active support contract or access to Professional Services with the RightFax experts! The Fax Guys are ready to assist you! You can be confident that we will address your needs quickly and professionally.
This support guide will give you a brief look into our Support and Services model and be a quick reference for you to get help when you need it. Our goal is to effectively resolve issues with minimal down-time for our valued customers.
The Fax Guys Technical Team
Our technical team consists of highly experienced engineers who boast a collective total of 100+ years’ experience troubleshooting and maintaining RightFax. Some of these engineers provide HelpDesk and 24×7 support, while others are scheduled for installations and upgrades.
Our HelpDesk Engineers manage all requests received through our online Customer Support Portal Monday through Friday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm. These engineers prioritize tickets as they come in. Priority is based on the priority set by the customer when entering the ticket AND by reviewing the brief description to determine how the issue is affecting production. All tickets determined to have the same priority (urgency level) will be handled on a first come, first served, basis. The engineers work the tickets using a variety of resources, and promptly return emails and calls. They will also retrieve voice mails left on our tech line. Our HelpDesk engineers also work a rotating after-hours schedule in order to assist customers with 24×7 support contracts who experience critical production issues after hours.
Our Installation Engineers handle all the projects, installations, migrations, and patches as Professional Services for our customers. Installation engineers also serve as an escalation resource for our HelpDesk engineers. Installation engineers generally do not handle support tickets or work 24×7 support issues. To request an install, migration, or other project, please contact your Account Manager for a quote. Once the quote has been accepted, our Project Manager will work with you to schedule the project.
FAQ About Using the Customer Portal and HelpDesk Support
How do I open a Support ticket to request service?
The fastest, most efficient method is to request service at our support portal:
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Type in your user name (email address) and password
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Click “Submit a Request” in the upper right hand corner
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Complete the request – please pay attention to the Priority, Brief Description and Detailed
Description fields. Additionally, you can attach documents (screen shots, error logs, etc.) here.
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Click SUBMIT
Another option is to email a request directly to the portal at support@thefaxguysot.wpengine.com. Note however, that emailing a request should only be for Medium and Low priority tickets as you are unable to set the priority of an emailed ticket. For all Urgent matters, please use the normal portal instructions above.
Some customers still prefer to ‘call’ for support. While we do have a technical help line, it is the least effective manner of getting your request in front of an engineer. If our engineers are already assisting other customers, this help line will not be answered. Voice messages left on the help line will generate a ticket. However, since the ticket only show us the phone number you called from, our response will be delayed, as we have to look up your account manually.
In summary, the most effective method to request service is using the portal as outlined in the five steps above. Tickets may be submitted 24 hours a day. However, see hours of operation below for call back expectations.
What are the hours of operation for HelpDesk support?
- 8:00 am – 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday for all contiguous U.S. states
What if I forgot my Portal password?
At the ‘Sign-in’ page, click “Forgot my password”. You will be asked to enter your email address and submit. An email with a link will be sent to you to change your password.
Who has access to the Portal to submit a Support request?
Only ‘authorized personnel’ listed on your Customer Account will be permitted to open a support ticket. These personnel should be RightFax Administrators at your company.
What should a RightFax Administrator be able to do?
A RightFax Administrator should be able to log into your RightFax Server using a RightFax Service Account. They should also have local Administrator access and have knowledge of all other servers, applications and devices (names and I.P. addresses) that RightFax integrates with.
Can we set up normal end users to be RightFax Administrators?
This is not encouraged. End users typically do not have the access and permissions necessary within your company to access your servers, etc. The person(s) at your organization who requests support from The Fax Guys must have basic knowledge of RightFax administration as well as access to your servers, etc.
How do I get on the ‘authorized personnel’ list?
Have the primary RightFax contact at your office send an email to portal@thefaxguysot.wpengine.com with your name, contact number, and your email address. We will set up access for you (typically on the same business day).
What if I don’t know who our primary contact is, or he/she is out of the office and I still need access to the Customer Portal?
Email portal@thefaxguysot.wpengine.com and request “temporary access”. Please include your name, contact number and your email address. We will provide you portal access temporarily and request confirmation of your access as an authorized user from the primary contact at your organization.
Once I submit a ticket, when can I expect a call back?
Our goal is to assign incoming tickets to an engineer within the first 30 minutes. Callbacks are expected based on the priority and severity of the issue. Typically, a “medium” priority that is not production affecting will receive a callback within two hours. Obviously, down systems and urgent issues affecting production will be given top priority.
When submitting a ticket via the portal, it is asking me to set the priority of the ticket, what do the different priorities mean? Medium is the default and is considered ‘normal’ for all support tickets. We offer three other priorities below for issues other than normal support.
- Urgent – Inbound and/or outbound faxing on a production server has stopped.
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High – Production fax server is functioning with limited capabilities or is unstable with periodic interruptions.
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Medium – This is the default for all normal support tickets for issues that are not described in the other priorities.
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Low – This priority would be for general questions, how-to’s, and documentation requests. There would be no impact on production usage to customer’s operations.
What if our server goes down during normal business hours and I need faster service?
During normal business hours, opening a ticket through the Customer Portal will serve as the fastest way to request service. Indicate in the Brief Description field that your server is “down”, and set the priority of the ticket to ‘Urgent’. Our HelpDesk engineers see all tickets that are opened, even when assisting other customers. Customers with critical issues affecting production will be prioritized to the top of the list. If your production environment is down, you can expect a callback within 30 minutes.
What is the fastest method to request service?
During normal business hours, Monday through Friday; opening a ticket at the Customer Portal will always serve as the fastest way to request service. The Portal also allows you to document and articulate clearly the question or issue you are experiencing. Every ticket opened at the Portal goes directly to the dashboard of the engineers, where they are able to preview tickets even while assisting other customers. As mentioned earlier in this documentation, if you choose to call the HelpDesk and our engineers are currently on the phone, you will need to leave a voice message. When you do this, our engineers cannot ‘preview’ your ticket to determine if the issue is critical or not.
Do you have a HelpDesk phone number?
Yes. You can call 952-252-3620 which rings our Tech Line. Please note that since our engineers are often already on the phone assisting other customers, your call may go directly to voice mail. See above for “fastest method to request service” for more details.
24x7x365 Support
If you have a 24×7 support contract with us, and you have an emergency affecting your production server, we have two options for you to request support after hours, 365 days a year.
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All 24×7 support contract customers receive a private phone number to call. Please dial this number and leave a voice mail with your Company name, contact information, call back number and the production affecting issue you are experiencing. Our voice mail system will reach out to the on call engineer and you can expect a call back promptly.
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Your account has already been flagged as 24×7 customer, so you may also go to the portal and open a ticket. To activate your 24×7 request, you must change the priority of your ticket to ‘Urgent’. Our ticketing system will then reach out to the on call engineer and you can expect a call back promptly. Please note if you do not change the priority of your ticket to Urgent, you will not activate your 24×7 support and your request will not be seen until 8:00 am the next business day. Also note that emailing a ticket will not activate your 24×7 support as well.
It is important to note that the 24×7 Emergency Support should only be used when experiencing critical, production-affecting issues and should not be used for normal support issues, maintenance-related support, or support related to installs or upgrades, etc.
What if our server goes down after normal business hours?
If your server goes down after 5:00 pm, and you have a 24×7 support contract, please call the hotline number you were given, or go to the portal and open a ticket with an ‘URGENT’ priority, as instructed above. Again, DO NOT email a ticket.
What if our server goes down after hours and we are not a 24×7 customer?
Please open a Service Order ticket at the Customer Portal and a HelpDesk engineer will call you back ASAP the next business day.
Does our 24×7 support contract cover assistance with installations, upgrades, or patches on nights and weekends?
No. Your 24×7 support contract is for issues affecting production on your RightFax server. Our Installation engineers are not on call to handle 24×7 calls on nights and weekends. Our Installation engineers will work nights and weekends for customers on an appointment basis only. Speak with your Account Manager for a quote before scheduling an Installation engineer for professional services.
What if we want an Engineer “on-call” after hours? Is there a cost for this?
We are more than happy to schedule an engineer to be on-call for you should you have questions for issues that arise after hours, but yes, there is an associated cost. If you require an engineer on-call after hours, please contact your Account Manager for a quote before checking on availability and scheduling an appointment.
If we choose to perform our own installation or upgrade and then need assistance, can we use the Customer Portal?
Yes, you may. Please note, however, that our HelpDesk engineers will only perform best effort to answer your questions and then allow you to continue your installation or upgrade. Also, when working with the HelpDesk, questions will be answered based on a first come, first served basis as well as priority. If you require one of our engineers to log into your system and take over the installation, you will be directed to your Account Manager who will provide you with a quote for the cost of doing this.
Do you encourage customers to perform their own Installations and Upgrades?
No. Installing and upgrading your RightFax server can be challenging. Unless you do this type of thing every day, most of our customers find this to be very tricky. Our Installation engineers perform installs and upgrades multiple times each week. With over 1,000 installations under our belt, our engineers are the best at what they do.
Professional Services
What is the process for requesting Professional Services?
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Request a quote from your Account Manager.
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Sign the quote and return it with a Purchase Order.
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After receiving your PO, our Project Manager will contact you to set up an overview meeting.
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At the overview meeting, we will discuss the project, gather information necessary to complete the Statement of Work, and schedule the day professional services are needed.
Will someone be dedicated to my project when we purchase professional services?
Yes! When you purchase professional services, we dedicate time for our Installation engineers to complete the tasks associated with your install or upgrade. You will have direct access to your Installation engineer until the completion of the project. Further questions or issues will be addressed by our HelpDesk team.
How can I tell if an issue is support related and covered under our support contract OR if it is considered professional services which would incur an additional fee?
Your Support contract includes free software upgrades, service releases, and patches. You are also entitled to submit unlimited support tickets at our Customer Portal. We also offer a wide variety of professional services not covered on your support contact.
Some examples of items that fall under Professional Services are:
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On-site or remote installation of new RightFax server
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On-site or remote migration of existing RightFax on a new server
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On-site or remote upgrades of existing RightFax servers to a newer version of RightFax
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Applying patches or service releases
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Training, both online and at your site
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Health Checks
We value your business and look forward to working with you!
The Fax Guys are eager to be of assistance and want your experience with us to exceed your expectations.
If you have any questions regarding the information covered in this guide, please do not hesitate to contact your Account Manager. Specific questions relating to our Support Services can also be addressed by John Moore at jmoore@thefaxguysot.wpengine.com. Specific questions relating to Professional Services should be sent to Marty Stewart at mstewart@thefaxguysot.wpengine.com.
Thank you for your business!