Customer Support Policies

Owned by Robert Lenk
Last updated: Apr 07, 2024 by Chris Barrett
7 min read

Mission

At Campus Cafe Customer Support we aim to:

  • Provide our customers with prompt, courteous, and fair resolutions to their issues.

  • Provide service in the most efficient and economical manner.

  • Ensure our customers are trained to fully utilize the features offered and use best practices to address situations and incidents as they arise.

  • Remain dedicated to providing customers with up-to-date information on our product and service offerings through our Knowledge Base, emails and periodic meetings.

About the Help Desk

The Help Desk serves customers with completed implementations. Customers in the implementation stage should contact their Campus Cafe implementation manager with questions.
 For customers, the Help Desk is available to support trained users and is intended to complement the Knowledge Base.

Tickets submitted for items not covered by the Help Desk (e.g. training of new staff, customizations and third-party software configuration) will be handled by our Sales Department.

Examples of items not covered under the Help Desk:

  • Configuration, training or consultation related to any third-party software. This includes software for which Campus Cafe provides integration points or APIs. These APIs, integrations, and related documentation are provided free as a courtesy to all customers. It is the responsibility of the customer to understand the functionality and documentation related to the third-party software. Any work done to configure or communicate with the third-party software is considered billable.

  • Training of new hires.

  • Configuration or training for modules or functions that are not completed during the implementation.

  • Global data updates.

  • Writing or answering questions about customized reports whether they are done with SQL, Excel, SSRS or other third-party tools. 

  • Working with customer hardware issues (includes desktop computers, laptops, printers, servers, etc.).

  • Assisting on-premise customers with non-initial installation of Campus Cafe software products or third-party products.

Help Desk ticket categories 

All tickets are categorized as follows:

  • General Support Case: Assisting trained users with questions and issue resolution. (Included under contract). 

  • Bug: An error in the software that prevents the platform from functioning. Requests for additional functionality are not bugs, rather customizations. (Bug fixes included under contract ). 

  • Training: Requests to explain in detail how the software functions or should be configured. Customers are provided a quote for training. (See our recommended pre-set training agendas.) Approved training will be scheduled based on mutually agreed upon time frames. The time frame will depend on the amount and complexity of training needed, but we will attempt to set up a schedule within two business weeks.

  • Customization (requests for functionality not already part of the system): Customers are initially provided a quote to implement the enhancement. Customizations approved as billable by the customer will generally be available within 1-3 monthly update cycles depending on the complexity of the request. If the customer does not choose to pay for the enhancement within 30 days of the request, the ticket may be considered for inclusion in a future release based on customer feedback, regulatory requirements and the complexity of enhancement.

  • Consulting is a request for issues not covered under the Help Desk. Customers are provided a quote for consulting. Consulting will be scheduled at a mutually agreeable time.

  • Request to globally update data: Customers will be provided a quote for the work to globally change or update data. The update will be scheduled based on consultant’s availability.

Help Desk ticket severity levels

The following severity levels shall be used to define the level of importance and commensurate effort necessary by Campus Cafe to remedy each individual request that is reported to Campus Caf’s Help Desk.

  • Severity Level 1 have caused the Services functionality to be totally inoperable. There is no way to work around the problem or there is a work around but the work around imposes a significant material burden or cost upon Client. Campus Cafe will respond within 1 hour of being notified either through system monitoring or submission of a service ticket by the Client. The response will include providing Client with information regarding the nature, scope, expected duration and plan of action to resolve the incident. The response may include notice by email message, teleconference, or other means. Campus Cafe will immediately and continuously work until a resolution suitable to Client is found and placed into productive use. Time is of the essence. Campus Cafe will correct the problem or install an effective work around that does not impose a material burden or cost upon Client within 1 business day of receiving notice from Client of the problem.

  • Severity Level 2 severely restrict Client’s ability to use the Services. The Services may be functioning, but at a level that does not allow normal daily activities using the Services to be completed in a timely manner. Campus Cafe will respond within 2 hours. Campus Cafe will immediately and continuously work until a resolution suitable to Client is found and placed into productive use. Time is of the essence. Campus Cafe will correct the problem or install an effective work around that does not impose a material burden or cost upon Client within 2 business days of receiving notice from Client of the problem.

  • Severity Level 3 are “nice to have” requests that have no impact on the daily operations. Campus Cafe will work with Client to resolve the issue over time.

Status calls

Our team is committed to ensuring that customers get optimal use of our software both for day-to-day operations and strategic issues. We offer status calls as a means of enhancing communication during the implementation and after go-live. The following is a schedule for status calls. 

  • Weekly status calls are typically included in the initial implementation. This will include the Campus Cafe Project Manager and the customer Project Manager and other staff as required for the call.

  • Biweekly status calls are typically included for 2-3 months after go live. This will include the Campus Cafe Project Manager and the customer Project Manager and other staff as required for the call.

  • After 90 days, a free courtesy status call is typically offered monthly for an additional 9 months after go live, provided that a decision maker from the institution is present on the call. Calls can be otherwise scheduled on a billable basis. Scheduled calls that are missed without notice will result in a ½ hour charge to the customer.

  • After 1 year, a free courtesy status call is typically offered every three months, provided that a decision maker from the institution is present on the call. Calls can be otherwise scheduled on a billable basis. Scheduled calls that are missed without notice will result in a ½ hour charge to the customer.

We encourage customers to create a budget for ongoing support and provide discounts for contracted services. Please contact us if you need additional details.

Connectivity to on-premise customer systems

Our goal is to have a uniform and inexpensive method to connect with our customer base. Supporting multiple third-party VPN clients adds significant cost and time to the support effort. The customer is responsible for creating secure and reasonable remote access to their system should VPN support become necessary.

As stated in the SCAN Information Security Policy, we are required by law, starting January 1, 2010, to connect to customer databases that contain Massachusetts residents’ private information through a secure, encrypted connection. Since this is considered best industry practice and to limit risk for both SCAN and the client, SCAN will require that each client institution be set up with a VPN infrastructure and to provide SCAN with the necessary client software for the VPN connection. If required, a username, password and any other pertinent information for us to remotely connect to your network to assist with issue resolution or consulting services.

We currently support the following VPN clients:

  • Sonicwall

  • Cisco

  • Microsoft

  • Juniper Pulse

Configuring other VPN software will be considered a billable service.

If Campus Cafe must install other 3rd party VPN clients, we will charge for the set up and configuration to assist our clients. Additionally, as problems arise requiring remote assistance, we will charge a minimum 1/2-hour connection fee, for non-supported 3rd party VPNs.

We will also charge a connection fee for other issues that impede our technical staff’s ability to connect and troubleshoot problems. These issues include:

  • Customer does not have correct ports open on their firewall or has restricted by other means such as IP address range.

  • Does not deliver correct username, password or other connection information to Campus Cafe.

  • Any other issue related to 3rd party VPN software that requires billable time to fix or properly configure a connection.

  • A call to the customer is required to gain access to the system.

Campus Cafe stores all customer connection information in a password protected, encrypted file system on our local file server. It is up to the customer to provide SCAN with up-to-date connection information for speedy issue resolution that requires us to connect to your infrastructure using a VPN connection.

Travel Policy

Customers will be required to reimburse Campus Cafe per the following Travel Policy

Per consultant:

  • If driving own vehicle: Mileage at Federal rate plus tolls and parking

  • Business class air fare

  • Airport Transportation

  • Car Rental- mid size (4-wheel drive if weather warrants) plus fuel, tolls, and parking

  • Overnight Stay – Single Room – Brand Name hotel – Marriott, Hilton, Hampton Inn etc.

  • Daily Per Diem depending on location (use federal guidelines)

  • If traveling on weekends, employees are compensated an additional cost as a travel stipend

  • Any consulting provided on weekends is billed at time and a half.

Hourly rates for consulting

Remote Campus Cafe consulting and on-site Campus Cafe consulting is quoted per request.

Customer will be billed for travel time to and from the customer location at the current consulting rate billed for the services.