Customers on service requestsThe customer associated with a service request in the Service Requests (SP) application determines the classifications, attributes of classifications, assets, locations, and configuration items (CIs) that are processed with the service request. The customer also determines users who can see the service request record.
When you create customer records, you create detailed agreement and pricing information for the customer and the services that you expect to provide. By associating customers with service requests, you can provide the appropriate response to the customer at the specified location, for the specified assets, and with the specified configuration items. You keep the service request actions limited to the appropriate records based on customer filtering. You associate customers with assets, locations, and CIs in the Assets (SP), Locations (SP), and Configuration Items (SP) applications.
When you associate customers with service requests, you also can keep the service request records restricted to the users who have permission to access the data of a particular customer. You associate customers with users in the Security Groups (SP) application.
When you create a service request, information about the primary customer on the location, asset, or CI is copied over copied to the service request. The combination of location, asset, and customer on the service request is used to determine the best matches when a service desk agent or workflow process searches for service level agreements, price schedules and response plans.
You can create a service request for a location, asset, or configuration item, These items must be associated with an active customer in order for the customer information to be copied to the service request. The lowest level of these items on a service request determines the customer on the service request, as follows:
If the service request has a CI that is associated with a customer, then the primary customer of the CI is applied to the service request.
If the service request does not have a CI, or the CI is not associated with a customer, and the service request has an asset associated with a customer, then the primary customer of the asset is applied to the service request.
If the service request does not have a CI that is associated with a customer or an asset that is associated with a customer, but has a location that is associated with a customer, then the primary customer of the location is applied to the service request.
If the service request does not have a CI, asset, or location that is associated with a customer, then you can add a customer directly in the Customer field.
The customer on the service request also determines the classifications, and attributes of classifications, that the service request can process. All service requests can use global classifications and global attributes. When you want to use customer-specific classifications or customer-specific attributes, the customer on the service request (or parent of the customer) must match the customer on the classification or attribute.
A service request can be created when a user selects Yes to the Did this solution help you resolve your issue? question in the Search Solutions application. The customer on the service request is the value in the Customer/Vendor field on the person record, if the Cust/Vend Type field is set to Customer and the customer is active. Otherwise, the Customer field on the service request is blank.
Adding, changing, or removing a customer on a service request can affect the classification and attributes of the service request when the service request is classified. The classification or one or more attributes might no longer be relevant to the new customer, and the classification might have attributes that are now relevant to the new customer. However, classifications and attributes are never automatically removed from or added to a service request when you change a customer association. You change the customer on a service request by changing the value in the customer field directly, or by changing the location, asset, or CI that determines the customer on the service request. If you do so, you should first remove any classifications from the service request, and then re-apply the appropriate classifications after the new customer is selected.
You can apply a customer agreement or price schedule to a service request if the service request has an active, customer associated with it.
If the customer on the service request is derived from an asset or location, the cost center and customer charge account from the asset or location are copied to the service request.