Instructions on Filling Out OSSR (On-Site Service Report) Form

1. Indicate total hours worked. Please be very accurate with time. Try to enter the time as close to the actual time as possible. If you think of it decimally, ten minutes is .17 hrs, 15 minutes is .25 hrs, etc. So either “2.17 hours” or “2 hours, 10 minutes” is fine.  “Around two hours” is not acceptable.  
2. The time recorded on the OSSR form must always be the actual amount of time you worked. While we appreciate your integrity, please do not write down less time because you feel the job should have taken less time. If the client brings up an issue with the amount of time the job took, you can notate that in the “Notes” section of the form (see below) and explain to the client that you will let Roberta know.  ONLY Roberta is authorized to discount/negotiate/discuss billable hours. The tech must NEVER bring this issue up to the client. If the client brings it up, the tech should say, “I will notate it on the form and Roberta will contact you to discuss it. I’m not authorized to make decisions about charges.” Violations of this policy are taken EXTREMELY seriously. If you feel client should not be charged for the full time, please discuss it confidentially with Roberta after the fact. 
3. If the client kept you waiting or is late, that is billable time. Assuming you arrive within the window of time scheduled with the client, THAT is always your start time, even if the client is late and you are waiting for them. So if you are scheduled to arrive between 9 and 10 and you arrive at 9:15, that is your start time, even if the client arrives at 9:30. 
   
4. The TOTAL HOURS WORKED should reflect the whole time you were onsite, minus any voluntary breaks you took for lunch, etc. So in the above example, if you work until 12:15 without a break, the TOTAL HOURS WORKED should say 3 hours, even if the client arrived later, so you actually worked less. Of course, if you are late, or if you arrive before the appointed time, these rules do not apply. But if you are on time then the client is responsible for paying for the time you were there. 
   
5. Please note on the form the reason for any discrepancies between start/end times and total hours. For example:
   

Start 9:15 End 12:30   Total hours worked: 3 (15 min lunch break)

6. In the SOFTWARE/HARDWARE box, enter item and price for any items sold to client that were not noted before the visit. (E.g., perhaps the job required additional cables that you had on hand and the customer agreed to purchase.) Please put the retail (marked up) price on the OSSR Form. 
   

(Note: If you go to the store while still on the job (the client must authorize this as the time is billable) to buy something needed to complete the job, then you will be reimbursed for your expense (assuming you don't use a GGIT credit card), but there will be no markup. In this case put the price you paid on the OSSR form before the client signs so they are aware that they will be billed for the item.)  

7. Do not write everything you did in the Notes section. Only use this space if there is something that may cause the client to feel dissatisfied, or justified in not paying the bill, or if a job was incomplete for some reason, or there are other caveats. Examples of things to note in the Note section:
   

• You are unable to complete the work due to circumstance beyond your control. 
  
• The work takes much longer than expected due to circumstance beyond your control (for example, failing equipment, users can’t stop working, vendor support not satisfactory or available).
  
• A device was running slowly or failing and this added unexpected time to the job
  
• A fix you made may not hold and a permanent solution is beyond our control. For example, “reset wireless router, but explained to client that router is 10 years old and may fail again. Advised client to buy new router. Client declined.” 
  
• The client leaves before the job is completed and cannot stay for testing, or asks you to leave prematurely because s/he’s in a hurry. For example, “Client was in a hurry so we did not reboot computer to test changes despite tech’s insistence that this was critical to confirming fix.” 
  
• Work could not be completed because additional parts need to be ordered or a return visit must be arranged through no fault of the tech. E.g., “Ordered RAM – client will call when RAM arrives so installation can be arranged.” 
  

This is also the area to make note of issues with legacy devices (such as unsupported scanners, outdated software, trouble with updates, etc.) 

This list is NOT exhaustive. This is the CYA section of the form, so CYA!

After you leave the premises

As soon as possible, and in any case within 24 hours of completion of the assignment, please submit your time entry in AutoTask. The purpose of the time entry is (1) to document time spent on assignments, (2) to help us decide what to bill the customer for, and (3) to have a record of the technical work that was done and (4) to justify the charges to the customer. The time entry appears on the customer invoice. So it is important to have as much detail as possible in the time entry.

1. Specifics about the work performed. Be specific about the items that were accomplished and use proper punctuation and spelling as this info will be sent to the client after editing. For example:
   

or 

1. Ex. 2: “Resolved PC shut-down issue caused by mice in tower. Removed mice. Answered several questions about potential effect of mouse droppings in tower and other items.” 
   

or 

1. Ex. 3: “Physically set up new PC and monitor. Dismantle old PC and remove wires. Remove old hard drive, change permissions and transfer files. Install java, flash. Download and install Epson printer software. Download Norton Internet security after resetting Norton account password info. Connect previously configured wifi router in office and set DNS servers to opendns. ITunes - download and install. Confirm playlists. Install further Win updates. Enable Solitaire in Windows Features. Move click-free backups to internal HD to make space for win backups. Open Picasa after completion of pic and video transfer. Pictures are importing and seem ordered by date of event.”
   

As a rule of thumb, the longer the job, the longer the time report should be. 

2. Upload your signed OSSR and any other paperwork to the ticket as an attachment. Save the hard copy. 
   

Please document any passwords or encryption keys you created for the client in the proper fields in IT Glue. (Note: for clarity, DO NOT use blank spaces in user names or encryption keys even if you can.) 

4.  If follow-up is needed, add an internal  note to the ticket (make sure office admin receives it) and set status accordingly. Generally the office admin will follow up if follow-up is needed. Do not promise to follow up with the client directly either by phone or by email. 
   

Off-Site (Remote) Procedures

For remote work or phone consultations, no OSSR form is necessary. Please follow the procedures above for submitting details of the work that was done including an accurate accounting of the time worked. 

When you complete a remote support session, it is very important to leave things the way you found them. Any windows or programs you open should be closed to avoid confusion unless you are not finished with something and need to leave it open. If the computer was locked or the user was logged out when you remoted in, please leave it the same way. If you logged in as an admin, log out of the admin account and set the welcome screen so it is obvious to the user how to log back into their own account even if they are not knowledgeable.  On a server, close any windows you opened while working and log out of or lock the server. 

Generally, the client will call the office at the scheduled time.  If they do not, please do not remote into their machine unless they have given us advance permission to do so without being on the phone.

Additional Policies and Procedures

Documentation 

Particularly if you are troubleshooting an issue that may arise again (for the same customer or a different customer) and you discover a solution that could be valuable in the future, please document the details of the solution. For example, you might note steps you took to resolve the issue, or a URL of the solution if you found it online. You may want to create a KB article in AutoTask. 

Policy on Tech-Client Contact

Please do not give your personal email address to clients. For testing purposes please use your nygeekgirls.com address. No client should ever under any circumstances have your personal email address.

Do not give out your personal phone number to the client. Do not give out your extension. Only give out the general GGIT number. If the client gets your personal number somehow, and calls, please tell them they must call the GGIT office directly to discuss any issues or schedule an appointment. 

If the client contacts you directly, refer them to the office admin to schedule an appointment (unless you have received permission specific to this ticket). Equally important, do not tell the client you are too busy or cannot accommodate him/her. The office admin will accommodate the client as appropriate. 

Do NOT tell the client that we will be doing any particular follow-up work such as another visit or a remote session. Only the office is authorized to make promises to the client and/or manage client expectations.

By keeping contact as centralized as possible, our goal is to provide a consistent and professional experience for the client, as well as to streamline and track any service issues that need to be addressed. 

Policy on Consistency of Advice Regarding Security Software 

For residential customers or very small business customers (under four users) please recommend Bit Defender. 

For our RMM residential customers, antivirus (WR or EDR) is included in their subscription. 

For business customers with a server we provide Webroot Managed Anti-Virus as part of our managed services offering. Client can contact the office to discuss. 

Policy on Work Outside the Scope of the Assignment

Major operating system updates and other major changes should not be implemented without consulting the Office first unless they have been assigned to you as part of the job. 

Installing a major update (for example Win 10 to 11 or Mavericks to Yosemite), should not be done unless this work has been scheduled in advance as part of the job. Do not perform this type of work without receiving approval from the Office first. If the client makes the request, you should call the Office to discuss. If you can’t reach us for some reason then do not proceed. 

Policy on Recommending Hardware

There is a fine line between a helpful recommendation and drawing a client’s ire when a recommendation doesn’t work out the way the client expected. Therefore, when a client asked for guidance in making a purchase, the following guidelines should be followed: 

NEVER advise a client to switch from a PC to a Mac or vice versa.

While this may be good advice for many clients, it’s a huge responsibility to suggest this and one which may not work out for all clients. We do not want the client to blame us for a $1000 (or more) mistake. (This is based on actual experience.) Please feel free to recommend this blog post to clients who are considering switching: http://www.nygeekgirls.com/89/m
ac-or-pc/ with the caveat that it's a decade old, so that they can make the decision for themselves. 

It is acceptable to recommend a brand of printer or other hardware where the user experience is essentially the same across devices. 

Generally, the principle is to present the customer with options, not to tell the customer what to do. 

Summary of On-site Procedures

Here is a summary of the procedures discussed above. This section is intended to serve as a quick reminder of all the steps involved in a properly completed on-site visit. It is NOT a substitute for reading and becoming familiar with the details above. You are expected to comply with all procedures outlined above every time you go on-site.

1. Introduce yourself politely.
   
2. Begin work. Keep within the scope of the ticket and only work on devices we have been authorized to work on by the customer. 
   
3. Finish work.
   
4. Replace cables, hardware if needed.
   
5. Test, reboot, test; CYA. 
   
6. Form 3 - On-Site Service Report signing – DO NOT OFFER OR PROMISE A DISCOUNT.
   
7. Document everything for Managed Services. 
   
8. ASAP, complete AT time entry.
   
9. Save original (white copy) of OSSR and hand in to office admin.