Customer Care Policy

Purpose and Scope

This Customer Care Policy sets the standards, processes, and measurable commitments that govern how Example Corp serves customers across all products and services. It was last updated on 2025-07-01 and applies globally to direct customers, partners, and end users engaging with our support channels. The policy focuses on responsiveness, resolution quality, data protection, and fair remedies, with defined service-level targets and transparent reporting.

The policy covers pre-sale inquiries, onboarding, technical support, billing and account questions, complaints, and escalations. It applies to all support interactions conducted via phone, email, chat, web portal, and mail. Our care obligations extend to accessibility accommodations, language support, and emergency communications in the event of security incidents or material service disruptions.

Contact Channels and Availability

Customers can reach us through multiple, monitored channels. Phone support is available at +1-555-0100 (voice) and +1-555-0102 (TTY) from Monday to Friday, 06:00–20:00 Pacific Time (PT). Email support is available at [email protected] with 24/7 intake and triage for critical issues. Chat is accessible inside the product and via support.example.com during the same phone hours, with after-hours handoff to on-call staff for Priority 1 (P1) incidents.

We accept postal correspondence at Customer Care, Example Corp, 1234 Market Street, Suite 800, Springfield, IL 62701, USA. Security-related incidents should be sent to [email protected]; these are monitored 24/7. Our self-service knowledge base and ticket portal are available at support.example.com, including status and maintenance notices. We currently provide support in English and Spanish; additional languages can be scheduled with 1–2 business days’ notice for planned engagements.

Observed holiday hours are posted at status.example.com/holidays at least 30 days in advance. During holidays, standard phone and chat hours may be reduced; P1 support remains 24/7 with on-call engineers and duty managers available at all times. Average wait times and queue lengths are published in real time on support.example.com/metrics.

Service Levels and Response/Resolution Targets

We classify cases by business impact: P1 (Critical: complete outage or safety/security issue), P2 (High: major functionality impaired with no workaround), P3 (Medium: partial impairment with workaround), and P4 (Low: general inquiry or cosmetic issue). All support tiers adhere to the following objectives; enhanced SLAs are available with Premium Care add-ons.

• P1 Critical: first response within 15 minutes (24/7), hourly updates, target workaround in 4 hours, target resolution in 24 hours. If breached, a service credit of 10% of the monthly subscription for the impacted service is issued upon request.
• P2 High: first response within 2 business hours, updates every 4 business hours, target resolution or documented plan in 2 business days. Breach credit: 5% of monthly subscription.
• P3 Medium: first response within 1 business day, weekly updates, target resolution in 10 business days or inclusion in the next scheduled release.
• P4 Low: first response within 2 business days, closure within 15 business days when feasible, or documented rationale if deferred.

Premium Care is available at $29 per user/month (min. 20 users) or $1,200 per account/month for enterprise coverage, reducing P2 responses to 1 business hour and P3 to 8 business hours, with named Customer Success Management. To claim credits for SLA breaches, submit the ticket ID and dates to [email protected] within 30 days of the incident. Credits apply to future invoices and cannot exceed 25% of the monthly fee for the affected service.

Training, Quality, and Accessibility

All frontline agents complete a 40-hour onboarding program covering product fundamentals, troubleshooting, security and privacy, accessibility, and de-escalation. Annual continuing education totals 12 hours minimum, including quarterly product release briefings and scenario-based labs. We use a knowledge-centered service (KCS) approach, with articles peer-reviewed within 3 business days and revalidated at least every 6 months.

Quality assurance includes weekly call calibrations across teams, with a minimum 5% interaction review rate per agent per month. Our quality scorecard evaluates accuracy, clarity, empathy, policy adherence, and accessibility accommodations. We target First Contact Resolution (FCR) of 75% for P3–P4 inquiries and Average Handle Time (AHT) under 6 minutes for standard billing/account calls without compromising resolution quality.

We commit to accessible service aligned with WCAG 2.1 AA for our help center. TTY is available at +1-555-0102, and live captioning can be arranged for scheduled video sessions with 1 business day’s notice. Upon request, we provide large-print or screen-reader-friendly versions of key documents within 2 business days. We will accommodate reasonable modifications unless doing so fundamentally alters the service or imposes undue burden, in which case we will propose an effective alternative.

Complaints, Escalation, and Remedies

If you are dissatisfied with an interaction or outcome, email [email protected] with your ticket ID. We acknowledge complaints within 1 business day, assign an owner, and aim to complete an investigation in 5 business days. Findings and any corrective actions are shared in writing; complex, cross-team issues may require additional time, in which case we provide interim updates every 3 business days.

• Tier 1: Frontline review and resolution attempt (same channel). If not resolved, request Tier 2.
• Tier 2: Specialist or team lead review within 1 business day; joint troubleshooting session offered within 2 business days.
• Duty Manager: For P1/P2 or unresolved Tier 2 cases, email [email protected] or call +1-555-0100 and request the duty manager; callback within 2 hours during business hours, 4 hours after hours.
• Director Review: For material or recurring issues, a Director of Support will conduct a root-cause review and propose a remediation plan within 7 business days.

Remedies may include rework, configuration assistance, training sessions at no charge, bill adjustments, credits, or refunds. For month-to-month subscriptions, refunds are available within 30 days of initial charge if we fail to deliver a functional remedy to a P2/P1 issue attributable to our service. Credits and refunds require account verification and may take 5–10 business days to appear, depending on your payment provider. We discourage chargebacks for active disputes, as they delay resolution; instead, use the escalation path above.

Data Protection and Confidentiality

We process support data under our Data Processing Addendum (DPA) posted at example.com/legal/dpa and adhere to applicable law, including the GDPR (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (Cal. Civ. Code §1798.100 et seq.). Support tickets, call recordings, and chat transcripts are retained for 24 months by default, then deleted or anonymized. Upon verified request to [email protected], we will delete support records within 30 days unless retention is required by law or to defend legal claims.

We obtain consent for call recording at the start of each call; payment card data must not be provided verbally or in tickets. If shared inadvertently, agents will immediately pause, redact, and purge the data. All support systems use TLS 1.2+ in transit and AES-256 at rest. Access is role-based, logged, and reviewed quarterly. We undergo annual independent audits aligned to SOC 2 controls, and material findings trigger corrective actions tracked to closure within 90 days.

Measurement, Feedback, and Continuous Improvement

We publish monthly support metrics at support.example.com/metrics by the 5th business day: case volume, CSAT, FCR, AHT, and SLA attainment. Our targets for 2025 are CSAT ≥ 92%, Net Promoter Score (NPS) ≥ +45, FCR ≥ 75% for P3–P4, and SLA attainment ≥ 95% across all severities. Variances exceeding 5 percentage points trigger a formal corrective action plan, reviewed by the Director of Support and reported to the executive team.

We run a Voice of Customer (VoC) program that sends post-interaction surveys within 24 hours and quarterly product surveys to a randomized 10% of active accounts (opt-out available). To encourage participation, we may offer a $10 digital gift card for completing longer surveys, capped at one incentive per account per quarter. Findings drive backlog prioritization, playbook updates, and knowledge base improvements; each change includes a measurable success criterion and a 30–60–90 day follow-up review.

Policy updates are versioned and posted at example.com/legal/customer-care. Material changes (e.g., SLA adjustments, remedy terms) are communicated via email to account owners at least 30 days in advance. Questions about this policy can be directed to [email protected] or mailed to the Springfield address above; we respond within 2 business days.

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