Entitlements
What is an Entitlement?
An entitlement defines what support services a customer is eligible for based on their contract, subscription, or warranty. Entitlements control SLA levels, support channels, and service availability.
Entitlement Types
1. Standard Warranty
- Coverage: 1 year from device purchase
- Services: Defect repair, replacement for hardware failures
- Exclusions: Accidental damage, water damage, lost/stolen
- Example: Customer bought iPhone in Jan 2024 → Covered until Jan 2025
2. Extended Warranty
- Coverage: 2-3 years (purchased separately)
- Services: All standard warranty + accidental damage (2 incidents/year)
- Cost: $99/year for smartphones
3. Premium Support Plans
- Coverage: Ongoing (as long as subscription active)
- Services: 24/7 phone support, priority SRs, device upgrades every 2 years
- Cost: $15/month per line
- Example: "TelecomCo Premium Care" subscription
4. Enterprise Service Contracts
- Coverage: Custom negotiated (e.g., 500 lines for 3 years)
- Services: Dedicated account team, on-site support, guaranteed uptime (99.9% SLA)
- Cost: $50K/year
Entitlement Verification
When Customer Requests Support:
- Check Product: Is device still under warranty? (Purchase date: Jan 2024, Current: Nov 2024 → Yes, covered)
- Check Coverage: What's included? (Standard warranty = Defects only, no accidents)
- Check Entitlement Status: Active or Expired? (Contract end date: Dec 2025 → Active)
- Approve/Deny Service: "Your repair is covered under warranty at no charge"
Entitlement Rules
Service Channels by Tier
- Basic (No entitlement): Self-service portal only, community forums
- Standard (Active account): Email support (24-hour response), phone (business hours)
- Premium (Paid plan): 24/7 phone, live chat, priority queue
- Enterprise (Contract): Dedicated hotline, on-site visits, custom SLAs
Incident Limits
- Standard Warranty: Unlimited defect repairs, but no accident coverage
- Extended Warranty: 2 accidental damage claims per year (3rd claim = customer pays)
- Premium Support: Unlimited SR submissions
Entitlement Expiration Handling
Automatic Notifications
- 30 days before expiration: Email "Your warranty expires soon. Renew now for $99/year"
- Expiration day: "Your warranty has expired. Repairs now cost $149"
- When expired SR submitted: "Your warranty expired on Dec 1. Would you like to purchase a repair for $199?"
Grace Period
- Some contracts allow 7-day grace period after expiration
- Example: Warranty expired Dec 1, customer submits SR Dec 5 → Still honored
Entitlement Hierarchy
Example: Enterprise Account with Multiple Entitlements
- Account-Level: "HealthCorp" has Enterprise Support Contract (500 lines, 24/7 support, 99.9% uptime SLA)
- Product-Level: 100 iPhones have Extended Warranty (accidental damage covered)
- User-Level: Executive users (10 people) have VIP support (15-min response SLA)
- Rule: System checks most specific entitlement first (User → Product → Account)
Example: Entitlement Check Scenario
- Customer: Jane from HealthCorp calls: "Dropped my iPhone, screen cracked"
- Agent checks entitlements:
- HealthCorp account → Enterprise contract (Active)
- iPhone serial #ABC123 → Extended Warranty (Active, purchased Oct 2023, expires Oct 2026)
- Warranty covers accidental damage (2 incidents/year used: 0)
- Agent: "You're covered! We'll ship a replacement today at no charge. That's incident 1 of 2 for this year."
- System: Creates SR, ships replacement, updates entitlement (1 incident used)