CHANNEL SUPPORT HANDBOOK (TIER 1 / TIER 2) - CALIFORNIA

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Scope and Applicability
2. Roles and RACI
3. Severity Definitions
4. Case Intake and Escalation
5. Response and Resolution Targets
6. Knowledge Base and Training
7. Tooling and Access
8. Reporting and Reviews
9. Customer Communications Standards
10. Changes to Handbook
11. Governing Law and Forum

1. SCOPE AND APPLICABILITY

• Applies to support provided to end customers by Partner (Tier 1) and Provider (Tier 2/3) under the Channel or Reseller Agreement.
• Aligns with SLA/Support Policy; does not expand remedies beyond those agreements.

2. ROLES AND RACI

• Tier 1 (Partner): intake, basic troubleshooting, environment checks, reproducing issues, user or account questions, How-To guidance, applying documented fixes.
• Tier 2/3 (Provider): product defects, configuration defects, backend issues, data repair, escalated diagnostics, patching.
• RACI matrix: [Insert table with Responsible/Accountable/Consulted/Informed per task].

3. SEVERITY DEFINITIONS

• Sev 1: Production down or critical with no workaround.
• Sev 2: Major degradation or key feature impaired; workaround possible but significant impact.
• Sev 3: Limited impact; workaround available.
• Sev 4: Questions, cosmetic, or enhancement.

4. CASE INTAKE AND ESCALATION

• Partner collects required metadata (customer, environment, steps to reproduce, logs or screenshots, timestamps, severity, business impact).
• Escalation triggers: Sev 1/2, security or privacy events, data integrity issues, repeated failures.
• Escalation path and contacts for Provider; after-hours process for Sev 1/2.
• Security or privacy events: preserve evidence, use secure channels, and follow incident response and notification procedures under the Agreement and applicable law.

5. RESPONSE AND RESOLUTION TARGETS

• Tier 1 Response: [e.g., within 1 business hour for Sev1/2; 4 hours for Sev3; 1 day for Sev4].
• Tier 2 Response (after escalation): [e.g., 30-60 minutes for Sev1; 2-4 business hours for Sev2; 1 business day for Sev3/4].
• Resolution or workaround targets align with Support Policy; SLA credits per Provider's SLA (not Partner's commitments).

6. KNOWLEDGE BASE AND TRAINING

• Provider supplies KB articles and release notes; Partner maintains front-line scripts and triage guides.
• Training: initial certification for Partner support staff; refreshers [quarterly/bi-annually]; new release briefings.

7. TOOLING AND ACCESS

• Ticketing system [Name/Access method]; required fields and severity tagging; visibility rules.
• Diagnostic or log access provided to Partner as appropriate; secure channels for sensitive data.

8. REPORTING AND REVIEWS

• Metrics: ticket volume, SLA adherence, escalation rate, reopen rate, CSAT, time-to-resolution.
• Review cadence: [monthly/quarterly] joint ops review; action items tracked to closure.

9. CUSTOMER COMMUNICATIONS STANDARDS

• Response templates and tone guidelines; status update cadence by severity; expectation setting on ETAs and workarounds.
• Incident communications from Provider for Sev 1/2; Partner relays to customers promptly.

10. CHANGES TO HANDBOOK

• Provider may update with [30] days' notice; material changes require mutual agreement if they increase Partner obligations materially.

11. GOVERNING LAW AND FORUM

• This Handbook is part of the Agreement. The Agreement's governing law and forum provisions control.
• If the Agreement is silent, this Handbook is governed by California law, without regard to conflict-of-law rules, and the state and federal courts located in [COUNTY], California have exclusive jurisdiction.