What Is A Customer Service Record Or "csr"?
By Robert Potter, Fri Dec 9th
No telecommunications audit or cost-reduction study is completewithout a thorough review of local service records - commonlyreferred to as the "Customer Service Record" or "CSR".
While a simple review of telecom bills can reveal cost-savingsavings opportunities, Customer Service Records contain veryspecific information and data. Most suppliers will release acopy of a CSR when requested by a customer or auditing firm ontheir behalf.
What is a CSR? A CSR is a copy of how your telephone recordsappear in the telephone company's database. It containsinformation about each separate line charge (i.e. type ofservice, federal access charge, number portability charge,calling blocks on the line, 911 charge, etc.) that encompassesyour monthly service charge on your bill.
In addition, a CSR reveals the service location of the account,the address, additional directory listings, PICdesignations, hunting order, features that are being charged andon which line these features appear, calling plans that mayinclude monthly charges, and taxes applied to each of the itemson the record.
"Customer Service Record" is the most commonly used term for theinternal record of your account. Others may include a "2733" or"PBX/Key/Multiline" record. (SBC) Some LECS use the term"Service Record" or "Billing Services Record" while others haveno record at all. These would include the Mom and Pop telephonecompanies and CLECS. They can usually type them manually withthe information you request.
Universal Service Order Codes (USOC) Customer Service Recordsare written in codes, commonly called USOC, or Universal (orUniform) Service Order Codes. These codes are literally aforeign language to most, so allow yourself plenty of time tobecome familiar with the USOC codes used by your local carrier.A more in-depth discussion of USOC codes will be discussed in afuture issue of this newsletter. At TelCon Associates, we'vedeveloped a database of over 10,000 USOC codes. CONTACT US forinformation on this valuable auditing resource.
The Four Main Sections of the CSR
A typical CSR is divided into four sections: The Header RecordSection, the List Section, the
Bill Section, and the S&ESection. Below you'll find a summary of what each sectioncontains.
The Header Record Section
This Header Record section is found at the top of the CSR, anddetails information about the CSR and the account itself. WhileCSR's do not always contain identical information, generally theheader section will include: the print date, period,directory, class of service (business or residential), customeridentification code, account number, USOC code and quantity ofservice items, description of service, unit rate, total monthlycharge, and tax. The following two sections of the CSR containimportant information about your company.
The List Section
The List section identifies whether or not the account is listedin the white pages of the telephone directory, as well as howthe listing reads. Ironically, there is an extra charge fornon-published listings, unless there is already another accountlisted at the same service address. The code NLST indicates thatit is NOT listed in the the telephone directory although itstill may be listed with directory assistance operators. SICdefines the service industry for proper Yellow Pages headings.
The Bill Section
The bill section of the CSR includes: bill name (BN1), billaddress (BA) and tax area (TAR) for the account. The billingaddress is oftentimes different from the bill name.
The Service and Equipment Section
This section is the most important part of the CSR. Since thisarea lists all charges associated with each phone line, the billsection is also the area where USOC and nomenclaturetranslations are necessary, in order to identify the exact lineitems. It is this area of the CSR where you will spend the bulkof your auditing time. Obtaining and reviewing CSR's is animportant part of the telecom auditing process. A thorough jobcan be a time consuming and tedious, but the cost savings andincreased efficiency is well worth the time and effort.
About the author:Robert Potter is Vice-President and senior consultant of TelConAssociates, a 30 year old telecom consulting and managementfirm. TelCon Associates helps companies gain control and reducetelecom/IT spending through a guaranteed cost-reductionconsulting process. For more information, visit:http://www.telconassociates.com
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