HK1093807A - System and method for managing data concerning service dispatches - Google Patents

Description

System and method for managing data on service dispatches

Cross Reference to Related Applications

This application relates to the application of the unauthorized U.S. patent application serial No. × × × × × [ attorney docket No. 016295.1748, DC-07652], entitled "system and method for managing data relating to service dispatches involving geographic elements" filed on 9/28/2004, and the U.S. patent application serial No. × × × [ attorney docket No. 061295.1749, DC-07653], entitled "apparatus and method for monitoring and managing devices and services" filed on 9/28/2004, which are hereby incorporated by reference.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to the field of data processing, and, more particularly, to systems and methods for managing data regarding service dispatches.

Background

Sometimes, the sale of a device or product or distribution by a vendor to a user may require service. Such services are typically initiated by a service telephone communicating from the user to the vendor. In response to the service call, the vendor may initiate a service dispatch to attempt to resolve the user's actual difficulty. One difficulty in managing service dispatches includes determining service dispatches that need attention or are overdue for completion. Typically, many service dispatches are open and are being processed at any one time. Monitoring the status and processing of each service dispatch is critical because many service dispatches must be completed within contract limits. The difficulty in monitoring service dispatches is often exacerbated by the inability of the vendor or service provider to retrieve real-time data about the service dispatches on an automated basis. If the processing or status of a service dispatch cannot be monitored, the service provider may first learn of an overdue service dispatch when the service dispatch is still unresolved and is completed in violation of contractual provisions. This technique for handling service dispatches places the service provider in a reactive mode and reduces customer satisfaction.

Disclosure of Invention

In accordance with the present invention, a system and method are disclosed wherein service dispatch data records for display are generated and sorted such that those service dispatch data records requiring attention or responding to a service representative are displayed most prominently according to predetermined sorting criteria. The systems and methods disclosed herein include a product database that includes data regarding products that can be serviced by a service provider, and service obligations given to users by the service provider and products of the service provider. The systems and methods disclosed herein additionally include a service provider database that stores data regarding service resources available to accomplish the tasks required for each service dispatch. The dispatch generation tool generates the service dispatches and the service dispatch management module sorts and displays the service dispatch data records.

The system and method disclosed herein is technically advantageous because it provides a technique for creating service dispatches based on data from vendors of products to be serviced and any third party service providers. The systems and methods disclosed herein are also advantageous in this respect, as they provide a technique for sorting the generated service dispatches for display in a manner that facilitates managing and monitoring the service dispatches. The service dispatches are organized for display such that the service dispatches that require action on the service representative or a portion of the service provider are easily identified and prominently displayed.

Another technical advantage of the systems and methods disclosed herein is that the systems and methods disclosed herein are capable of providing and updating data regarding the service dispatches in real-time. The data about each service dispatch is updated on a periodic basis or in response to a service event. As a result, the service dispatch data records are sorted based on the most recent set of data, thereby increasing the reliability of the sorting function and facilitating the management and monitoring of service dispatches.

The systems and methods disclosed herein are also advantageous in establishing a series of expected paths or milestones in completing a service dispatch. In addition, the methods and systems disclosed herein may be used to sort service dispatch records based on whether an unapproved milestone is associated with the service dispatch. As a result, service dispatch records associated with a currently unacknowledged missed milestone have a higher display priority than those service dispatch records not associated with a currently unacknowledged missed milestone. The service dispatch record that should be brought to the attention of the customer service representative and the supervisor of the customer support function is most prominently displayed. Other technical advantages will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art from the following descriptions, claims, and drawings.

Drawings

A more complete understanding of the present embodiments and advantages thereof may be acquired by referring to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numbers indicate like features, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a data flow and structure diagram of a system for generating and managing service dispatch data records;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a method of receiving a service call and communicating data regarding the service call to a service dispatch management program;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a method for categorically displaying service dispatch records;

FIG. 4 is a display of the categorized service dispatch records; and

FIG. 5 is a display diagram of a detailed page regarding service dispatch records.

Detailed Description

A technique for managing data regarding service dispatches is currently disclosed. Service dispatch is initiated in response to a service call or service request. In most general terms, a service call is a request initiated by a user to a vendor to assist in the operation or use of a device provided by or sold to the user. The user may also issue a service request to a third party service provider who must provide services to the device under contract or otherwise. The service call is not necessarily limited to requiring assistance from the device. Service calls may also be generated in connection with services being used or offered to the user. For example, a user may generate a service call to an internet service provider regarding the user's internet access operations. In response to a service call, the service provider, whether the service provider is a seller of the product or service or a third party that must respond to the service call, may initiate a service dispatch.

The service dispatch is a response to the service call for the user. The service dispatch involves the provision of service resources, including the replacement of components and associated human resources, in order to address the service issues experienced by the user. For example, in response to a service call regarding a device failure, the vendor may initiate a service dispatch to the customer involving the shipment of a replacement component to the customer and the simultaneous distribution of technicians to install the replacement component, and diagnose and repair any undiagnosed problems with the device. Although the present invention will refer to service calls and service dispatches caused by device failures, the various device failures used in this disclosure are characterized by a wide range of operational difficulties, from non-functional devices to devices experiencing operational difficulties.

Illustrated in FIG. 1 is a data flow and block diagram of a system, indicated generally at 10, for receiving, generating, and processing data pertaining to service dispatches. In the example of fig. 1, a service call from a user is received and processed by the vendor of the device. As part of the service call, the user will provide information to the vendor regarding the problems experienced by the user. The user may provide this information by responding to a series of questions or prompts by the vendor. The information derived from the user may help the vendor verify the user's self-diagnosis of device failure or may help the vendor diagnose the cause of the device failure. As part of the service call to the vendor, the vendor will gather information about the user of the device, including the device model, the serial number of the device, and an indication of the service tag of the device or the level of liability of the vendor. The vendor may also attempt to collect location information about the device and the user's unique user number. This data, which includes service call data, is collected at node or event 12 and communicated to dispatch generation program or module 18. It should be noted that the databases disclosed herein may be used to make accompanying data invariant and to select, insert, update, modify, display, and/or categorize the data.

With respect to the vendor's service obligation level, the user typically purchases a service agreement for the device at the time the device is purchased. Because users can often select from a range of service options, the service obligations of vendors may vary from user to user and device to device. The vendor's obligations may be governed by a service level agreement that will account for the speed with which the vendor must complete the service dispatch, as well as the party (vendor or customer) that bears the service call charges. With respect to the speed of the service call, for example, the service dispatch may specify that the service dispatch is to be completed by the vendor in two, four, eight, or twenty-four hours. The service level agreement may be indicated by way of a service code or service tag associated with the device. During a service call, the vendor will attempt to retrieve the service tag associated with the device so that the vendor can authenticate the level of service authorized for the user, and the vendor must comply with a service level agreement between the vendor and the user.

After receiving a service call from the user, the vendor authenticates the problematic device. For example, authentication may be based on the device serial number, service tag number, or based on a description of the device and the user's authentication. The authentication of the device is performed in the dispatch generation module 18 and the data for the device on the subject of the service call is retrieved from the product database 14. The product database 14 includes data on technical specifications of the device that is the subject of the service call, including information on the components that make up the device. In addition to identifying specifications and features for the product or device that is the subject of the service call, product database 14 includes data regarding service obligations or service level agreements between the vendor and the customer for the device or product that is the subject of the service call. The product database 14 includes data regarding the requirements of the service level agreement, including information regarding the response time required for the service level agreement. The product database 14 may be specified for the device in question, the user having a service level agreement requiring the service to be completed in four hours. The user database may also specify a description of the hardware and software components of the computer system.

After the vendor identifies the device and diagnoses the cause of the device failure, the vendor can identify the resources that are used to resolve the cause of the device failure. These resources may include alternative components, including hardware or software components, or related human resources, which may include technicians assigned to the user's location to correct the cause of the device failure. Often, the solution to equipment failure may involve a replacement component and associated human resources in the form of a technician who is able to install and configure the replacement component.

The authentication of the device in question may also authenticate the service tag or the service indicator of the device in question for the vendor. In addition to identifying service level agreements for users and devices, the service level indicator may also enable the vendor to identify any third party provider responsible for providing services for the device that is the subject of the service call. For example, a vendor of computer equipment may contract a third party service provider to service the computer equipment in response to a call from a user. The vendor of the computer device may also contract a delivery company of a third party to transport replacement components from the component repository. The service level label or indicator for the device will identify any service provider that is agreed by Dell to provide service resources for service calls. The dispatch generation program 18 will retrieve data from the service provider database 16 regarding the resources of any contracted service provider. In addition, the service provider itself may update the data of the service providing database 16 to reflect the status of service delivery by the service provider.

After receiving the data from the user, the product database 14, as well as the service provider database 16, the dispatch generation program 18 (if necessary), may generate a service dispatch for the service call. A service dispatch is a dispatch that the vendor responds to the customer's service call and is related to a replacement component, related human resources, or related to the customer's place of business. The service dispatch is not necessary for every service call. Many service calls may be routinely addressed by a customer service representative without having to distribute components or associated human resources to the customer's location.

For each service dispatch, dispatch generation program 18 generates a record that includes all data related to the dispatch, including the identification of the user, the physical location of the user, the equipment in question, diagnostics, the service level obligations of the vendor, and the service provider of the third party to be contracted to complete the service call. For each service dispatch, dispatch generation tool 18 sets a series of gates or required milestones for completing the service dispatch. Examples of the passage of service dispatches or the required milestones include, by each contracted third-party service provider, verification of the service dispatch, identification of replacement components, shipping of some replacement components to the subscriber's location, departure of some associated human resources to the subscriber's location, receipt of some replacement components at the subscriber's location, arrival of some associated human resources at the subscriber's location, and resolution of the service call. The number and type of these lanes will vary due to the service dispatch. For example, if the service dispatch is scheduled to be resolved by the user through replacement of a component without involving any associated human resources, then a path involving the associated human resources may not be established for the service dispatch. When the service dispatch is open and not resolved, the dispatch generation tool monitors the extent to which the channels satisfy the condition in the service dispatch. The dispatch generation tool maintains the identification and counts the number of missed gates in servicing the dispatch.

As an example of establishing a tunnel during service fulfillment, if a service dispatch is initiated for a user with a four hour service level agreement, a series of tunnels will be established within the four hour range to provide processing points for the service dispatch. In this example, assuming the service dispatch involves a replacement of a component by a third party service provider, the tunnel may communicate the details and the requirements of the service dispatch to the third party service provider. With respect to timing, this channel will be set to expire one minute from the initiation of the service call. The next channel may be confirmed by the third party service provider responsible for the call. This channel may be set to expire five minutes from the initiation of the service call. Another channel in this example may be confirmed by a third party service provider that replaces the component by the location that is routed to the user. This channel may be set to expire thirty minutes from the initiation of the service call. As still further examples, another path may be for the replacement component to reach the user location. This channel may be set to expire two hours from the initiation of the service dispatch. The satisfaction of each milestone or channel may be communicated to the dispatch generation program 18 via the service provider database 16. Dispatch generation program 18 will monitor the completion of milestones for each service dispatch. If the time for completion of a milestone has arrived and there is no indication at dispatch generation program 18 that the milestone is complete, dispatch generation program 18 will increment a count of failed channels or milestones.

Data from the dispatch generation program 18 is displayed in categories by the service dispatch management program 20. As shown in FIG. 2, a flowchart of a method of steps associated with receiving a service call and transmitting data to the service dispatch management program 20 is shown. At step 30, a service call is received by the user. Although the term service call implies that the service call is provided by telephone, the service call may also be communicated from the user to the vendor by electronic attachment, network-based submission, or any other suitable means of communication. Service calls can also be communicated to the user on an automated basis as an automatic notification initiated by the user device or on a remote periodic monitoring of the user device by a vendor's diagnostic tool. In step 32 the vendor receives data about the service call, including data relating to the user and the device that are the subject of the service call. In step 34, data about the device is retrieved from the vendor device database. In step 36, data is retrieved regarding the service obligations of the vendor, and in step 38, service resources are retrieved regarding the vendor or other contracted third party service provider. In step 40, a data record for the service dispatch is generated. In step 42, the service dispatch data records are sorted and displayed.

As indicated in step 44, the data for each service dispatch record is continuously updated to reflect changes in the data of the user database 14 and the service provider database 16. As the service dispatch records are generated, the data for the service dispatch records, including the data from each of the customer databases 14 and the service provider databases 16, may be updated at regular intervals by retrieving each service dispatch record. In this manner, since the data in each customer database 14 or service provider database 16 has changed, the updated data will be reflected on each affected service dispatch record. As an alternative to periodically refreshing each service dispatch record, the individual service dispatch records may be updated as directed by the customer database 14 from the service provider database 16, with the just-updated data for the service dispatch records existing in the current database. In step 46, the updated data records are sorted and displayed.

The service dispatch records are sorted for display by the data management module in a manner that facilitates the seller's handling and decision-making of service dispatches. In one embodiment of the invention, each service dispatch must be associated with or requested by the vendor's customer service representative. The relationship of each service dispatch to a customer service representative ensures that each service dispatch is assigned to a representative who can resolve any difficulties that occur in the dispatch. The relationship between the customer service representative and each service dispatch also ensures that the customer service representative is in the proper location and is responsible for any third party service providers involved in completing the service dispatch. When a service dispatch is initially generated by dispatch generation module 18, the service dispatch is not associated with a customer service representative. The initiated service dispatch is not associated with the customer service representative until the customer representative requests the service dispatch. The service representative is required to take positive action to request a service dispatch, forcing the customer service representative to confirm the existence of the service dispatch and to accept personal interest or investment in the completion of the service dispatch.

The dispatches are displayed in sorted form in a table format in which the selected data for a single service dispatch occupies a row in the table. The table is itself organized such that data records are arranged in the table such that service dispatches that are still not claimed by the service representative and service dispatches that include unacknowledged missed gates are displayed more prominently in the table. When the missed gate of the service call (even if not resolved) is still not positively acknowledged as present by any of the user service representatives, the service dispatch includes the missed gate that was not acknowledged. The customer service representative may somehow learn about the missed gate by the dispatch management program confirming the existence of the missed gate. The first priority for sorting and display is those service dispatches that are not claimed by the customer service representative and that include an unacknowledged gate failure. In the classification criteria disclosed herein, the unclaimed service dispatch records generally have a higher display priority than the requested service dispatch records. In a group of unclaimed service dispatches with unacknowledged missed gates, the service dispatches are sorted by the cumulative age of the service dispatches. Thus, if a group of service dispatches are not claimed and each includes at least one unacknowledged missed gate, the earliest of the service dispatches will be displayed most prominently in the table.

After the unclaimed service dispatches that include at least one unacknowledged missed gate are displayed, the claimed service dispatches that include at least one unacknowledged missed gate are sorted for display. Thus, the next set of service dispatch records that are most prominently displayed are those that have been claimed by the user service representative, but nonetheless include missed gates that have not been verified by the user service representative. Of the set of service dispatches, the service dispatch with the earliest cumulative lifespan is displayed most prominently. Displaying service dispatches in a form according to this format results in a prominent display of those service dispatches that are most likely not to complete within the time frame specified by the service level agreement between the vendor and the customer. Because failure to comply with contractual service level agreements can result in a loss of customer satisfaction, it is important that the service dispatches that are most problematic are displayed so that the customer service representative's team of vendors can divert their individual or overall attention to completing the service dispatches.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating sorting service dispatch records for display. In step 50, unclaimed service dispatches that include an unacknowledged missed gate are sorted for display according to the age of the service dispatch and have an earlier service dispatch with a higher display priority than the most recent service dispatch. In step 52, the requested service dispatches that include the unacknowledged missed gate are sorted for display and have earlier service dispatches with higher display priority than the most recent service dispatch. Considering steps 50 and 52, the high display priority of these service dispatches with unacknowledged missed gates indicates the importance of displaying those service dispatches with failed, scheduled milestones in the present invention that have not yet been acknowledged by the vendor or service provider.

In step 54, unclaimed service dispatches that include only missed gates that have been previously acknowledged are sorted for display by the age of the service. In step 56, the requested service dispatches that include only missed gates that have been previously acknowledged are sorted by age. Thus, once all service dispatches with unacknowledged missed gates have been sorted in steps 50 and 52, the remaining service dispatches with history of missed gates are sorted in steps 54 and 56. In step 58, unclaimed service dispatches without a history of missed gates are sorted by age, and in step 60, claimed service dispatches without a history of missed gates are sorted by age. For these required service dispatches that have no history of missed gates, the service dispatches may also be sorted alphabetically by the name of the customer service representative.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a table 70 of service dispatch records that have been sorted for display according to the method set forth in this disclosure. Table 70 includes a number of rows 72 and a number of columns 74. Each row is associated with a separate service dispatch record, and each column represents a data element, such as a device number or a user name, from each service dispatch record. Each displayed data record includes the equipment number displayed in column 76, which is an identifier for the equipment model that is the subject of the service dispatch. Column 78 included in the table is the user name associated with each service dispatch record. Column 80 includes the estimated time of arrival of the replacement component or technician at the location of the device. Shown in column 82 is the cumulative time of existence for each service dispatch. The cumulative lifespan of each service dispatch is a measure of the time that has elapsed since the service dispatch started.

The problem count column 83 is a count of the number of missed gates in a service dispatch, and the column 84 is the owner or service representative responsible for or the vendor for the service dispatch. In one example, the problem count, which represents the number of failed paths associated with the service call, is never decremented to reflect that the task associated with the expired milestone has been satisfied. Rather, the issue count reflects the number of issues associated with the service dispatch and serves as a proxy for user satisfaction associated with timely completion of the service dispatch. For these service dispatches that include unacknowledged missed gates, the numbers in the problem counts are shaded for better visual identification of these service dispatches that include missed milestones that are still not being accessed by the customer service representative. Column 86 is an accept column that allows the user service representative to verify that he/she will be responsible for an unclaimed service dispatch or that it will be required to be responsible for a service dispatch that has been required by another service representative.

After the priority classification described in the flow chart of FIG. 3, the service dispatch records for users such as university hospitals and central shipments are displayed most prominently (at the top) in the table of FIG. 4, since each is not claimed by the user service representative and each includes unacknowledged missed gates. Between the record for the university hospital and the record for the central shipment, the record for the university hospital is displayed more prominently because it has a cumulative time-to-live that is 51 minutes earlier than the 12 minutes time-to-live for the central shipment record. Following the record of service dispatches for central shipment, the service dispatches next most prominently shown in FIG. 4 are records for the southern bank. The service dispatch record for the southern bank is a requested service dispatch with four missed gates or a count of significant events, including at least one currently unacknowledged missed gate. Following the service dispatch record for the southern bank is a service dispatch record for a marine courier having a count of two missed gates, including at least one currently unacknowledged missed gate. The service delivery record for southern banks is displayed more prominently than the service delivery record for marine couriers because it has an earlier cumulative lifetime than the service delivery record for marine couriers.

The service dispatch record with the next highest display priority is for the energy company. The service dispatch record for the energy company is not claimed and has a history of missed gates, which have been approved. It is possible for service dispatches that have an approved missed gate and are still not claimed by the service provider. This may occur if the customer service representative has relinquished control of the service dispatch or if the missed gate has been approved by the monitoring tool itself or by a supervisor. Service dispatches for school zones and diverse resources are next displayed. Each including a history of approved missed gates and each being claimed. The service dispatches for the school zone are displayed more prominently because of their own earlier cumulative order age. The next two service dispatch records for the cable company and the import company, each are not claimed and there is no history of missed gates. Finally, the service dispatch record for the discounted store is claimed and there is no history of missed gates.

While the above-described sort priority may be used as a default sort priority, it should also be appreciated that other sorting schemes may be used by a user service representative or other user of the computer system. For example, if the user were to select or click on column 74, the data record would sort itself according to the criteria set in the column. For example, clicking on the owner or service zone column 84 will cause the data records to be sorted alphabetically by the name of the owner or service representative. Similarly, selecting the call age column 82 will cause the service dispatch records to be sorted by cumulative age in ascending order. Reselecting all of the time-to-live column 82 will cause the service dispatch records to be sorted in descending order by accumulated time-to-live. As another example, selecting the issue count column 83 will cause the service dispatch records to be sorted in ascending or descending order based on issue count. In addition, the service dispatch records may also be sorted such that a first priority is assigned to an unsolicited service dispatch record by the problem count of each service dispatch record, followed by a second priority being assigned to a solicited service dispatch record by the problem count of each service dispatch record.

A service representative or other user of the sort and display tool of the service manager may select any service dispatch to be linked to a page that exposes more details about the service dispatch. FIG. 5 shows a detail page 90 for the service dispatch record associated with the user southern Bank of FIG. 4. The top half of detail page 90 includes, for each record, the authentication information for the device number at 92, a service label or indicator for the service dispatch at 94, the name of the customer at 96, and the unique customer number for the customer at 98. A description of the equipment used for each service dispatch that is the subject of the service call is also included at 100. In the example of fig. 5, a third party service provider is contracted to complete the service requested by the service call. The third party service provider's service dispatch number for this service dispatch is shown at 102.

Shown in entry 104 and 110 are a series of timing entries for the service dispatch. The time to set up the service call is shown at 104. The time at which data regarding the service call is transferred to the third party service call is shown at 106, and the time at which the third party service provider approves the service call is shown at 108. The estimated time to complete the service for delivery of the requested service by the service is shown at 110. In this example, the service dispatch detailed in FIG. 5 is scheduled to be completed within four hours as specified by the service agreement between the vendor and the customer. Block 112 includes a description of the service to be performed on the product. In this example, the service to be performed involves installation of a replacement component.

The lower half of detail page 90 includes data about the milestones for the service dispatch. Each row in the table in the lower half of the detail page 90 is an important event. These columns in the table represent, from left to right, the completion time for the milestone in column 114, the description of the milestone in column 116, the name and response time for the corresponding service representative in column 118, and the name and resolution time for the resolution service representative in column 120. The four missed milestones of the table correspond to the number of missed milestones which is 4 in column 83 of fig. 4. The first row of the table relates to the first missed milestone that failed to deliver the service dispatch to the contracted service provider within five minutes of the initiation of the service dispatch. The second row of missed milestones relates to failure of the service provider to recognize its receipt of the service dispatch within ten minutes of its initiation. The third row of missed milestones relates to a failure to ship a replacement component within one hour and fifty-five minutes of the initiation of the service dispatch, and the fourth row of missed milestones is triggered because the user did not receive a replacement component within two hours and fifty-five minutes of the initiation of the service dispatch. The first two missed milestones have been acknowledged and resolved by the service representative MaryJones. The third missed milestone, which relates to the shipment of replacement components, has been recognized, but has not been resolved by the service representative. The fourth missed milestone, which involves receiving a replacement component at the user location, is still not acknowledged by the user representative. Thus, by selecting a service dispatch, a service representative or a service supervisor, the details of the service dispatch, including the list of missed milestones, may be monitored.

It should be appreciated that the systems and methods described herein are not limited to application in monitoring and managing service dispatches for computer systems. Moreover, the systems and methods described herein may be used for the purpose of managing service calls and for service dispatch for any type of product or service. Although the present disclosure has been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims (20)

1. A method of service classification data for authenticating service dispatches with respect to a service provider, comprising:

creating a data record for each service dispatch; and

sorting the service dispatch records for display;

wherein the sorting step assigns higher display priority to service dispatch records that include unacknowledged missed milestones;

wherein the sorting step assigns a next lower display priority to service dispatch records that include only approved missed milestones; and

wherein the sorting step assigns the next lowest display priority to service dispatch records that do not have a history of recognized missed milestones.

2. The method of service classification data for identifying service dispatches regarding a service provider as recited in claim 1, wherein the classifying step further comprises the step of classifying the set of service dispatch records including unacknowledged missed milestones based on whether each service dispatch record is claimed by a service representative.

3. The method of service classification data for identifying service dispatches regarding a service provider as recited in claim 2, wherein the classifying step further comprises the step of classifying the set of service dispatch records that are unclaimed and that include unacknowledged missed milestones based on the cumulative age of the service dispatch records.

4. The method for authenticating service classification data for service dispatches from a service provider as recited in claim 1, further comprising the step of displaying a record of the classified service dispatches.

5. The method of service classification data for authenticating service dispatches with respect to a service provider as recited in claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

updating the data of each service delivery record;

reclassifying the service delivery records; and

displaying the service dispatch records that have been reclassified.

6. A method for generating and classifying service dispatch records in response to a series of service calls, comprising:

authenticating a device that is the subject of each service call;

identifying a service level associated with each device;

identifying service resources necessary for each device;

generating service dispatches that have been associated with each service call, wherein each service dispatch is associated with a serviced dispatch record;

establishing a set of expected milestones associated with each service dispatch;

for each service dispatch, monitoring for completion of a milestone associated with the service dispatch; and

the service dispatch records are sorted based on the number of outstanding milestones.

7. The method for generating and sorting service dispatch records in response to a series of service calls as recited in claim 6, wherein the step of monitoring completion of milestones associated with each service dispatch comprises the step of maintaining a count of the number of outstanding milestones for each service dispatch in establishing completed milestones.

8. The method for generating and sorting service dispatch records in response to a series of service calls of claim 6, further comprising the step of displaying the sorted service dispatch records.

9. The method for generating and sorting service dispatch records in response to a series of service calls as recited in claim 8, wherein the step of sorting comprises the step of assigning a higher display priority to those service dispatch records that are not associated with the customer service representative and a lower display priority to those service dispatch records that are associated with the customer service representative.

10. The method for generating and sorting service dispatch records in response to a series of service calls as recited in claim 9, wherein the step of sorting comprises the step of further sorting based on the age of each service dispatch record.

11. The method for generating and sorting service dispatch records in response to a series of service calls of claim 10, further comprising the step of updating the data of the service dispatch records.

12. The method for generating and classifying service dispatch records in response to a series of service calls of claim 11, further comprising the step of reclassifying and displaying the updated service dispatch records.

13. A system for managing service dispatch records associated with service calls sent to a service provider, comprising:

a user database for storing data of service provider obligations for users of products that are the subject of service calls;

a service provider database for storing data regarding service delivery resources for users and products associated with the service call; and

a service dispatch generation module operable to generate a service dispatch record based on the data from the subscriber database and the service provider database, wherein the generated service dispatch record includes a set of service milestones to be part of completing a service dispatch associated with the service call.

14. The system for managing service dispatch records associated with service calls directed to service providers as recited in claim 13, wherein the service provider database includes data regarding one or more service dispatch resources agreed to provide service resources for customers of a product vendor.

15. The system for managing service dispatch records associated with service calls directed to service providers as recited in claim 14, wherein the service dispatch resources include replacement components and associated human resources.

16. The system for managing service dispatch records associated with service calls directed to service providers as recited in claim 15, further comprising a service dispatch classification module for classifying display of the generated service dispatch records.

17. The system for managing service dispatch records associated with service calls directed to a service provider as recited in claim 16, wherein the service dispatch classification module is operable to classify service dispatch records for display such that records not associated with a service representative have a higher display priority than service dispatch records associated with a service representative.

18. The system for managing service dispatch records associated with service calls directed to service providers as recited in claim 17, wherein the service dispatch classification module is operable to further classify service dispatch records for display such that records with non-recognized service milestones have a higher display priority than service dispatch records with non-recognized service milestones.

19. The system for managing service dispatch records associated with service calls directed to a service provider as recited in claim 18, wherein the service dispatch classification module is operable to further classify service dispatch records for display such that records having an earlier cumulative time of existence have a higher priority for display than service dispatch records having a lower cumulative time of existence.

20. The system for managing service dispatch records associated with service calls directed to service providers as recited in claim 19, further comprising a display for displaying the categorized service dispatch records.