Next Page
	Table of Contents

PROVIDE CUSTOMER SERVICE
Providing customer service which is satisfactory to the ordering agency and the borrower is essential to the success of any loan program. Agencies may issue task orders which define the minimum customer services standards which are expected of the contractor which contains requirements similar to the those described below. A task order may require any combination of these services. These services illustrate some of the types of tasks that the contractor may be required to perform under this contract, but this is not intended to be an all inclusive list. Rather, it illustrates the type of customer service a contractor is expected to provide.

When required, agencies may issue task orders which discuss customer service that may require, but are not limited to the following types of tasks:

• The contractor may be required to provide the support necessary to establish and improve customers' (e.g., borrowers, the ordering agency, other agency contractors, other agencies, etc.) understanding of the loan/asset program and their rights and responsibilities under the program.

• The contractor may be required to be capable of responding fluently to oral inquiries and written correspondence in both English and other languages. The contractor may also be required to have the capability of responding to borrower inquiries by facsimile or electronic mail if requested to do so by the borrower.

• The contractor may be required to provide accurate responses to inquiries about a specified loan program. Topics may include, but are not limited to:
  
  

  -	Repayment options
  -	Repayment amounts and time frames
  -	Deferments and forbearance
  -	Interest capitalization
  -	Collection steps and consequences of non-payment
  -	Available literature, forms, and related instructions
  -	Rules governing application of payments
  -	Remittance information
  -	Loan payment history
  -	Status of borrowers' loans
  -	Federal consolidation loan options available to borrowers and the appropriate contact person for obtaining more information
  -	History of collection activity, correspondence, status changes, and other activities for loans

• The contractor may be required to respond accurately to basic questions posed by callers regarding other agency related loan programs and refer detailed inquires to the appropriate agency's representative for further information.

• The contractor may be required to route correspondence received at any address or telephone line to the appropriate agency point of contact within a specified time period of receipt.

• The contractor may be required to provide borrowers access to toll-free telephone lines provided through an 800 number service. The contractor may be required to provide customer service via the 800 number service for agency specified business hours (e.g. 9:00 am to 9:00 PM Eastern Time).

• The contractor may be required to demonstrate an adequate telephone system meeting standards for dropped calls, wait time, adequate service, call back time, etc.

• The contractor may be required to institute a quality control mechanism to ensure the accuracy of answers provided in response to telephonic and written inquiries. The contractor may also be required to routinely examine a statistically valid sample of the responses provided in response to customer inquiries and provide the data gathered to the ordering agency.

• The ordering agency may require the contractor to use agency approved voice response unit scripts.

• The contractor may be required to respond to all mail inquiries for routine and unique requests within a specified time period. If the inquiry/request cannot be addressed within the specified time period, the contractor may be required to inform the sender of a specific date by which the contractor shall provide the answer. Form letters should be used only when appropriate for routine inquiries and requests.

• The contractor may be required to supplement written responses with phone calls, as appropriate, to promote understanding, eliminate confusion, and, in general, to promote customer satisfaction. The contractor may be required to initiate borrower contact by telephone if necessary to facilitate problem resolution or to convey conclusions.

• The contractor may be required to keep a record for use in loan servicing of all pertinent information obtained through customer service actions. This information may be required to be electronically transmitted to an agency’s central database within a specified time period of receipt of a request from the agency.

In addition to the above tasks, the contractor may be asked to conduct customer service surveys. If required by a task order, the contractor may be required to develop customer satisfaction surveys to aid an agency in improving the loan program’s customer service. The contractor may be required to assist the agency in all aspects of conducting the survey including, but not limited to such tasks as: obtaining OMB clearance; conducting the survey; tabulating and analyzing responses and providing summarized results.

Based on the survey results, the contractor may be required to develop a plan and a schedule for responding to any significant dissatisfaction revealed as a result of customer surveys.