The Big Picture Of Starting Service

Almost all requests to start service involve a conversation between a customer and a customer service representative (CSR). During this conversation, the following is defined:

• WHO will pay for the service (i.e., the account).
• WHERE the service is consumed (i.e., the premise). Note, this is only required for premise-oriented services.
• WHEN the service is requested (i.e., the start date).
• WHAT TYPE of service is desired (i.e., the service agreement and service points).
• HOW MUCH will be paid for the service (i.e., the rate and contract riders).

After the conversation is complete, one or more service agreements in the state of pending start will exist. If the service agreement uses service points, field activities may also be created.

In this section, we provide background information about the start process. For information about the page used to start service, refer to Start Stop Maintenance.