Gorilla 5 CRM can automatically create service requests based on incoming emails from your customers to your support team's mailbox and notify your customers that the service requests have been created. This automated process enables support teams to address customer issues more efficiently and quickly.

To create service requests from client email automatically, your administrator must have enabled this optional feature.

After a service request is created, any subsequent emails from a customer about the same issue are attached to the existing service request so that the communication thread is available from a single location.

Inbound email flow

The following diagram shows the process for automatically creating service requests from inbound customer emails.

When customers send emails to support team mailboxes, Gorilla 5 CRM reads the emails using Microsoft Exchange and creates the required service requests.

Pending service requests

Pending service requests are created by default based on customer emails and the support manager is assigned these service requests if:

• Customers do not include IDs for existing service requests in the subject lines of their emails
• Customers include IDs in the subject lines of their emails, but they do not match IDs for existing service requests
• Gorilla 5 CRM is unable to match the customer email addresses with the email addresses used for existing entities

When a pending service request is created, the system automatically provides the following information in the New Service Request dialog:

• Channel field is set to Email
• Mailbox field displays the name configured by your administrator
• Status field is set to a Pending state

The following diagram shows when Gorilla 5 CRM creates pending service requests.

The support manager uses the All Pending Service Requests filter to find pending service requests on the Service Requests workspace. The support manager can also filter service requests using mailbox names. The support manager then investigates the pending service requests and can edit the service requests to change the state of the requests and assign them to specialists who fulfill the requests.

When an email address does not match with an entity, the For column in the list of pending service requests remains blank and the unmatched email displays below the title.

Matched service requests

Gorilla 5 CRM uses the following logic to parse each incoming email and determine whether the email applies to an existing service request or whether a new service request needs to be created:

1. Gorilla 5 CRM checks the email's subject for a service request number. If a service request number is present, Gorilla 5 CRM matches it to an existing service request.
2. If the service request number matches, Gorilla 5 CRM checks if the sender's email address matches to a contact or company entity.
3. If the email address matches, Gorilla 5 CRM attaches the email to the matched service request.

Gorilla 5 CRM only attaches the email to an existing service request if both a match on the service request number and sender's email address is found. If both do not match, Gorilla 5 CRM creates a pending service request.

When Gorilla 5 CRM matches customer email addresses with email addresses for existing entities, they are attached to the existing service requests, and the emails are added to the email log for matched contacts. The service request managers can filter for pending service requests on the Service Requests workspace, so they can triage the service requests and assign them to the specialists who fulfill the requests. Customers are also notified when service requests are created, and they are provided with the service request ID.

When a received customer email contains the service request ID of a known service request, a notification is sent to the Group Owner of the mailbox for the service request. The notification is titled using the following recorded email format: <requestID>-<title>.

Example:

At a financial institution, a customer named Liam logs into the online portal to perform a transaction. The transactions fails and Liam sends an email to the support mailbox for the institution. When Liam sends his email, a pending service request is automatically created by Gorilla 5 CRM, Liam is notified that it has been created, and is provided with the service request ID. The support manager uses a filter to find the pending service request on the Service Requests workspace, edits the service request, and assigns the service request to the specialist who fulfills the request.

Liam sends an additional question about the failed transaction using the same service request ID in the subject line of his email. Gorilla 5 CRM matches the email to the existing service request and it is attached to the service request for the specialist to address. The specialist completes the service request and notifies Liam.