How to Log a New Call
Log a call in the Customer portal sends a new service call straight to your service provider, who then arranges an engineer. Select Log a call at the top of your Home page, your Account page or your Calls list; the button is there only if your service provider has allowed your sign-in to log calls.
How do I log a new call in the Customer portal?
Select Log a call at the top of your Home page, your Account page or your Calls list, fill in what the problem is, and select Log the call. The call goes straight to your service provider for the account named at the top of the form.
- Select Log a call at the top of your Home page, Account page or Calls list.
- Choose the kind of call from What is it about.
- Type a short description of the problem into In one line.
- Check Who to ask for, Phone and E-mail, and change them if someone else should be contacted.
- Type your PO number and Your reference if you have them.
- Write anything else the engineer should know in the box headed Anything else we should know.
- Select Log the call at the foot of the Log a call form.
While the call is being sent, the button says "Logging…". To leave without logging anything, select Cancel or ← Calls.
Pressing Enter while you are in one of the single-line boxes on the Log a call form, such as In one line or PO number, logs the call at once, just as Log the call does. To write more, click in the Anything else we should know box instead, where Enter starts a new line.
The form never asks you to choose an engineer or a date. You describe the problem, and your service provider books the visit; it then appears under Visits.
Can I choose the engineer, the day or how urgent my call is when I log it?
No. The Log a call form in the Customer portal has no place to pick an engineer, a day, a time or a priority, and no setting for repeat or regular visits: each call is one request, and your service provider decides who comes and when. Once they book the engineer, the visit appears on the call's Visits card and on the Visits page, if your sign-in includes visits and shows that call.
If timing matters, say so in your own words in Anything else we should know on the Log a call form: that the fault is urgent, that the site is closed on certain days, who has the keys, or that you would like the work done regularly and how often. Your service provider reads everything you write there. For something that cannot wait, such as a safety problem, phone your service provider as well and quote the call number, because nobody is booked at the moment you select Log the call.
A call goes on the account named at the top of the Log a call form, so a problem at several sites takes one call per site: switch to each account your sign-in covers in turn and log a call there.
Will the Customer portal keep what I typed if I leave Log a call?
No. The Customer portal does not save a draft of the Log a call form, and it does not warn you before you leave it. If you select Cancel, ← Calls or a page in the menu, press your browser's Back button, or close the page before selecting Log the call, everything you typed is lost and no call is logged.
So finish the form and select Log the call in one go. If you need time to gather the details, such as a PO number or a description of the fault, write them somewhere else first, for example in an email or a note, and copy them into the form when you are ready.
The same is true on the Edit call page: changes you have not saved with Save changes are lost if you leave it.
What do the boxes on the Log a call form mean?
Each box on the Log a call form tells your service provider something about the problem and who to contact.
- What is it about — the kind of call, from the list your service provider has set up for you, in alphabetical order. It starts on Choose… and must be chosen. If only one kind is available, it is already chosen for you. If the kind you need is not in the list, your sign-in is not allowed to log it: choose the closest kind and say what you need in In one line, and ask your service provider to add that kind to your sign-in.
- In one line — a short description of the problem, up to 300 characters. It must be filled in. This is the call's comment: the line shown under the call on your Calls list, and the short description your service provider reads for it.
- Who to ask for — the person to contact, up to 50 characters. It starts with your own name.
- Phone — a contact number, up to 25 characters. It starts empty, and if you leave it empty the call has no phone number at all: the call's page then shows no Phone line.
- E-mail — a contact address, up to 60 characters. It starts with the address you sign in with.
- PO number — your purchase order (PO) number, up to 30 characters. If your PO number is longer, type the first part here and the whole number in the Anything else we should know box, so your service provider has all of it.
- Your reference — your own reference, up to 100 characters, which you can later search for.
The boxes stop you typing past their limits. Only What is it about and In one line must be filled in; the others may be left empty. The form has no button for attaching a file or a photo, but on a computer you can paste a picture into the Anything else we should know box by pressing Ctrl and V together (Ctrl+V).
Check Who to ask for, Phone, E-mail and Your reference before you select Log the call, because they cannot be changed afterwards on the Edit call page.
What if I leave a box empty, or have a detail with no box, on the Log a call form?
On the Log a call form in the Customer portal, only What is it about and In one line must be filled in. Leaving any other box empty is fine, with these results:
- Who to ask for or E-mail left empty — your own name and sign-in address are used instead.
- Phone left empty — the call has no phone number at all, because the Customer portal holds no phone number of yours to fall back on, and the call's page then shows no Phone line. Fill it in if you want to be rung. If you forgot, put the number in the call's Details with Edit, if your sign-in may change calls, or tell your service provider.
- PO number or Your reference left empty — the call simply has none, and the call's page leaves that line out.
Some details have no box of their own on the Log a call form, so write them in In one line or Anything else we should know:
- A mobile or second number, or a second person — there is one Phone box and one Who to ask for.
- The equipment — name the machine, where it is on the site, or its serial number.
- Where to go — the call is for the account named at the top of the form, and there is no address box; give directions or access details, such as who has the keys, in words.
Who to ask for, Phone, E-mail and Your reference cannot be changed afterwards on the Edit call page, so read them over before you select Log the call. If one turns out wrong, tell your service provider and quote the call number.
How do I add more detail, bold text or a list to my call?
Use the box headed Anything else we should know at the bottom of the Log a call form. It is a small document editor: type as much as you like, and use its toolbar to format it.
- Note — adds a line stamped with your name, the time and the date at the end, ready for you to type a note under it.
- Bold, Italic and Underline — format the selected text.
- Bulleted list and Numbered list — turn lines into a list.
- Undo and Redo — take back or repeat your last change.
You can also paste text in with Ctrl and V together (Ctrl+V). Your service provider sees what you write here exactly as you formatted it. There is no choice of font, text size or colour in the Customer portal: bold, italic, underline and lists are the formatting on offer. The box is optional: a call with only a one-line description is fine.
A web address you type in the Anything else we should know box becomes a link by itself, and on the call's page it opens in a new browser tab when clicked. Spell checking is switched off in the box, so misspelt words are not underlined: read what you wrote before you select Log the call. You can still correct it later with Edit on the call's page, if your sign-in may change calls and the call is not finished.
If you select a toolbar button before the editor has finished starting, nothing is formatted yet: a thin progress bar shows under the toolbar, and a screen reader announces "The editor is still starting; the formatting commands will work in a moment." Wait a second or two and select the button again.
Can I attach a photo or a file to my call?
There is no attach or upload button in the Customer portal, but on a computer you can paste a picture, such as a photo of the fault, straight into the Anything else we should know box on the Log a call form. The picture is saved with the call, and your service provider sees it in the call's details.
- Copy the picture itself: open it, then right-click it and choose the copy option, or use a screenshot tool. Copying the file in a folder list does not work.
- Select inside the Anything else we should know box on the Log a call form.
- Press Ctrl and V together (Ctrl+V). While it goes in, the box shows "Pasting…".
- Type a few words with the picture, saying what it shows.
If a message says "Your browser is blocking this site from reading the clipboard — allow Clipboard for this site, then paste again.", allow it in your browser's settings for the portal's address and press Ctrl+V again.
The same works later in the Details document on the Edit call page, if your sign-in may change calls.
Other files, such as a PDF, a spreadsheet or a video, cannot be added to a call, and pasting a picture may not be possible on a phone. Send those to your service provider another way, for example by email, and quote the call number so they can match it to your call.
What happens after I select Log the call?
Your call is recorded straight away as a new, open call with today's date and time, and your service provider can see it at once. Your service provider's system also records that you logged it, with your name and email address, so they know who it came from. If the call is later changed with Edit on its page, the name and email address of the person who changed it last are recorded as well, and each Note added to its details is stamped with that person's name. Who to ask for and E-mail on the form start with your own name and sign-in address too, unless you change them.
Usually the new call then opens on its own page, showing its call number, your description and your details. Note the call number: it is what your service provider will ask for if you ring.
Pressing your browser's Back button from there takes you back to where you were before the form, not to the form itself, so the call cannot be sent twice by accident.
Nobody is booked yet. Your service provider decides who comes and when, and the visit appears on the call's Visits card and on your Visits page once it is arranged. The Customer portal itself does not email you when that happens, and it sends no confirmation email of the call you logged either: the call number on screen is your record of it. Check Visits, or ask your service provider whether they let you know another way.
Why does it say my call is logged but it does not appear in my list?
Your call has been received. Some sign-ins are set up to show only some kinds of call, for example only finished work, and a brand-new call is not among them yet.
In that case, instead of opening the call, the Log a call page shows a heading made of "Call", the new call number and "is logged", the form disappears, and the page explains: "The office has it. It will not appear on your list of calls — this sign-in is set up to show only some of them, and a call this new is not among them — so please quote the number above if you ring."
- Write down the call number shown in the heading.
- Select Back to your calls to return to your list.
Do not log the same problem again: your service provider already has it. Once the call reaches a status your sign-in can see, it appears on your Calls list.
Until then you cannot open the call in the Customer portal or change it with Edit, and its visits do not show on your Visits page. To add something to it or find out how it is going, ring your service provider and quote the call number.
What if Log a call says something is wrong?
If What is it about is still on Choose… or In one line is empty when you select Log the call, your browser does not send the form: it points to the box that still needs filling in. The browser does the same if E-mail holds something that is not a complete email address, and asks you to correct it there. For anything else, a message appears just above the Log the call button explaining what to fix, and everything you typed stays in place.
- "Say in one line what is wrong." — In one line holds only spaces; type a short description of the problem.
- "That is not a call type this sign-in can log." — pick another option from What is it about.
- A message beginning "A call of this type opens a job" — your service provider has something to set up on their side before calls of that kind can be logged. Choose a different kind if one fits, or contact your service provider.
- "The server did not answer. Check your connection and try again." — the Customer portal could not reach your service provider, for example because your internet connection dropped. Select Log the call again once you are back online. If you are not sure whether the call went through, ask your service provider before logging it a second time, because a new call does not appear on every sign-in's Calls list.
If What is it about offers nothing to choose, your sign-in has no call types set up; contact your service provider.