Collecting Additional Information with Custom Fields
Reasons and reason details tell you why a customer is filing a claim, but they rarely tell you everything you need to approve it. The Collect Additional Information automation lets you ask your own questions and require photos, videos, or documents before the customer can continue.
Overview
Section titled “Overview”Collect Additional Information is an automation rule that controls the “more information” step of the return and warranty flow in the Customer Portal. It runs right after the customer picks a reason (and reason detail, if the reason has details).
Use it to:
- Ask questions from your custom fields library.
- Require media uploads and set how many files the customer must provide.
- Choose which file types the customer can upload.
- Show, hide, or require the default comment field.
What you can expect
Section titled “What you can expect”- Targeted questions: Ask different questions by claim type, reason, reason detail, product group, product type, collection, and other order or product details.
- Required answers: Every custom field you add to the rule is required for the customer.
- Media requirements: Require at least one file (or more) and give upload instructions, such as “Please upload one photo of the front and one of the back.”
- Responses on the claim: Answers appear in the Custom Fields section of each claim line item and can be included in data exports.
Features and functionality
Section titled “Features and functionality”Customer experience
Section titled “Customer experience”- The customer selects an item, then a reason and reason detail.
- If a Collect Additional Information rule matches, the next page reads Let’s get some more information and shows your custom fields. If the rule has no custom fields, the page reads Anything else you can tell us?
- Below the custom fields, the customer sees the Additional comments box (if shown) and the Upload files area, along with your upload instructions.
- If uploads are required, the customer can’t continue until they add the minimum number of files.
Rule settings
Section titled “Rule settings”When you create a Collect Additional Information rule, these settings are available:
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Fields to Collect | The custom fields to show. Fields are created under Settings > Custom Fields. Every selected field is required. |
| Show Default Comment Field | Shows the Additional comments box alongside your custom fields. |
| Require Default Comment Field | Makes the comment box required. Only available when the comment field is shown. |
| Require Media Uploads | Requires the customer to upload files before continuing. |
| Accepted Media | The file types the customer can upload: Images, Videos, and PDFs. All three are selected by default. |
| Media Upload Instructions | Text shown with the upload area. Available when media uploads are required. |
| Minimum Media Files Required | How many files the customer must upload. Available when media uploads are required. If left blank, one file is required. |
The upload area is always shown. When Require Media Uploads is off, uploads are optional.
Conditions
Section titled “Conditions”The rule runs at Claim Reason Selection, so conditions can use anything known at that point:
- Claim Type (Return or Warranty)
- Claim Reason, Claim Reason Detail, and Claim Reason Category
- Product details such as Product Group, Product Type, Product Collection, and Product Tag (At Purchase)
- Order and customer details such as Order Days Since Created, Order Tag, and Order Country
- Registration details such as Registration Channel and Registration Days Since Purchase Estimate
Custom field responses aren’t available as a condition here, because the customer hasn’t answered yet. To act on answers, use them in a later rule, such as Tag Claim.
When more than one rule matches
Section titled “When more than one rule matches”Only one Collect Additional Information rule applies to an item: the highest-priority rule whose conditions match. Questions from different rules aren’t combined. If you want a set of questions to apply broadly and another set for a specific reason, put the specific rule above the general one. See rule priority for how to reorder rules.
What happens without a rule
Section titled “What happens without a rule”If no Collect Additional Information rule matches, the customer still sees the Additional comments box and the Upload files area:
- Returns: Uploads are required only if Require Media Upload is turned on under Settings > Returns. One file is required.
- Warranties: One upload is always required.
A matching rule replaces these defaults. For example, a rule with Require Media Uploads turned off makes uploads optional for warranty claims that match it.
How to set up a Collect Additional Information rule
Section titled “How to set up a Collect Additional Information rule”- Create your questions under Settings > Custom Fields. See Custom Fields in Corso.
- Go to Settings > Automations and create a new rule.
- Under What would you like to do?, select Collect Additional Information.
- Enter a Name for the rule.
- Select your Fields to Collect and configure the comment field and media settings.
- Add conditions for when the rule should apply, or leave them empty to apply to every return and warranty claim.
- Save the rule and make sure it’s Enabled.
- Test it by starting a claim in the Customer Portal with a reason that matches your conditions.
Example: warranty pre-qualification
Section titled “Example: warranty pre-qualification”- Conditions: Claim Type is Warranty and Claim Reason is Defective.
- Fields to Collect: “Where is the defect?” (Select) and “Serial Number” (Text).
- Require Media Uploads: On, Minimum Media Files Required set to 2.
- Media Upload Instructions: “Please upload one photo of the whole product and one close-up of the defect.”
Can I use different questions for returns and warranties? Yes. Create separate rules with a Claim Type condition on each.
Do customers always see my custom fields? No. They only appear when a rule’s conditions match. Without a matching rule, the customer only sees the comment box and the upload area.
Can I make some custom fields optional? Not in this rule. Every field you add to Fields to Collect is required. Use the default comment field for optional free-text input.
Can I report on custom field responses? Yes. Responses are stored on each claim line item and can be added as columns in a data export.
Why didn’t my second rule’s questions appear? Only the highest-priority matching rule applies. Check the order of your Collect Additional Information rules under Settings > Automations.