HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004 01 12 Informational 309011204_COMM_Informational_3 09_Utility_B it ling_Improvements
COMMISSION AGENDA
ITEIVi 309
January 12, 2004
Meeting
Consent
Information
X
Public Hearin
Regular
MGR.A-A /Dept.
REQUEST: City Manager informing the Commission of improvements in utility billing.
PURPOSE: This agenda item is needed to inform the Commission of improvements in utility billing.
CONSIDERATION: In the FY 04 Budget the Commission authorized two additional staff people to
improve utility billing services resulting from the growth of the customer base, and to facilitate
automatic bank draft payments.
The department was having three specific problems.
1. Untimely return of telephone calls requiring more than 24-hours to answer a complaint or bill
inquiry.
2. Difficulty in getting bills out on time.
3. Communication problems with revenue collection department.
As a result of the additional staff we have been able to:
➢ Reduce the average time for call backs to less than three hours for those going to voice mail.
➢ Reduced the number of calls going to voice mail from 60 per week to 28 per week.
➢ Improved the accuracy of bills which have reduced the number of calls from 300 per week to
200 per week.
➢ Eliminated untimely billing.
➢ Implemented automatic bank draft to the testing phase.
➢ Eliminated the communication issues between billing and collection departments.
FUNDING: N/A
RECOMMENDATIONS: N/A
ATTACHMENTS:
December 22, 2003 Dennis Waldrop Memorandum to the City Manager.
COMMISSION ACTION:
CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA
1126 EAST STATE ROAD 434
WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA 32708-2799
Telephone (407) 327-1800
To: Ron McLemore
City Manager
From: Dennis Waldrop
Utility Services Manager
Date: December 22, 2003
Re: Utility Billing Telephone Service
This is an update on utility billing customer service for telephone inquiries. In September of 2003 we
had two billing specialists handling telephone inquires with one dedicated specialist on the days we ran our
weekly bills. On November 240 our third billing specialist started. This position allowed the utility department to
provide better response times to telephone inquires and to better analyze billing data in order to eliminate
problems before they occur. The following is a summation of phone calls for September with two billing
specialists and December to date with three billing specialists:
September December
Telephone Calls
Per Day 60 40
Per Week 300 200
The phone calls consist of calls that are answered immediately and messages left which required a
callback to our customer. Our goal is to be able to return a call the same day within 2 hours of the call. The
following is a summation of the number of messages left on the answering machine and the length of time it
took to return the call.
September December
Messages
Per Day 12 5
Per Week 60 25
Callbacks 3 Hours 2 Hours
(There is a one (1) hour delay in receiving messages after the message is left by the customer)
As you can see, the addition of the third billing specialist has allowed the city to drastically reduce the
number of messages that must be left by customers because we are able to take the call the first time they call.
We also believe that the number of calls has been reduced due to the ability of the billing person to now have
adequate time, without interruptions, to review the accounts in order to provide correct billing information
reducing the need for customers to call. Note that the number of calls is an approximation and fluctuates slightly
from day to day and before and after the cutoff day. Voicemail is checked every hour for messages left during
the previous two hours.