Connecticut Water uses Verisae’s mobile platform to power its ‘Be Sure Before You Open the Door’ program.
Most companies try to provide excellent customer service while operating at high efficiency levels, but few commit to offering a customer protection program that focuses on customer safety. Connecticut Water is one of those companies, implementing a unique and innovative customer protection program called, Be Sure Before You Open the Door, that’s powered by Verisae’s mobile platform.
The impact and positive reception of the program from customers, consumer protection advocates and utility regulators earned Connecticut Water and Verisae the 2015 Community Service Award from the Connecticut Construction Industries Association (CCIA).
Connecticut Water has been utilizing Verisae’s technology since 2013 for its field service, work orders and customer appointment schedule optimization. The company – along with other utility providers – realized that many of its customers, particularly the elderly, were targeted and robbed by people pretending to be utility employees. With customer safety in mind, Connecticut Water leveraged its existing technology solution and worked with Verisae to develop Be Sure Before You Open the Door to eliminate these dangerous situations for its customers.
The customer protection program uses automated features within Verisae’s vx Field solution to proactively generate an email to the customer that includes a photo of the service technician when he or she is en route, so the customer knows who to expect before there’s a knock at the door.
The additional information in advance of an appointment ensures customer safety and allows Connecticut Water employees to feel more comfortable when approaching the customer’s door – without the need to explain why they’re there, because the email has already taken care of that introduction. Additional features of the Verisae vx Field solution mean that employees have real-time access to customer information, so they can better respond to customers and meet their service needs.
In addition to the recognition by CCIA, Connecticut Water was awarded the 2015 Management Innovation Award from the National Association of Water Companies for the customer protection program.
“When we heard about the various theft and robbery instances related to phony utility workers, we knew it was time to put additional customer protections in place,” said Art O’Neill, director of customer service at Connecticut Water.
“To our knowledge, we’re the only utility provider with this type of customer interaction and safety program and Verisae was instrumental in bringing this initiative to life. While we appreciate the recognition, we’re most proud of the impact it’s making on the safety of our customers and employees.”
Connecticut Water regularly receives positive feedback from customers about the protection program and in addition to these comments, the company conducted a survey of all customers who have received the email alert and found outstanding results: 100 percent of customers explained the email “made them feel better knowing they could identify the person at the door,” and 94 percent of customers said other utility providers should offer the same or a similar feature.
“We’re proud to work with a company that places such a high priority on customer safety,” said Verisae CEO Jerry Dolinsky. “And we’re glad our technology can help our customers reinvent the field service supply chain by using data – in this case, an employee image – to offer better service.”
The CCIA is committed to shaping the future of the construction industry and annually recognizes efforts made by its member organizations that contribute to their communities by enhancing and improving the overall quality of life for Connecticut citizens while demonstrating a sustained commitment to the community. Recent recipients of the Community Service Award include O&G Industries, Gilbane Building Company and KBE Building Corporation.
You can learn more about vx Field, the solution that powers the Be Sure Before You Open the Door program, at www.verisae.com.
