20060417UWI response more 2nd requests.pdf

McDevitt & Miller LLP
Lawyers
[phone]
[phone] (Fax)
420 W. Bannock Street
O. Box 2564-83701
Boise, Idaho 83702
Chas. F. McDevitt
Dean 1. (Joe) Miller
April 17, 2006
Via Hand Delivery
Jean Jewell, Secretary
Idaho Public Utilities Commission
472 W. Washington St.
Boise, Idaho 83720
- .':.
Re: Case No. UWI-06-
Dear Ms. Jewell:
Enclosed for filing in the above matter please find three (3) copies of United Water
Idaho s Response to Staffs Second Production Requests Nos. 25-, 32, 41-, and 46.
Very Trol y Yours
\\C~vitt & Miller LLP
DJM/hh
UNITED WATER IDAHO INC.
CASE UWI-O6-02
- ..' -
SECOND PRODUCTION REQUEST OF THE COMMISSION STAFF , l:: '
... ., ,',.. '' '' ;;, ,':',
) i ",
Preparer: Patricia Foss
Sponsoring Witness: Gregory P. Wyatt
Telephone: [phone]
Title: General Managing
REQUEST NO. 25:
Please provide the first call resolution rate by month for calendar year 2005.
First call resolution rate" is the percentage of calls where the transaction , inquiry
or complaint is resolved upon initial contact with the Company.
RESPONSE NO. 25:
United Water does not measure "first call resolution rate
The customer service representatives assist all callers. Most requests are
handled during the call such as service requests, payment arrangements, bill
inquiries, balance inquiries, and general information. Some calls may require
assistance from another department or a field service visit before resolution.
UNITED WATER IDAHO INC.
CASE UWI-O6-
SECOND PRODUCTION REQUEST OF THE COMMISSION STAFF
preparer: Patricia Foss
Sponsoring Witness: Gregory P. Wyatt
Telephone: [phone]
Title: General Managing
REQUEST NO. 26:
Please describe how the company handles e-mail inquiries , complaints , payment
arrangements, service orders, and other routine transactions. E-mails that are
outside the scope of customer service are referred to the proper department.
RESPONSE NO. 26:
United Water has one designated company e-mail address. The Commercial
Manager checks the mailbox each morning and afternoon. Most requests are
processed in the same day from customer service.
Complaints are handled as they occur and on the level most appropriate for
proper processing. For instance , a complaint about a high water bill would be
handled by the customer service group and might require a field service visit to
solve. A complaint about weeds at a pump house would be referred to the
production department.
United Water does not make payment arrangements on future bills. Payment
arrangements are made on past due bills. Generally, customers needing
assistance with the past due bill request payment arrangements by calling the
customer service phone number listed on the reminder notice. Because each
customer s situation is different, each of these requests is unique. Some
customers call just to say they ve mailed the payment. Others may need more
time to pay, and a few may need to be referred to our UW Cares program.
When a payment arrangement call is received , the customer service
representative reviews the account and discusses the issue with the customer.
When an arrangement has been agreed upon, it is logged on the customer
account in a call tracking function of the billing system under a predefined code.
The call track function dates , time stamps, and identifies the arrangement by
customer service representative.
Requests for service are processed by customer service representatives in the
service order function of the billing system. Specific order types have been
predefined in the system. The customer service representative chooses the
correct type of order and fills in the necessary information. The order is stored in
the billing system until the evening prior to the request date. Orders are printed
and sent to the field with a field service person for completion. When the paper
order is completed, it is returned to the office, then all completed information is
entered into the billing system to update the customer record.
Customer service representatives handle a variety of routine transactions daily
over the phone, in writing, and occasionally in person.
UNITED WATER IDAHO INC.
CASE UWI-O6-
SECOND PRODUCTION REQUEST OF THE COMMISSION STAFF
Preparer: Patricia Foss
Sponsoring Witness: Gregory P. Wyatt
Telephone: [phone]
Title: General Managing
REQUEST NO. 27:
Please provide the average response time for e-mail transactions by month for
calendar year 2005. "Average response time" is the average number of hours
from receipt of an e-mail by the Company to sending a substantive response;
auto-response acknowledgements do not count as a substantive response.
RESPONSE NO. 27:
United Water Idaho does not receive a great number of e-mails per day and does
not formally track the "average response time" for e-mail transactions.
If the e-mail request can be handled via an e-mail response, the reply is made
within the same day. If the e-mail request requires a field service visit, the
customer receives a e-mail note from the company explaining what will occur and
then receives an e-mail with results after the field visit is complete. If the e-mail
request is for enrollment in autopay, the enrollment form is mailed (original
signature required on the form) the same day the request is received.
UNITED WATER IDAHO INC.
CASE UWI-O6-
SECOND PRODUCTION REQUEST OF THE COMMISSION STAFF
Preparer: Patricia Foss
Sponsoring Witness: Gregory P. Wyatt
Telephone: [phone]
Title: General Managing
REQUEST NO. 28:
As of year-end 2005, please provide the number of authorized positions for each
job title for employees working in the customer service call center.
RESPONSE NO. 28:
At year-end 2005 , the office customer service group had 12 authorized Customer
Service Representative (CSR) titled positions , one Customer Service Supervisor
position and one Commercial Manager position. Of the 12 CSR', 6 are normally
assigned to the customer service call center area of the department, 2 are
assigned to the front office handling switchboard , receptionist, and cashier
duties , and 4 are assigned to perform "back office" functions including processing
all meter reading edits, service order processing, billing corrections , adjustments
new account creation, meter book routing, and delinquent accounts processing.
Within the department we have the flexibility to assign CSR's to the various
functions as the customer workload demands.
UNITED WATER IDAHO INC.
CASE UWI-O6-
SECOND PRODUCTION REQUEST OF THE COMMISSION STAFF
Preparer: Patricia Foss
Sponsoring Witness: Gregory P. Wyatt
Telephone: [phone]
Title: General Managing
REQUEST NO. 29:
As of year-end 2005, please provide the number of authorized positions that
were vacant for each job title for employees working in the customer service call
center.
RESPONSE NO. 29:
There were no vacancies in the customer service call center at year-end 2005.
UNITED WATER IDAHO INC.
CASE UWI-06-
SECOND PRODUCTION REQUEST OF THE COMMISSION STAFF
Preparer: Patricia Foss
Sponsoring Witness: Gregory P. Wyatt
Telephone: [phone]
Title: General Managing
REQUEST NO. 30:
Please provide the number of customer complaints received by the Company for
calendar year 2005 broken into categories by topics; high bills, disconnection
water quality, etc.
RESPONSE NO. 30:
Complaints received for calendar year 2005 were:
Disconnections
High Bills
Quality of Service
Other
1581
1258
599
185
UNITED WATER IDAHO INC.
CASE UWI-06-
SECOND PRODUCTION REQUEST OF THE COMMISSION STAFF
Preparer: Patricia Foss
Sponsoring Witness: Gregory P. Wyatt
Telephone: [phone]
Title: General Managing
REQUEST NO. 32:
Please provide the number of reconnections by the end of the calendar day
following disconnection by month for calendar year 2005.
RESPONSE NO. 32:
United Water Idaho does not track the number of reconnections by the end of the
calendar day following disconnection.
If an account is disconnected because of non-payment, the service is restored
the same day the situation is resolved. If the account was disconnected at the
customer s request the service is restored when the customer requests it. If the
account was disconnected at the customer s request for a closing, the service is
restored when the new customer requests service.
UNITED WATER IDAHO INC.
CASE UWI-06-
SECOND PRODUCTION REQUEST OF THE COMMISSION STAFF
Preparer Sponsoring Witness: Gregory P. Wyatt
Telephone: [phone]
Title: General Managing
REQUEST NO. 41:
Please provide number of customer claims filed under the leakGuard program
for calendar year 2005.
RESPONSE NO. 41:
leakGuard was an un-regulated division of United Water leakGuard Inc., a New
Jersey Corporation. Accordingly, United Water objects to this question on the
grounds that the information requested is not likely to lead to the discovery of
information relevant to the rates, charges or practices of United Water Idaho Inc.
UNITED WATER IDAHO INC.
CASE UWI-06-
SECOND PRODUCTION REQUEST OF THE COMMISSION STAFF
Preparer Sponsoring Witness: Gregory P. Wyatt
Telephone: [phone]
Title: General Managing
REQUEST NO. 42:
Please provide number of customer claims satisfied and dollar amount awarded
to customers through the leakGuard program for calendar year 2005.
RESPONSE NO. 42:
leakGuard was an un-regulated division of United Water leakGuard Inc., a New
Jersey Corporation. Accordingly, United Water objects to this question on the
grounds that the information requested is not likely to lead to the discovery of
information relevant to the rates , charges or practices of United Water Idaho Inc.
UNITED WATER IDAHO INC.
CASE UWI-06-
SECOND PRODUCTION REQUEST OF THE COMMISSION STAFF
Preparer Sponsoring Witness: Gregory P. Wyatt
Telephone: [phone]
Title: General Managing
REQUEST NO. 43:
Please provide copies of all promotional material for the leakGuard program.
RESPONSE NO. 43:
leakGuard was an un-regulated division of United Water leakGuard Inc., a New
Jersey Corporation. Accordingly, United Water objects to this question on the
grounds that the information requested is not likely to lead to the discovery of
information relevant to the rates, charges or practices of United Water Idaho Inc.
UNITED WATER IDAHO INC.
CASE UWI-06-
SECOND PRODUCTION REQUEST OF THE COMMISSION STAFF
Preparer: Patricia Foss
Sponsoring Witness: Gregory P. Wyatt
Telephone: [phone]
Title: General Managing
REQUEST NO. 46:
Please provide the total amount of revenue received from the LeakGuard
program to United Water Idaho for calendar year 2005.
RESPONSE NO. 46:
United Water Idaho received no revenue from the LeakGuard program in
calendar year 2005 or any other year. United Water LeakGuard , a separate and
distinct unregulated business entity, received all LeakGuard revenue.