The day after the storm, Angela, a seasonal consultant in customer services, took a call from a customer in Greendale, Wis., who had been without service for nearly a day. He called to ask when his service would be restored.
“During our conversation, he told me that he was using a generator to keep his sump pump running and that his two carbon monoxide detectors kept going off — so he just unplugged them,” said Angela. “That got me really concerned.”
She asked the customer either to leave the home or open the windows to let in fresh air. He refused, saying it was too cold and reasoned that if we could just restore his service, he could turn off the generator.
Angela offered to refer the customer to our gas dispatch department to check out his situation, but he declined assistance, ending the call.
Concerned for his safety, Angela consulted Jenea, a contact center support specialist and the floor manager on duty. Together, they decided to call 911 and report the situation. Authorities investigated.
About a week later, the customer called back and asked to speak with Angela. “He told me that I saved two lives that day and that he owed me a million thanks.”
The customer reported that several squad cars and two fire engines arrived. The first responders measured the carbon monoxide levels in his home, which were dangerously high. He said the rescue personnel told him that had he and his wife stayed in the house and gone to bed, they would have died of carbon monoxide poisoning. The customer thanked her for her persistence and compassion and praised the company’s training program and emergency response protocol.
Angela and Jenea are relatively new to their roles in customer services. The night of the 911 call was Jenea’s first evening assignment as floor manager, but they handled the situation effectively – as the customers can attest.
All of our consultants complete five days of outage and emergency training and are trained to recognize emergencies and respond accordingly as was done in this case.
She asked the customer either to leave the home or open the windows to let in fresh air. He refused, saying it was too cold and reasoned that if we could just restore his service, he could turn off the generator.
Angela offered to refer the customer to our gas dispatch department to check out his situation, but he declined assistance, ending the call.
Concerned for his safety, Angela consulted Jenea, a contact center support specialist and the floor manager on duty. Together, they decided to call 911 and report the situation. Authorities investigated.
About a week later, the customer called back and asked to speak with Angela. “He told me that I saved two lives that day and that he owed me a million thanks.”
The customer reported that several squad cars and two fire engines arrived. The first responders measured the carbon monoxide levels in his home, which were dangerously high. He said the rescue personnel told him that had he and his wife stayed in the house and gone to bed, they would have died of carbon monoxide poisoning. The customer thanked her for her persistence and compassion and praised the company’s training program and emergency response protocol.
Angela and Jenea are relatively new to their roles in customer services. The night of the 911 call was Jenea’s first evening assignment as floor manager, but they handled the situation effectively – as the customers can attest.
All of our consultants complete five days of outage and emergency training and are trained to recognize emergencies and respond accordingly as was done in this case.
