–WHITE PAPER—
A Texas Utility Provider Improves Customer Service Capabilities While Freeing Up Critical Resources to Enhance Their Services
When employees at Riverside Special Utility District in Riverside, Texas talked with customers on the phone, at times all the lights on the phone would light up, and the phones would die. When the phones came back, they would lose the caller on the other end. Due to the nature of their business, the utility company makes and receives a significant amount of phone calls. So needless to say, the ailing phone system presented significant customer service issues, office manager Chelsey Siercks said.
“I’m saving time. They were really old,” Siercks said. “This definitely takes the worry out of whether we’ll get our calls.” The Riverside Special Utility District provides safe, high-quality water services to the Riverside Community in Texas, while maintaining a standard of excellence in customer service and environmental conservation. Siercks and the utility district recently made the decision to upgrade from a dated Nortel Networks Windstream system to a more modern VoIP phone system from Rubix Voice. We now have more flexibility through the phones to better take care of their customers, she said.
First Impressions of VoIP
They’ve had the phone system installed for a short amount of time, and all incoming and outgoing calls are recorded, a feature that the previous system did not offer. This feature became a major selling point, and something the utility district wanted to do, but their previous technology was not capable of. Recording calls helps to solve disputes, any time there is a customer complaint. The utility district can refer back to their phone system to ensure that they followed proper procedures.
In addition to the recordings, the utility district also heavily utilizes the Rubix Voice portal system, where voicemails, faxes, caller ID, and other vital phone information appear. They’re able to more efficiently send faxes through the computer. There’s also another small feature that Siercks set up with the help of the Rubix Voice team. They are able to determine where in the office the phones ring. That way not everyone in the office is notified of every call. This change makes their processes more efficient. “My boss is no longer getting bothered with all our calls, and neither is our field supervisor,” she said.
Bringing VoIP Phone Services to Riverside
Siercks said that the installation process couldn’t have been easier. The only step necessary was to unbox the phones and then plug them in. It initially took some time, but only because they’re located in an older building, she said. They initially forwarded calls from the old system to the new system, until they didn’t need the phones that were part of the old system any longer. Altogether, it took the utility district about a week and a half to complete the transition. Siercks said she was impressed that when she completed and approved the quote for the new phone system, they arrived at her office the next day.
The Rubix Voice owners have been extremely responsive, she said. They were able to quickly set up the outgoing calls and make other small modifications to the system remotely. “It’s such an easy process,” Siercks said. “It was really nice to not have to do anything. Everything is done for me.”
Significant Cost Savings
The Riverside Special Utility District saved about $4,000 on the cost of a new phone system by going with Rubix. They’re also saving more than $300 a month on their phone bill. Siercks said they intend to reinvest that money into the water distribution system, in order to provide a better product to their customers. “Our customers and the quality of our water come before anything else,” Siercks said that given the opportunity, the district would gladly go with the Rubix Voice team for their phone system again. If you are in Riverside Texas and are looking for a new VoIP phone service, we are the VoIP provider of choice for Riverside Texas.
