A public utility was experiencing a high number of past due accounts which ultimately resulted in an increased number of costly service interrupt visits by field representatives. In addition, their customer service center staff was dedicating a large percentage (90%) of daily attention to inbound customer calls only. They decided to outsource an outbound calling campaign to customers that were 40 to 90+ days past due in order to reduce overall delinquency rates and decrease the number of customers scheduled for service interrupt.
The main objectives of the contact program were to:
ATI received daily batches of accounts via FTP from the utility. ATI made three phone attempts to contact the customer at different times of the day over a 48-hour period. All calls were made in the name of our client. Once the customer was reached, ATI reps informed the customer of their account status and the options for resolving the balance. In the event a customer reached by ATI needed to discuss the account further or needed financial assistance; ATI warm transferred the customer to our client’s internal representative for handling.
Customers were given the option to bring their account current with payment processes established by the utility. ATI reps gathered payment data and noted the customer account. Information was sent daily to the client to process the payment through their normal procedure.
A detailed report was generated nightly summarizing the campaign results. The results file was uploaded into the client’s database so their reps can see customer notes and contact information that was performed. Customers that were not reached by telephone were sent a pre-collection letter on our client’s letterhead. This step reduces cost to our client by only sending letters to customers that were not reached.
Our Early Intervention program has assisted our client in significantly reducing 60+ days, 90+ days and 120+ days past due accounts. After the first year of the program the utility reported delinquency rates had dropped to their lowest level in three years. This was even more impressive due to the increased customer base that was resulting from the growing population in the region.
Note – this program has continued to date and expanded in scope for this client.