We received several angry responses to a recent “Kokua Line” column about Hawaiian Electric Co.’s continuing problems with its new computer billing system, which have led to lengthy delays in reaching customer service representatives. See is.gd/o2xCDY.
Readers vented their frustrations not only for “nonexisting” customer service, but also for billing delays and the outsourcing of customer service calls to a mainland company. One reader said he was so angry and frustrated that he contacted the Public Utilities Commission and suggested that others do so, too. (Go to puc.hawaii.gov/forms/complaints-inquiries).
We’ve combined and boiled down the questions considerably, unfortunately losing the “flavor” of the outrage expressed, in order to provide HECO’s responses.
QUESTION: HECO says to go online to avoid long delays in reaching a customer service representative by phone. On July 23 I emailed regarding my account number. It’s Aug. 16, and I still haven’t received a response. The website is not an alternative that anyone who is not registered can use. Thousands of websites allow customers to register online, but HECO can’t? I sent emails in May, June and July, but there was no reply. I spent over seven hours in the middle of work days to contact HECO for service. Going “in person” to HECO’s downtown, no-parking, traffic nightmare office from Mililani to start electrical service is absurd!
ANSWER: After encouraging customers to contact HECO online, HECO acknowledged delays there as well. “As more people have used email, responding is taking longer,” said spokesman Peter Rosegg. “We are also adding staff there, and in most cases you can expect a response within four business days.”
Some requests can be handled online but require logging on. “You can log on for service easily but do need your account number, which is on each bill,” Rosegg said.
He also said that instead of calling customer service, customers can call direct numbers for many common concerns, such as power outages, meter reading, net energy metering, service upgrades and trees in power lines. The numbers are provided on the heco.com Web page: Click on “contact us” on the upper right corner.
“We have and will continue to improve answer time by adding more staff,” Rosegg said. “We are deeply sorry for the bad experiences our customers have endured.”
QUESTION: Has HECO outsourced its customer service to a mainland outfit? When electricity on our block went out, I got someone from an answering service on the mainland who couldn’t even pronounce my street name and with a general attitude of no aloha spirit. In years past, HECO people were so nice and helpful, but not anymore.
ANSWER: HECO’s customer call center is in Honolulu, but it uses a company in Georgia after hours and when there is a high volume of calls, Rosegg said. “It was competitively chosen based on their depth and experience with other electric utilities.”
He said those operators address only specific questions “they are trained for,” with local staff dealing “with more difficult questions.”
QUESTION: Normally, we get billed the first week of the month. Last month it came more than two weeks late. Again this month, it’s Aug. 18 and still no bill. Why?
ANSWER: “As part of quality control in converting to the new system, some bills have been held back for verification, which may have resulted in delayed delivery,” Rosegg said. “Customers who received delayed bills will still have the same amount of lead time to pay their bills.”
He acknowledged that some customers have received erroneous overdue payment or disconnection notices because of the new system. If you are one of those and have been unable to contact HECO by phone, he urged sending an email.
“No one with an email on record will be disconnected before having a chance to discuss their account with a Hawaiian Electric service representative,” he said.
Asked how many erroneous notices have been sent, Rosegg said those cases have not been “frequent.”
“The majority of calls about recent notices are customers wanting to verify information about past payments or make payment arrangements,” he said. The volume of these calls, added to calls on other matters, has contributed to difficulties in getting through, he said.
Meanwhile, there’s no turning back with the new computer system.
The old system was no longer practical to maintain and had limited ability to build in new customer choices, Rosegg said.
“Once we converted to the new system and started using it to collect data, we could not re-create the accounts in the old system,” he said, emphasizing that “the vast majority” of problems customers are experiencing are not problems with the new system.
Also, he said “extensive testing” was done prior to conversion, including comparing old and new bill calculations to ensure accuracy.
While a major system conversion like this is expected to generate a lot of questions and entail a transition period, and “while we took steps in our planning to try to mitigate this, the difficulties our customers are experiencing in reaching us are clearly unacceptable,” he said.
He apologized again and reiterated that more staff is being added and other measures are being taken “to improve our service as quickly as possible.”
