Question: Why has Hawaiian Electric switched from an automated trouble call response system to one using outsourced live operators? We live in Maunawili, where six or more power outages a year are not unusual. For decades HECO has used an automated system that worked fine. Last month, during another outage, I was switched to an operator in Georgia. The call got off to a bad start when she asked for my account number. After figuring out that I did not have that 12-digit number handy — it was about 6 a.m. and my house was pitch black — she asked for my address. I had to spell my street name for her. She asked if power was out only in my home. I told her that all the lights in my subdivision were out. A few questions later, she asked if I had checked my circuit breakers. That was a completely inane question because if all of the lights in my subdivision were out, why would I check my circuit breakers? If HECO wants to improve customer service, switching to their outsourced operation is a step backward. The call took much longer than in the past and was annoying at best.
Answer: HECO changed “the configuration of our outage reporting several months ago” so that it no longer is set up for automated reporting, said spokesman Darren Pai.
“We are in the process of evaluating improvements to our phone system, which will help us provide our customers with the highest levels of service,” he said in explaining the change.
HECO is using an outside call center to help take outage reports, which frees local staff to respond to inquiries from customers about their accounts, Pai said.
“Such calls are often more complex and require more time and expertise to help address,” he said.
Pai said the out-of-state call center was chosen because of its experience in working with utility customers.
“Its representatives are trained to ask certain questions during an outage, which may help our system operators and troubleshooters diagnose a problem properly,” he said. “We know that steps such as spelling out street names may be an inconvenience, but they help us ensure we get the information right and pinpoint the outage so our customers’ power can be restored as quickly as possible.”
Question: I’ve just had a knee replacement, so purchased an “accessible” seat at the Blaisdell Concert Hall for “Wicked.” The agent assured me that no evidence of eligibility was required and that adjacent companion seats are as comfortable as normal seats. Since “accessible” seats are sold at a discount, shouldn’t I be required to prove my eligibility? What kind of seats do companions of someone in an accessible seat get?
Answer: By “accessible” seating, you are referring to wheelchair seating, in which case, “no proof beyond the statement of the attendee is required,” said Keoki Miyamoto, director of the city Department of Enterprise Services.
He said the companion seat will be “a comfortable full-padded seat.”
AUWE
To the two thoughtless bicyclists on the Beretania Street sidewalk in front of Central Union Church, who dangerously “sandwiched” me recently. One of you came speeding from behind and the other from the front, and neither of you thought to slow down and give this white-haired senior walking room. Pedestrians have only the sidewalks available to them, so when you use the sidewalks you should yield to them. Your mothers, grandmothers, etc. would not be proud if they had seen you.
— V.
Here’s a link to a previous column about bike laws: is.gd/THzqve.
Regarding rights of way: “Anyone riding a bicycle on a sidewalk should yield the right of way to any pedestrian and give an audible signal before overtaking and passing a pedestrian.”
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Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
