SKRECC: Making Service Simple

South Kentucky RECC’s members expect professional and prompt service, and they want to do business at their convenience. In an effort to be able to assist members right at the moment they need it, South Kentucky RECC is installing a new state-of-the-art system specifically for this purpose.

Interactive Voice Response, or IVR, will allow SKRECC members to conduct business on their timeline. IVR is able to answer member calls reliably during an outage situation; it can collect data in order to analyze and assist in rectifying an outage; and it allows members to complete routine transactions, such as paying their electric bill, day or night, 365 days a year.

Steve Conover, vice president of engineering for South Kentucky RECC, says the new IVR system will provide a useful link between the co-op and its members.

“With the new IVR system, South Kentucky RECC can contact members about issues ranging from their billing to annual meeting. Members’ telephone numbers will be matched to their accounts, making it easy for members to pay their bills, update their information, and much more.

“Even more importantly is the IVR’s ability to automatically associate an incoming member call with a power outage, which will be reported to SKRECC’s outage management system. When the call is recognized by the system, the dispatcher can more efficiently send crews to respond to an outage. This makes it vital that the co-op have the correct phone number and service address for each member.”

Conover adds that on page 4A of this issue is a form that members can fill out and send in with their electric bill that asks for their name, account number(s), service address or addresses (this may be different from the billing address; it should not be a post office box), and phone number. Members who fill this out and return it in their next bill or by dropping it by their local office by January 15 will be entered into a drawing for a $50 VISA® card.

According to Conover, the system should be operational in early 2009.

Interactive Voice Response will work somewhat differently than South Kentucky RECC’s current phone system. If you call the regular office number, you will get the same message you receive now when you phone in, but there will be an additional option to press. That option will say, “Press 5 for our automated member service system.”

Members will be able to access the IVR directly by calling a special toll-free number, which will be available in January. This will be the quickest way to pay your bill by phone, access your account, and report an outage.

This is just another way South Kentucky RECC is trying to do its best for its members—making service easily accessible, on demand, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.