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Customer service representatives personify
co-op's 'personal touch'
By Walter Allread
 Forget about Google or Yahoo! Ask a York Electric Member Services Representative about any co-op service or program and you'll witness a virtual human search engine whir into action. But the Member Services Representatives, or CSRs for short, aren't robots. Far from it. The co-op places a high value on "the personal touch," as Manager of Consumer Services Mary Rogers notes. "We're still very big on that," she says.
 Rogers and Call Center and Billing Administrator Paulette L. Warmoth have been with York Electric for 20 and 19 years, respectively.
When they started, the cooperative served about 14,000 member-owners. Back then, "in the Ice Age," as Warmoth jokes, many of the tasks the CSRs handle today — creating job orders, establishing new services and handling billing — were divided among various departments.
Today, York Electric serves more than 37,000 members and is the second-fastest growing co-op in the state. Adapting proactively, about 10 years ago the cooperative switched to the Call Center concept: Any CSR can handle almost any service request or query without passing the caller along to another department. As Rogers says, "One call does it all." And that's saying a lot.
 In addition to the tasks mentioned above, CSRs process about 1,250 mail payments a day, take orders for security light repairs, assist members who need to make payment arrangements — directing many to local help agencies — and sign up members for bank draft and other services.
They handle call-in, walk-in and drive-through members. They handle e-mailed inquiries through the co-op's web site. They advise members on using the site's online Bill Presentment and Payment options.
As Warmoth notes, cross training helps the CSRs understand other facets of cooperative work. The CSRs even spend time with co-op servicemen in the field. That way, they can talk the talk about "cut-off fuses" and other line equipment that helps keep service reliable.
They may handle 4,500 to 5,000 calls a month, but the CSRs still connect with co-op members on a personal level.
 Stephanie Mitchell, a CSR at the co-op's Rock Hill office, notes, "I get candy. The members get to know you. If one of us isn't here, they ask about you." Her co-worker Anna Young says members appreciate the co-op touch on service, especially those who have moved to other areas, then returned. "They
say, 'I am so glad to be back on the coop,'" Young notes.
At the Fort Mill office, 17-year co-op veteran Debbie Little says, "You develop a one-on-one relationship with many members. Fort Mill is fast-growing, but it still has small-town atmosphere." This summer, Little notes, they welcomed a Fort Mill office regular to set up a free produce stand in the parking lot. He gave away a bumper crop of tomatoes to fellow co-op members.
Little's co-worker Darla Jirel says she's gotten to know several members she's helped over the phone through the Call Center. (CSRs in Rock Hill and Fort Mill assist the six Call Center CSRs at the York office when lines are busy.)
Making "the human connection," as Touchstone Energy cooperatives like York Electric call it, makes newcomers into co-op converts, Jirel says. "People know about Operation Round Up, about the linemen coming into the schools to teach kids about electrical safety. The children love it," she says. And the grown-ups love the idea of the co-op returning capital credits to members, Little adds.
Not every situation can be easy, however. Monica Hambright is one of three CSRs in York who assist with walk-in customers and help members establish payment arrangements. Sometimes they are upset, she notes. "You have to be patient. It's important to show someone you're listening to them," Hambright notes, adding, "I'm a people person."
Like the duties they perform, the CSRs are too numerous to feature in this space. In addition to those shown here, other York Electric CSRs include Delois McDaniel, Melinda Heminger, Ann Faulk, Leah Doster, Brenda Munn, Shari Propst and Reina Johnson.
Far from robots, they're the voices you hear if you call the co-op during regular
business hours. They're the ones politely asking, like Wendy Catledge, above, "Do you have that account number? It'll be in the top left corner of the bill."
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