Becky Renfro, customer-billing clerk at Erwin Utilities (Erwin, Tennessee, U.S.), is always looking for the easiest, fastest and most-effective way to get her job done. Two years ago, after testing The Collector from US Netcom (Joplin, Missouri, U.S.), she knew she had found the solution.

Thanks to The Collector Payment Reminder System, Renfro has reduced service disconnects by 75%, saved the utility thousands of dollars a year in postage costs, and cut as many as 15 hours from her work week now that The Collector has made past-due statements an issue of the past.

The Collector is designed to contact clients with payment reminder notices automatically by phone. Renfro finds a plus in recording the message herself. “I've been here for 30 years. People know me, and they know my voice. So it's a lot more personal than an automated voice, and I think people are more likely to respond to that.”

Erwin Utilities, a company with almost 9000 customers, has reduced its disconnects by as much as 75% over the past two years. This saves the utility the cost of a service call, and it saves the customer the extra charge of getting reconnected when they pay.

Now that past-due notices are no longer mailed, the utility saves as much as $850 per month in postage costs by having The Collector make the automated calls.

For customers who claim they didn't receive a call, Renfro consults the detailed call report generated by The Collector, which lists the delivery status of each call.

For additional ease in checking the call list, US Netcom support created an application that lists the customer's name and account number alongside the phone number.

Renfro is enjoying additional benefits from The Collector. For example, when utility workers plan to service certain areas, she uses The Collector to notify particular neighborhoods of planned power outages.
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