Author Archives: Jim Linn

Jim Linn Connecting Customer Service and Low-Income Best Practices

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Jim Linn | Comments Off


This year’s AGA/EEI Customer Service Conference and Exposition was the first time we connected the conference with the Low-Income/At-Risk Customers Best Practices Workshop.  With the recent reduction in LIHEAP funding, care for low-income customers is a front-of-mind issue and the topic was woven through much of the conference content.

AGA Chairman and President and CEO of AGL Resources, John Somerhalder and President and CEO of Ameren Missouri, Warner Baxter addressed conference attendees giving a CEO perspective of customer service in the utility industry.

In addition to low-income, other topics explored in the general session context were energy efficiency, customer satisfaction, smart grid, energy theft and social media.  Each of these are of significant concern to today’s utility customer service leaders.  Many of these topics were explored in greater detail in the breakout sessions. Breakout tracks included: Call Centers, Credit and Collections, Billing and Payment Processing, Commercial and Industrial Account Management, Meter Reading, Field Service, Revenue Protection and Low-Income/At-Risk Customers.

Industry partners filled nearly 60 booths in the exhibit hall and shared products and services complementing utility customer service with attendees.  Networking sessions provided opportunities for attendees to connect with both colleagues in other companies and industry partners.  Many existing friendships were strengthened and many new networking connections were developed.  At the Tuesday Evening Social at Raglan Road Irish Pub our own Angelo Shaw from Laclede Gas Company played his sax with the band on several numbers and brought the house down! You can see pictures from the conference below. We posted even more to our Flickr stream.

We are looking forward to continuing the success with this year’s conference next year at the 2012 AGA/EEI Customer Service Conference and Exposition and Low-Income/At-Risk Customers Best Practices Workshop at the Omni Fort Worth in Fort Worth Texas April 30, 2012 through May 3, 2012.  Keep an eye on the AGA website for more information.

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Jim Linn Recipe for Utility Customer Service Success

Posted on April 28, 2010 by Jim Linn | Comments Off


Ingredients:

  • 75 Speakers
  • 65 Exhibitors
  • 20 Sponsors
  • 425 Attendees

Instructions:

  • Mix well at Midwest Airlines Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Yield:

  • 425 energized utility customer service leaders prepared to take on the challenges of our day, equipped and enthusiastic!

Thanks to the generous hospitality of our host utility, We Energies, we started this year’s conference with a cookie and cookie book.  For many years, We Energies has cared for and endeared itself to its customers through the provision of this holiday cookie book. So this warm, heartfelt gesture was the perfect way to begin three days of customer service education and networking.

Our first series of general sessions focused on the outcome of the federal stimulus package.  We heard updates from the federal, state, and local levels.  We also had updates on natural gas vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles and the smart grid.  The next day focused on how utilities and other service industries are successfully using social media to interact with and serve their customers.  Finally, we wrapped up with sessions on employee engagement, operational excellence and customer loyalty.  Throughout the conference there were topical sessions on a variety of issued related to utility customer service.

In addition to the educational programming we had times for attendees to meet with industry partners and learn of new products and services to enhance the delivery of utility customer service.  The exhibit hall included 65 partners offering such solutions.  Plus we enjoyed a wonderful evening at the Milwaukee Ale House at the end of the conference to allow attendees and partners to share a meal and further develop industry connections in a less formal environment.

I’ve included some photos from the conference here. You can view more over at our flickr channel.

We’re planning to serve this recipe next year in Kansas City in April with many of the same ingredients plus a few new ones to spice things up a bit.  One of the missing ingredients is you.  We hope you’ll put this on your calendar and plan to join us.

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Jim Linn Thank Goodness for Natural Gas

Posted on February 9, 2010 by Jim Linn | 5 Comments


A snow storm of historic proportions was forecast to begin Friday, February 5, 2010 in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area. As predicted, the snow began just before noon and continued through the day and evening. At some point in the middle of the night, the electric power to our neighborhood went out. We woke to a house that was 64 degrees and dropping. My first thought was how to keep my family warm. Fortunately our home has a natural gas fireplace.

Typically we start our fireplace with a remote control. With the power out, the remote control and the wall switch, which both run on electricity, were both inoperable. After a quick review of the manual, I opened the access panel and manually started the fireplace. Within minutes, the temperature of our family room rose to 65 degrees and by late morning it even reached 70 degrees which was very comfortable. This temperature was maintained for the rest of the day. Our home has an open first floor design which meant that the heat from the fireplace also kept our kitchen warm. In order to contain the heat we hung a sheet over the opening to our dining room and hall. During this time the temperature kept dropping in the second floor and reached as low as 50 degrees late in the afternoon.

Not only did natural gas keep us warm but we also enjoyed hot food. We manually lit the burners on our gas stove and cooked pancakes for breakfast. We grilled sandwiches for lunch, and we cooked green beans, pierogies and steak for dinner. And, we had plenty of hot water for washing dishes in the sink and hot showers all thanks to our natural gas hot water heater.

During this power outage many friends and neighbors headed to local hotels for safety. Unfortunately our neighborhood had not been plowed and getting out would have been difficult if not impossible. Without our natural gas service and appliances we would have had a quite cold and challenging experience. Instead, we enjoyed the warmth of our home and family while enjoying the comfort of cooked food and hot water.

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Jim Linn Essential Utility Customer Service

Posted on February 2, 2010 by Jim Linn | Comments Off


Where do gas and electric utility customer service leaders go for professional development?  To the AGA/EEI Customer Service Conference and Exposition, of course!

Each year customer service committee members gather to plan a conference of essential content for their peers.  In 2010, the AGA/EEI Customer Service Conference and Exposition will be held April 11-14 in Milwaukee, home to We Energies, Integrys, Alliant Energy, Xcel and others.  As with every conference, we have quite a line-up of programs and activities.

General sessions will be held in the mornings and geared toward broad utility customer service issues.  This year we will have a review of the federal stimulus (ARRA) package from the federal (DOE), state (NASEO) and local perspectives.  We will also discuss alternative transportation and smart grid (both gas and electric) and spend an entire morning on social media success in utilities and similar industries.  The general sessions will wrap up with a morning on sensational customer service featuring Barbara Burke, author of The Napkin, The Melon and The Monkey on the topic of employee engagement.  Check out the complete agenda and run down on the more than 20 breakout sessions where attendees can dig deep into functional area discussions.

Customer Service Executives (defined as vice president or equivalent) will enjoy an afternoon designed specifically for the executive level.  These sessions are invitation only.  Contact me directly for more information.

The conference prides itself on being held in a relevant exhibition hall where attendees can interact with companies providing the very latest customer service products and services.  The exhibit hall is a great venue for networking and discussing sessions as they occur as well as shared experiences.  The conference will culminate in a Tuesday evening social event at the Milwaukee Ale House.

If you are an AGA or EEI member and have never attended the Customer Service Conference, make this year your first.  If you have joined us in the past don’t miss this year – the content is too rich to pass up.  For those who join us every year, we cannot wait to see you in Milwaukee in April!

And, if you are a utility customer service partner, take a close look at the exhibitor and sponsor prospectus and join us for this event.

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