Line On The Roof?

[DadMulder]

I was called out on a trouble call up the Mountain Loop hiway in the Cascade mountains in Wa. state. Dispatch told me the location and the trouble was a line on the roof. As you know, that's a pretty standard call for a Troubleman. Anyway, I'm almost there and Dispatch calls with a troubled sound in his voice and told me to pull over. I thought that was a bit strange but did so. After the Dispatcher knew I was pulled over, he started laughing and told me he'd just got a call back from Sno Pac (911) and they said to cancel the call, it wasn't a line on the roof, it was a LION on the roof!
Whew! Can you imagine shining a flashlight on a roof looking for one thing and seeing something else, like two shining lights looking at you.
Dad Mulder
Sno. County P.U.D. # 1

[Trbl639]

That's a new one!! it's gotten to the point now, that our dispatchers, say things like, Well, I gonna read these directions or memo on this trouble ticket, but it makes no sense to me!!!!!!!

I've gotten to the point, that I don't go by what the directions/memo's say...I wait until I drive up and lay eyes on it!!!!!!!!!

The other day...Day 1 of Gustav, I had a trbl call...... wire and poles down in back yard, cust said power is on............. when I got there, there was a pin oak limb, about the size of my wrist laying on a service, every light in the house was on!!! the customer came out and said, when are you gonna fix that pole that fell down...I asked which pole? She told me where it was, completely on the otherside of my territory!!!!! She lived over there, but came to her Mother's house(where I was) before she called it in!! I already had a crew working on that pole!!!

on Day 5, I was sent to another town, about 80 miles away to help them finish up............I had a Stolen Meter ticket.........I get there and the meter number that was o the ticket matched the meter number of the house where I was.......have no idead where the stolen meter is...and the customer said they never called in to report it!!!!!

[Pootnaigle]

That's a new one!! it's gotten to the point now, that our dispatchers, say things like, Well, I gonna read these directions or memo on this trouble ticket, but it makes no sense to me!!!!!!!

I've gotten to the point, that I don't go by what the directions/memo's say...I wait until I drive up and lay eyes on it!!!!!!!!!

The other day...Day 1 of Gustav, I had a trbl call...... wire and poles down in back yard, cust said power is on............. when I got there, there was a pin oak limb, about the size of my wrist laying on a service, every light in the house was on!!! the customer came out and said, when are you gonna fix that pole that fell down...I asked which pole? She told me where it was, completely on the otherside of my territory!!!!! She lived over there, but came to her Mother's house(where I was) before she called it in!! I already had a crew working on that pole!!!

on Day 5, I was sent to another town, about 80 miles away to help them finish up............I had a Stolen Meter ticket.........I get there and the meter number that was o the ticket matched the meter number of the house where I was.......have no idead where the stolen meter is...and the customer said they never called in to report it!!!!!

Well for starters you work for Entergy and their call centers are the worst.A guy in Louisiana calls the lites out number and is told " Oh yes we have other calls in your area " while speaking to some knothead in mississipi. That would mean their are other lites out calls somewhere in louisiana but of course the customer is fully convinced it means in his neighborhood. Those people have zero knowledge about neighborhoods or grids or anything else ... They can answer the phone and thats about it. They also tie everything to a phone number but customers dont know that and may call from a friend or neighbors house, so all bets are off when taking a trouble call from this system. Oh and the automated phone lines are the worst. A security lite out may be dispatched as a Lites out call or vise versa.A classic example OF YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.

[Trbl639]

Well for starters you work for Entergy and their call centers are the worst.A guy in Louisiana calls the lites out number and is told " Oh yes we have other calls in your area " while speaking to some knothead in mississipi. That would mean their are other lites out calls somewhere in louisiana but of course the customer is fully convinced it means in his neighborhood. Those people have zero knowledge about neighborhoods or grids or anything else ... They can answer the phone and thats about it. They also tie everything to a phone number but customers dont know that and may call from a friend or neighbors house, so all bets are off when taking a trouble call from this system. Oh and the automated phone lines are the worst. A security lite out may be dispatched as a Lites out call or vise versa.A classic example OF YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.

You got that right Brother!!!

Been called out on a light out at 0230hrs..in another area.....all of them were hogged and I was Back-up for one of them........Drove close to 50 miles (1 way), in the pouring rain.......and it was a nightlight out!!!!!!!!:mad:

I honestly believe that if you are walking down the street..at the right time..they'll jerk ya off the sidewalk and stick ya behind a desk answering the phone!!!!!!!! ever since we went to the Phone Center concept, it's been the pits.......every meeting we have with the Big wheels, they ask what kinda problems we're having......the Phone Centers always come up...we alsways get the same answer......WE'RE WORKING ON IT!!!!!!! I definately call BS on that, cause it keeps getting worse!!!!

I've entered memos, on a ticket, (it's on Mobile Date Terminals), because the Clerk...I mean Agent..got to be Politically Correct..... screwed things up, big time, and before ya konw it, I'm getting a radio call, to call so and so by phone!!!! Well it's the Agents Supv, chewing me out, for Upsetting the Clerk, Hurting her feelings:mad: Usually, by the time I get off the phone, the Supv is apologizing to me...........cause the Clerk was a jerkwad and wasn't doing her Job!!!!!! Of course, she probably had no clue as to what she was supposed to be doing!!!!!!!!!

[Trbl639]

Forgot to mention...we've got Phone Centers in .....

Little Rock

Monroe

Baton rouge

Jackson

Beaumont

.and .....Atlanta, Georgia........and we ain't got a customer in Georgia!!!!

Most of them folks don't even know where they are, much less where the Customer is...............

[Lizzy Bordon]

Storm mode is run by a bunch of people from a desk who have no idea what township is next to the other. Sending you 50 miles and then back is no big deal on a piece of paper. No one cares, the customer suffers and so do you as you drive back and forth on the ice. Your overtime is snuffed out so its not like the money is worth it to drive back and forth anymore on double time. You cant say "Hey box of rocks" your sending me all the way back across the district or hey that's not my district. No just do it and like it. The suits are not smart enough to figure out, they have a cookie cutter plan that sucks. They need to get off their butts and heat the beat and see what its like.

My favorite call during storms is "low wire" which was always the same place and in an underground developement. I tried a zillion times to get them to update the maps, the lady was on the other side of town.......finally fixed it myself......why she kept coming up as located in a urd was a plan simple mapping error...DAH. Imagine how she felt.

[shaun]

Storm mode is run by a bunch of people from a desk who have no idea what township is next to the other. Sending you 50 miles and then back is no big deal on a piece of paper. No one cares, the customer suffers and so do you as you drive back and forth on the ice. Your overtime is snuffed out so its not like the money is worth it to drive back and forth anymore on double time. You cant say "Hey box of rocks" your sending me all the way back across the district or hey that's not my district. No just do it and like it. The suits are not smart enough to figure out, they have a cookie cutter plan that sucks. They need to get off their butts and heat the beat and see what its like.

My favorite call during storms is "low wire" which was always the same place and in an underground developement. I tried a zillion times to get them to update the maps, the lady was on the other side of town.......finally fixed it myself......why she kept coming up as located in a urd was a plan simple mapping error...DAH. Imagine how she felt.

Hey Lizzy,I'll drive all day/night if they want. Who cares as long as it's on the shift! Never actually have to do work except follow trouble. (And I lke to work. ) Also gotta love it when some sweet elder goes to her girlfriends house to call in a no power from her friends phone. Links it to the the friends phone(*bamn, press 1 for no power) cuz she ain't waitn to talk, i wouldn't either, and now I'm lookin for an outage in a senoirs center for nuffin.

[climbsomemore]

Profit in chaos, boys...profit

[electriklady]

Just happened to be reading through this thread and touched a sore spot with me...call center errors. The morons are hearing when the customer is calling but they sure as hell ain't listening to what they are saying. Course our call center is on some ridiculous plan where each call is supposed to be closed out in seconds(I think it is 30 seconds) so some a$$hole supervisor gets their bonus based on the number of calls these people take. It is definitely quantity over quality.
In meter services we do a wide variety of work, but every order I get I have to play "Sherlock Holmes" and try to figure out just exactly the customer really called about. One case in point....a couple of weeks ago on a two meter apartment...both tenants moved(obviously vacant) out so I get a shut off order on one meter. Knowing the landlord..figured he didnt want it shut off, left a 3 day notice to call in........didnt shut it off. 2 days later got the turn on order for meter I didnt shut off, and a shut off order for the other meter. Here we go! By this time of the week I am usually getting a little sick of the company errors so I just called the landlord and said I have a shut off for the other meter on the apartment....I am again assuming you dont want this shut off too. He was pissed , he said I called those idiots 3 times(dealing with the automated system) and told them to put both meters in my name the day you left the notice, and I am not calling them again, could you please take care of it for me. I said yes, and did, but it is getting a little old....if I did my job the way the call center does their job....I'd number one be embarassed and number two be fired. If there is profit in chaos First Enemy should be rolling in the $$$$$$$$$$. I probably shouldnt clean up their messes but I still believe in customer service:(