When the worst case scenario happens, who do you call? 

I recently experienced a new fear become unlocked… A dreaded gas leak. From instant panic to jumping into action, I knew I had to act swiftly. Living in a 100-year-old building has its pros and cons. Pros: living semi-affordably in an increasingly expensive city. Cons: it’s old (the appliances are not the newest models, and many pipes are original to the building).  

I have a gas stove and had cooked a frozen pizza for dinner. But I noticed after a couple hours, there was the smell of gas in the air. Living in Massachusetts, my gas provider is National Grid. With a quick Google search and logging into my account, I was able to find their 24-7 gas leak emergency phone line. After being connected with a representative, they transferred me to the Massachusetts contact center and I spoke with another agent who took my information. They informed me a technician was assigned to my case and was on the way.  

Utilities horror shows are no joke  

An hour later, the technician arrived, inspected my oven, and confirmed there was a gas leak. After a 5-minute visit, all I was left with was nerves, a red tag “Warning of Hazardous Condition”, each window in my apartment opened wide, and the gas valve behind my oven being turned off until it was repaired. All in all, this ordeal took a total of two hours. 

The resolution… Where do we go from here? 

I was lucky – this was a minor gas leak, I didn’t have to evacuate my apartment, and I was unharmed. But in more serious cases, a lot can happen in two hours – gas leaks can be deadly. Earlier in the night while I was waiting for the technician, I was thinking about ways this could be resolved in a timelier manner. From having agents available via chat, to on-call technicians being within 20-30 minutes of metropolitan areas for quicker assistance response, it was clear that the Utilities space has opportunities for modernizing their customer support. 

How Panviva can help  

With Panviva, my customer experience could have been more seamless and efficient. With features like Guided Navigation and AI-powered Intelligent Recommendations, agents feel empowered to quickly and effectively help customers in need on the spot with the right information at the right time. Panviva keeps your agents confident and compliant.  

Are you interested in learning more about how Upland Panviva can help modernize your Utilities agent workforce and boost customer confidence? Contact us today.