Southern Pine Plugs in with Carina Technology
What makes a winning combination? A great product coupled with excellent customer service, of course. That's just what utilities are receiving when they "plug in" with Carina Technology, Inc.
Take for example Southern Pine Electric Co-op in Brewton, Alabama. In order to save money and cut down on problem customers, management as Southern Pine decided to purchase 100 CarinaPoint™ Automatic Meter Disconnects (AMD). Carina's CarinaPoint™ AMD is the ONLY automated disconnect/reconnect device that provides true two-way communication and includes essential features such as outage notification and voltage monitoring, without a system-wide deployment of a communication infrastructure.
These units were installed at the homes of those customer who are habitually late with payments. Instead of a Southern Pine service employee having to take time an use gas to drive to the customer site to disconnect or reconnect a meter, he or she can manage the account from the convenience of a computer.
Southern Pine General Manager, Jim Byrd, is quite pleased with the system since its installation.
"We haven't had the system very long but in the last month, we had about 20 disconnects. So, that's 20 times that a service man has not had to go out to the site," explained Byrd. "His time and efforts can be put to use and redirected toward other tasks."
Customer Service Supervisor Jason Jackson is also happy with this new approach to handling disconnects and reconnects.
"It is definitely a lot easier to use than I had originally anticipated," said Jackson. "I assumed the AMD's would be difficult to install."
In addition to the CarinaPoint™ AMD's user-friendly quality, Jackson is impressed with the customer service he has received from Carina, specifically from his Customer Service Representative, David Stair.
"If we do have a question or problem, there is absolutely no hesitation from Carina," said Jackson. "Even if I tell David that he doesn't need to come down, he just says, 'I'm coming,' and I can't change his mind."
As for the future, Byrd was quick to say that he felt positive about the system and anticipates the co-op ordering more.
"We have customer who are keeping up with their payments, because they know the disconnect is there," said Byrd. "They realize that they won't be able to keep a service man from disconnecting their power, because no one will be coming out to their house to do it. This has really gotten those repeat offenders' attention."
Although the co-op has not been partnered with Carina for very long, Byrd is already looking forward to continuing the relationship by trying out Carina's new CarinaPoint™ FlexPay prepay system.
"This system would help out those customer who cannot afford the deposit for electricity," said Byrd. "They can easily pay ahead for their power and begin using".
Customer service seems to be the bottom line for both Southern Pine and Carina Technology which makes this partnership a smart one for the co-op.
 Back to Main What's New
 top of page |
