This month we continue our look at Customer Relations with Credit and Revenue Protection.

Credit Supervisor Antwyne Tyson manages these two sections, which includes six employees. His main responsibilities are overseeing the customer bankruptcy administration; handling third-party collection agencies; working with the Department of Social Services (DSS); coordinating work between other section supervisors to ensure smooth work flows; and managing bad debt and participation in the North Carolina Debt Setoff Program.

Chief Credit Officer Mark Williams, along with Credit Officers Shannon Oakley and Rebecca Latham, make up the Credit Section. They administer Greenville Utilities' credit policies and procedures. In a nutshell, their main responsibility is to protect the assets of GUC while also providing temporary relief to customers during personal emergency situations that can cause hardships. They do this in a variety of ways such as payment extensions and partial payments through social assistance programs, including our Neighbor-to-Neighbor program. This way, those customers who are going through a tough time can maintain utility services while our employees in the Credit Section assist them in returning to self-sufficiency regarding their utility bills.

In addition, this section manages the cut-off process as well as the Budget Billing program for customers who pay the same amount each month based on their 12-month bill history.

Revenue Protection Specialist Anita Cochran, Revenue Protection Representative Tammy Forrest, and Temporary Customer Contact Representative I Ernie McGrew make up the Revenue Protection Section. They are responsible for final bill payment arrangements, bad debt management, investigation of illegal utility usage, and the Priority Customer Program for customers on life support equipment at their residences.

Some of you may have attended Anita's "Meter Tampering" class where she walks participants through the process of conducting field investigations for illegal utility consumption and meter tampering. It's an informative class that offers tips on how we, as GUC employees and customers, can help keep an eye out for signs of meter tampering. 

Our revenue protection efforts continue to be effective. During 2015, we investigated 189 locations for possible meter tampering, resulting in the removal of 164 meters. We also recovered $797,417 from delinquent accounts and received payment commitments for an additional $380,588.

In addition to their regular responsibilities, Shannon and Tammy have been serving on the Navigate Core Team for OPTICS (Optimizing Technology to Improve Customer Service). Navigate is the last of three big phases in OPTICS, with several new tools scheduled to roll out this summer. Many of the new systems coming out of Navigate will directly benefit our customers as well as the Credit and Revenue Protection staff.