Almost 19 years ago, Denine Hardee joined Greenville Utilities as a Cashier. In 2008, she moved to the Billing Section of Customer Relations, where she and the other Billing Specialists stay busy generating 69,000 to 75,000 bills each month (and that’s just one of their responsibilities).

All of our customers receive either a paper or electronic bill each month that originates with the Billing Section. As a Billing Specialist, Denine has a variety of responsibilities that include generating bills daily for our bill print provider, closing service orders, processing bill adjustments and changes, investigating billing inquiries, and providing overall quality control of customer billing. In fact, we receive a lot of thank you notes from customers complementing our Billing Specialists for their quality control work, which often times helps customers find problems (like water leaks) they were unware of.

 “We have to always think in terms of the customer,” said Denine. “I often ask myself ‘what are our customers thinking when they look at their bills?’”

In addition to their regular duties, Denine and the other Billing Specialists also work on special projects and programs like our Budget Billing program and large industrial and medium service Coincident Peak customer billing.

Denine is also considered a subject matter expert (SME) with GUC’s rates in our Customer Care & Billing system, which has 121 complex rate structures covering our four utilities (electric, water, wastewater, and gas). Other employees, in particular those in Finance and Meter, often rely on Billing SMEs, like Denine, with rate questions.

“Our job is interesting,” said Denine. “Something different comes up just about every day. I really enjoy what I do and the people I work with. I work with the best people. I wouldn’t want a job anywhere else.”

Originally from Virginia, Denine grew up in Greenville and is a graduate of D.H. Conley. Her husband, Ervin, is one of GUC’s Electric Underground Maintenance Crew Leaders. They stay busy with their daughters, Lauren (a local nurse), and Savanna (a rising Junior at Conley). “We’re really proud of the girls,” she said. “Lauren is already doing what she loves for a career and is a new homeowner, and Savanna is pretty serious and focused with school and volleyball.”

Savanna plays both indoor and beach volleyball for school as well as a travel team. “We spend a lot of time at her tournaments and practicing with her at home,” said Denine. “Our practicing involves a lot of laughter, and mostly at me.” The Hardees have traveled from Florida to Washington, D.C. with Savanna’s travel team. 

In their down time, Denine and Ervin enjoy gardening, while she and Savanna like cooking together.  As a family, they enjoy traveling to the mountains where they can spend time with her dad and his family.

Favorites:

Movie – Jaws
TV Show – Law & Order
Vacation - Mountains