Customer Service Rep

About the Role

The Customer Service Representative (CSR) in the Call Center provides excellent customer service to utility customers by supporting all areas concerning their utility accounts. This role requires excellent written and oral communication skills, a positive attitude, strong work ethic, professionalism, and a passion for serving others. The CSR must multitask effectively, manage emotions in stressful situations, and apply critical thinking to resolve customer grievances autonomously.

The CSR interacts with external and internal customers via telephone, fax, letter, or email and serves as the first point of contact. The role involves familiarity with various departments (New Construction, Conservation and Customer Solutions, Electric Engineering, Electric Operations, Water Engineering, Water Operations, Laboratory, and Control Center) to direct inquiries appropriately. Additionally, the CSR performs basic clerical duties and assists with operational tasks within Customer Service as needed.

Responsibilities

Administrative Support

• Obtains account information from customers and explains charges on utility bills while maintaining confidentiality.
• Conducts account searches using the Customer Information System (CIS); Northstar.
• Investigates, researches, and resolves problems in accordance with established policies and procedures.
• Corrects misapplied payments, researches refunds, reverses late fees, NSF fees, processing fees, and tampering fees, if applicable.
• Provides meter reading and data analysis on electric and water meters using MeterSense.
• Offers and explains additional services and programs such as auto draft, auto pay, pick your due date, budget billing, senior citizen billing, and critical care.
• Provides information about utility bill assistance programs and contact details for agencies that aid with specific needs.
• Serves as a peer resource and performs general administrative support.
• Drafts monthly messages and auto dialer calendars.
• Generates, reviews, and completes past due auto dialer campaigns using MilSoft.
• Provides proof of residency, customer account summaries for tax or financial assistance, and other requested documentation.
• Troubleshoots basic IT issues when working from home.
• Uses Microsoft Suite to draft emails, compose memos, and construct spreadsheets for communication with customers and internal/external stakeholders.
• Manages multiple concurrent objectives, projects, or activities, prioritizing effectively.

Internal and External Communication

• Maintains composure and commitment during periods of heavy workload and stressful situations.
• Educates customers on NBU’s rate structure, Service Conditions Policy, and City of New Braunfels Code of Ordinance, Chapter 130.
• Schedules re-reads on electric and/or water meters, energy or water assessments, compares usages, and performs qualifiable billing adjustments as needed.
• Detects, addresses, and prevents fraudulent situations using established processes and tools.
• Calculates and quotes appropriate deposit amounts; collects deposit payments.
• Provides information on alternative deposit forms (e.g., guarantor, letter of credit, irrevocable letter of credit) and retention periods.
• Processes applications or letters of credit received via fax or email.
• Processes disconnect and transfer of service requests.
• Verifies caller identity via Online Utility Exchange for applications or debt collection.
• Researches CIS to confirm past account balances; sets up payment arrangements if outstanding balances are found.
• Educates customers on billing calculations and technological tools/resources to help them achieve their goals.
• Familiarizes themselves with the duties of other key departments to accelerate resolution of customer requests.

General Responsibilities

• Maintains regular attendance and manages leave schedules to meet deadlines for tasks and special projects.
• Adheres to NBU safety guidelines and practices at all times.
• Maintains a clean and safe work area, office, or field site.
• Develops and maintains effective customer service skills for communication with co-workers, customers, and the public.
• Maintains strict confidentiality of business, employee, and customer information.
• Adheres to NBU policies and procedures.
• Exemplifies NBU Core Values: Integrity, Stewardship, Team, Culture, and Safety.
• Participates in and supports initiatives to reach annual NBU Performance Measures.

Requirements

• High School Diploma or GED.
• One year of experience in customer service relations, preferably in utilities.
• Bilingual in Spanish is preferred.
• Proficiency in current versions of computer software and hardware provided by NBU for researching customer accounts, data entry, and document creation.
• Excellent 10-key and data entry skills.
• Ability to operate standard office machines such as copiers, scanners, and faxes.