Your call is not that important to us

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This article was published 19/04/2024 (729 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Those who call Winnipeg Water and Waste’s Utility Billing Centre may want to prepare for a long wait, a frequent customer warns.

For several years, Peter Tod has relied on using his speakerphone to call (204) 986-BILL (2455), so he can continue working while he waits for an answer.

“The average wait time for me is probably anywhere from 25 minutes to over an hour. I’ve been in construction for over 26 years in Winnipeg, so I have to phone them a lot (to get) water meters installed,” said Tod, owner of PCTod Construction.

He’s also endured similar waits to check on issues related to his home water account, which Tod said resulted in a 47-minute wait before he hung up without connecting earlier this month.

“Once you get through, it’s great. The people who work there and answer the phones, they’re super helpful, super friendly … I’ve got no complaints about the service you get, it’s just (difficult) trying to get it,” he said.

The business owner has tried a few tactics to speed up the response, once relying on his high school French to muddle through a call in a different language and once submitting an email request he says was never answered. At times, he still resorts to ending calls before they’re picked up and tries to make the same request another day. Tod says the line appears to have a permanent message warning that call volumes are higher than normal.

He believes the city needs more staff to handle the demand.

“It’s frustrating because you think, with the amount of taxes that we pay and the amount of fees we pay for sewer and water, that we deserve better service than this,” said Tod.

Coun. Brian Mayes, chairman of water and waste, said he received the business owner’s complaint and is exploring options to reduce the wait, such as reviewing staffing levels.

“We could do better … I think we’ve started to put more resources into 311, so we shouldn’t forget about the billing centre,” said Mayes.

The St. Vital councillor said wait times to answer Utility Billing Centre calls averaged 15 minutes in January, while the average wait over the last 10 years was 29 minutes. He said the average wait peaked in 2019 at 78 minutes due to high staff vacancy rates.

The wait plummeted to three minutes in 2020, when the city stopped cutting off service for overdue accounts during COVID. The wait rose to an average of 21 minutes in 2021, followed by 26 minutes in each of 2022 and 2023, he said.

“The (department) said more resources would be good,” said Mayes.

The councillor said he is working with Mayor Scott Gillingham’s office to try to find ways to reduce the wait.

Water and waste officials were not available for comment on Friday. In an email, spokeswoman Lisa Marquardson noted the centre handles several types of inquiries, including account billing, meter readings and changes for customers moving in or out of a property.

“The average call wait time for the first three months of 2024 was just over 18 minutes, which is down from the average of 26 minutes in 2023. During peak periods, the phone wait times can be over one hour … We are currently responding to email requests in eight business days,” said Marquardson.

The statement blamed delays on a lack of staff, noting five of 35 positions are vacant, with two more staff leaving in early May.

“Like many other employers, the city continues to experience significant challenges recruiting and retaining staff, and specifically, billing representatives who handle incoming inquiries. The problem of high turnover rates is a known challenge in the contact centre industry,” wrote Marquardson.

She said the centre is “continually” recruiting new staff and offers overtime pay to help reduce customer wait times.

“Until retention is more stable, customers will continue to experience a longer than normal wait to talk with a billing representative or receive an email response,” Marquardson noted.

As an alternative to phone calls for service, she said an online self-service option is available at myutility.winnipeg.ca, which allows many people to get information without placing a phone call. That includes an online option for water meter installations, which typically triggers a response within two to three business days, said Marquardson.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

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