2-Way TExt Outage Reporting
Take the pain out of reporting outages
Outage texting takes the pain out of reporting outages for both utilities and their members/customers. No more calling in, waiting on hold, repeating information or calling back for status. Customers text "OUT" to our system and we communicate with the OMS to set up a ticket. Status updates are sent automatically or on demand by texting "STATUS" and restoration notices are sent proactively and immediately.
Improves Operations, Reduces Costs, and Increases Customer Satisfaction
Power outages from weather, animals or overgrown foliage are unavoidable. The problems of overloaded phone lines, angry customers and excessive costs, thankfully, are not. The process of customers calling in to report an outage is costly, cumbersome and frustrating for your member customers. Call into a number, enter codes to navigate to the outage department, wait on hold, verbally provide your address or account number, explain the problem, etc.
In today’s world customers demand more, faster and easier. The TextPower 2-way outage reporting and notification service, SmartAlerts®, removes the frustration from reporting an outage. Customers simply text “OUT” to your current dedicated outage number. TextPower® coordinates with your outage management system (OMS) provider and handles all of the complexities in the background.
When it comes to texting instead of calling, your customers want it, your operations team needs it and your bottom line benefits from it. Text messaging is preferred over apps, emails, and phone calls for communication 85% of the time when people are given the choice. TextPower SmartAlerts® outage notifications can be easily integrated with your OMS to send messages in a variety of configurations:
When an outage occurs a proactive notice can be sent automatically
If the status of the outage or estimated time of restoration (ETOR) changes a message can be sent automatically
Customers/members can report an outage by simply texting “OUT”
Customers can request up-to-the-minute status at any time by texting “STATUS”
When power is restored a message can be sent automatically to everyone that had been affected
The results of implementing the SmartAlerts® program are consistently stunning. Multiple case studies verify that before implementing the TextPower® program roughly 65% of people affected by an outage call into your outage reporting line. After implementing the program - 16%. Staffers assigned to answer calls during storms can be redeployed to more important duties. Call center charges can be reduced. The number of phone lines you have to maintain can be reduced
See how New Braunfels Utilities reduced outage calls from 65% of those affected to only 16%, saving significant money and staff time!
In addition, TextPower offers a straightforward, simple web-based application called AlertManager® that allows you to login, type a message and send it out instantly - or later - to a few or a few thousand customers. If you have a planned outage you can send a message to your entire list or a subset of that list in just a few minutes. Send them a message, include a link to a web page of any kind and provide them with helpful, complete and specific information quickly and reliably. You can inform thousands of people in the fastest possible way for pennies per message.
Want to know more? Contact us for a live demonstration.