JPS justifies closing seven branches islandwide
Published:Monday | July 18, 2022 | 12:05 AMKimone Francis/Senior Staff Reporter
Stung by the backlash it has received for closing seven of its branches islandwide, the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) said its decision was rooted in a desire to serve customers by First World standards.
Vernon Douglas, chief financial officer of the power company, said that in-store visits were centred primarily on services that included joining the grid, changing location, or leaving the grid.
He said that the company determined that these services could be done digitally, and as a result, closed down some in-store operations.
“When we looked at our route to customers, we recognised that we were in the Dark Ages ... . You ask the average person in our diaspora what their electricity company looks like [and] they don’t know,” Douglas said.
He said that since the decision, the company’s mobile app users have moved from approximately 50,000 to 342,000. Its customer base is just over 680,000, with only 10 per cent of that figure visiting a branch.
“It is providing all of these services plus more in a digital form. There is no need to visit a brick-and-mortar [structure],” said Douglas.
He added that the locations “were not necessarily” serving customers efficiently. However, he said some allowances have been made to meet the demands of some sociodemographics, including having offices at key locations.
Douglas did not indicate the savings the company realised from this move, noting instead that its investment in improving technological infrastructure has been significant.
“Some of the efficiencies that we see now, that we’ll see in the future, come from some marginal reduction in people. So it’s very delicate, you can imagine, to talk about savings when you talk about our employees,” President and CEO of JPS Michel Gantois said.
“But I think beyond that, some of the savings you would have expected from closing offices haven’t yet been materialised entirely, because in the transition period where we are today, we are investing in technology to make sure we have the tools for the next 20 years and not just a short term,” he added.
EMPLOYEES RELOCATED
He said some employees were relocated to other offices, and integrated into training and customer service to increase the quality of service.
A recently released Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) mystery shopping survey ranked JPS number one in customer service for utility companies across the island with 56 per cent.
However, the OUR called the overall results of the survey for all utility companies “disappointing”, and described the performances as lacklustre.
Gantois acknowledged that there is more work to be done.
Senior Vice-President for Customer Services at JPS Ramsay McDonald, meanwhile, said that the impact of closing the branches on the majority of the customers “was not that significant”.
“But we do recognise that there are customers who visited these offices routinely to do their transactions. So what we’re working on is how best to help those customers,” he said.
McDonald said the company has channelled a lot of its services through cell phones, including bill notifications, outage messages and other general information. He said significant funds have also been invested in the company’s call centre to cover queries.
“So, we’re working on a number of initiatives to improve for all customers, not just the technologically savvy customers ... . It’s a work in progress,” McDonald said.