Another tale from Utility Customer Service...

A reader called me this morning about his latest trip to pay his bill at the Utilities office in the City Hall Annex. By the way, this person insists on paying in person and getting a physical receipt so there is no question as to whether he paid his bill or not. This may be the underlying reason for a lot of people going to the office to pay their bill. But that's just learning to live in Lake Worth by a seasoned resident and not the essence of this morning's story.

The office wasn't too full. It was early. While in line to pay his bill, a lady sat down at the customer service desk and immediately announced, loud enough for others to hear, "I don't know what the #*^@ you people are doing. I was here yesterday and paid my bill. In fact, I talked to you (looking at person behind the glass) and you told me that I owed $40. So, I go home, thinking its taken care of, and my power is OFF. I go to my mailbox and there is a bill saying that I owe over $200 and need to pay that before my power is turned back on." The person behind the desk snickered and the manager came up and attempted to deal with the issue - about getting the reconnection fee taken off. The reader left before it was resolved. In the meantime, the ticket counter wasn't working which was causing more confusion about who was next.

Over the past two days, the Commission talked about the physical condition of the building and how shoddy/depressing it is - especially since it is the first impression many people have when they come to the city - whether they are a business owner, a homeowner, landlord or renter. It didn't sound like anything will be done soon as there are major improvements needed to the building for ADA compliance and bathrooms etc. It sounded like the City Manager would like to have Community Development operate out of there due to its central location, but other issues are preventing that like lack of dedicated parking. Whatever is done, I hope that they realize it is one of our buildings that is on the National Register.

If you would like to share your stories about your interaction with the utility department, send me an e-mail and I will try to work it in.