Columbia Gas opens new customer service facility

June 23, 2016 | G. Michael Dobbs
news@thereminder.com

Mayor Domenic Sarno joined other elected officials and Columbia Gas employees in the grand opening of the company’s new customer service facility.
Reminder Publications photo by G. Michael Dobbs

SPRINGFIELD – Columbia Gas introduced its new customer service facility to local officials on June 17 for a formal grand opening.

The facility had been headquartered at the company’s site off Roosevelt Avenue, but it has made the move to a building on Brookdale Street.

Columbia Gas President Steve Bryant explained to Reminder Publications the design of the new facility “best leverages technology.”

Inside the call center, flat screen monitors ring a large room with announcements for the employees and information about the number of customers requiring service. The desks in the cubicles are equipped desks that allow employees to work either sitting down or standing up.

“It is a much better environment for employees to interact with customers,” Bryant added. More than 100 employees will be at the new location and they handle 500,000 customer calls a year.

The new customer service center features several conference and training rooms and a fitness area.

Bryant said the new facility is leased and will not make “ a significant impact on rates.” He called it a “lateral move” and more of a relocation of resources.

He noted the Roosevelt Avenue location housed three departments: construction and operation; customer service; and the meter shop. There is now a separate meter shop and in about seven weeks Bryant said a new operations center would be the “epitome of efficient operations.

State Sen. James Welch attended the grand opening as well as state Reps.
Michael Finn, Jose Tosado and Angelo Puppolo Jr., as well as Springfield City Councilor Tom Ashe.

Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno praised Columbia Gas as “a great corporate citizen.”

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