Jean Brown has come to dread doing business with Tucson Water.
Not that she has much choice, since the utility has a virtual monopoly on H2O within the city.
All the more reason, Brown says, why it's unacceptable for customers to routinely be put on hold for 20 to 30 minutes when they call Tucson Water - if they can get through at all.
Often, there's a chronic busy signal on the utility's customer-service line, 791-3242, which fields everything from billing inquiries to complaints about water pressure.
"It's very frustrating," Brown, who oversees several rental properties, said of the wait times.
"It's been going on for months. It just seems ridiculous that this is allowed to continue."
Late last week, the Arizona Daily Star tried 15 times over two days to reach Tucson Water's customer-service department. Twelve times, the line was busy. On the other three calls, hold times ranged from 23 to 27 minutes.
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Tucson Water spokes-man Fernando Molina doesn't deny the utility is falling far short of its goal of answering 80 percent of calls in 30 seconds or less.
Staff vacancies and illness, and a growing number of delinquent bill payers in Tucson are all part of the problem the utility is striving to correct, he said.
Currently, Tucson Water has 25 customer-service clerks in an office that, on average, handles more than 1,200 one-on-one calls per day. Seven more people are being hired to fill openings created by resignations and retirements, he said.
The weak economy has made wait times worse, Molina said, because about half of all calls now are from customers who are past due on their bills and looking to set up payment plans. Those types of calls take much longer to handle than simple inquiries, he said.
Last month, in a bid to address the problem, Tucson Water compressed its customer-service workday. Operating hours, previously from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. were changed to 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to have more staffing available during the busiest hours.
If that change doesn't help, the utility plans to investigate the possibility of a second shift for customer-service workers, Molina said.
To cut wait times, customers are urged to go to Tucson Water's website - www.tucsonaz.gov/water - to make quick requests such as turning service on or off. The city recently reworked the website to make it more user-friendly, Molina said. For non-urgent matters, customers also can e-mail the utility through the site.
Need help?
For assistance with city water problems, call Tucson Water's customer service line, 791-3242. Do you have a problem, but you're getting nowhere in getting government to respond and fix it? E-mail taxpayer@azstarnet.com with the problem, your name and a phone number. Or call 573-4142.
