Tips for communicating with disgruntled members

Our members can sometimes become frustrated for a variety of reasons. Perhaps they have an unusually high bill, their power was out longer than expected, or a crew trimmed their beloved tree. Regardless of the reason, we are in the business of serving members. That's why we need the tools to diffuse tense situations, no matter where we are or what role we play at the co-op.

Whether you are on the phone, at the office, or out in the community, you can use the following tips and strategies to communicate effectively if you find yourself engaging with a frustrated member.

Don’t take it personally. Chances are, the member is not angry with you personally. Most likely, they are angry about a service disruption or the amount of their bill. Though it might feel like a personal attack, keep in mind that it probably has nothing to do with you.

Listen actively. The first thing an angry member wants to do is vent. To vent, they need someone to listen, and that person may be you. Give them that space to vent and listen actively. Don’t spend the time they are talking formulating your response. Instead, hear everything they have to say. Once they are done, repeat back to them what you heard and ask them to clarify anything you might have misunderstood. If you are speaking to the member face-to-face, remember body language matters. Keep eye contact, stand up straight, and try to avoid crossing your arms (this indicates that you are not open to receiving feedback and information). Show them you are listening.

Be sympathetic. The member is looking for someone who cares about their situation. Express genuine sympathy and apologize honestly and gracefully.

Find a solution. Once you have heard the member, work with them to find a reasonable solution that will work for everyone. Just listening isn’t enough –the member is looking to us to help them solve the issue they have brought to our attention.

Though it might be difficult, going above and beyond to deliver excellent service to our members is one of the many things that sets us apart from other electric utilities.

Our members are a part of the community in which we live. They are our neighbors, family, and friends. Going the extra mile to show kindness, even when someone is expressing frustration toward the co-op, helps us to maintain and build trust in our community.

WHAT'S HAPPENING AT THE CO-OP FROM ENGINEERING...

The cooperative is working on a load shed plan in response to PJM cautions about the potential for rolling blackouts. The July issue of Ohio Cooperative Living magazine has information about the concern with inadequate generation capacity and the need to establish load shed plans.

Engineering and member services are working on the potential to offer a program for emergency generators to our members. We may wish to arrange for cost-savings for members by becoming a distributor for generators, designing a rebate or loan program, or some other arrangement to help members mitigate the potential for rolling blackouts due to generation constraints in the national grid.

We recently conducted a pilot audit of one of our feeders where a drone was used to take pictures of our poles. These pictures are being reviewed to determine if problems can be identified that could be corrected before an outage occurs. We

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What's happening at the co-op

Continued from previous page will evaluate the cost of this type of audit versus the potential benefits of finding and correcting the types of issues that can be identified. This audit may also be useful in auditing joint-use and potential National Electrical Safety Code violations. We will consider this during budget development for 2024.

We removed the new Niagara Transformer that was placed at Milford Substation because of a manufacturing error in the transformer bushings. This was announced June 21 and we do not have an update on the recall. We expect the bushing will have to be removed and shipped to Hitachi to have the gaskets removed and replaced. Hitachi is currently working to identify a replacement gasket and a process for correcting the error. We have been assured in-service bushings (ours) will be a priority. This is a world-wide problem and thousands of bushings are reportedly impacted by this recall.

As a part of their commitment to extend fiber optic service to all of our remaining members, altafiber requested permission to attach to nearly 1,500 of our poles in the College Corner and Elk Creek roads area of our system. This is an extremely high number of requests and will require significant resources to perform engineering and field review. Depending on the result of the review, significant make-ready work may be required prior to granting altafiber permission to attach to our poles.

IN MEMBER SERVICES...

The HEAP Summer Crisis Program is effective July 1 through September 30. This is a one-time benefit for members and offers up to $800 to assist with electric utility bills. If you have questions about this program, please see Darlene.

Community Relations Coordinator Andy Denny is attending an E3 Teacher Workshop at Ohio's Electric Cooperatives August 2. This program provides energy education to more than 3,600 students and their families through materials and curriculum that meets Ohio academic standards for energy education (for math and science). Our teachers this year are Amelia Oberschlake and Jamie Jackson from Talawanda Middle School. Andy is hoping to build relationships with them so we can become more involved in this program.

Manager of Communications and Marketing

Jade Guthrie will attend a Farm Science Review committee meeting at Ohio's Electric Cooperatives August 8. Jade is the committee's secretary. The Farm Science Review is September 19 through 21. If you would like to work the event, speak with Jade or your supervisor.

We are preparing for the Links to Community Connection Golf Outing August 11. See Alyssa if you would like to golf during the event.

The fall Community Connection board meeting is September 13. The Community Connection board will meet to award grants that morning.

WHAT ARE peak alerts?

Peak Alerts are issued when the demand for electricity is near an annual high and rising toward a new peak. They typically occur on hot summer days from approximately 2 to 7 p.m., depending on weather conditions. We ask our members to reduce their energy consumption during this time to reduce costs from reaching a new peak.

If members have a radio-controlled switch on their water heater or a Cool Returns switch on their central air conditioning system, it will be activated during summer Peak Alerts. Members are notified by email and through social media when Peak Alerts are in effect.

Minimizing the impact of electric demand peak is important. Annual peaks affect future transmission and generation costs. A Peak Alert does not indicate a shortage of electricity; it is a way for members to help hold down electric costs.

In June, Cheryl Mathews became our marketing coordinator. In this role, she will work with members and contractors on our marketing programs, like rebates and loans for energy-efficient home upgrades. Cheryl has worked at the cooperative for eight years, recently serving as our member services representative. She has a business administration and medical assisting degree from Ivy Tech Community College.

Cheryl lives in Liberty, Indiana with her husband, Mike. They have two children, Derrick and Kristi, and four grandchildren, Peyton, Braylen, Maverick, and Margot. Cheryl enjoys gardening, being outdoors, and spending time with family and friends.

JULY

Laura Smith

July 6

Noah Krall

July 6

Andrew Strait

July 7

Lori Maynard

July 9

Curt Loewenstine

July 11

Tom Wolfenbarger

July 22

Cody Holthaus

July 25

AUGUST

Kevin Maddock

August 14

Steve Fritzsche

August 21

Jeff McGraw

August 26

Ray Brunner

August 30

Kim Phipps

August 30

SEPTEMBER

Kyle Fagin

September 2

Debbie Carley

September 9

Rhett Hughes

September 11