LP&L still struggling with ‘unacceptable’ wait times, working to restore offices damaged by March flood

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - Matt Rose with Lubbock Power and Light says it’s “unacceptable” that customers have had to deal with long wait times to speak with customer service agents recently.

He says the problem was due to the flood that hit their offices in March, flooding the basement of Citizens Tower and completely destroying the City of Lubbock Utilities building next door. Rose says the newly-renovated building had only been occupied for a year before the flood damaged it.

Rose says 70 customer service and collection agents have been displaced across Lubbock, including those in the Police Department and other rooms in Citizens Tower. He said the cleanup took several days in March and when these agents left for their temporary spots, many left without their equipment, making it much harder to do their work.

Rose expects repairs to take 18 months.

Some customers told KCBD they also weren’t getting utility bills delivered to their homes, but Rose said he hadn’t heard widespread complaints about that.

Rose says they’re trying to find a better interim solution before they can get back into the building in a year and a half, calling this a huge goal of the department, as they expect even more phone calls during the busy summer season.

“But we know that we have to do it because the results of having the scattered workforce is that for a customer who wants to speak to a customer service rep directly, we are seeing inflated and absolutely unacceptable wait times.”

In the meantime, Rose is pointing to other ways for customers to pay bills and get their questions answered.

Customers can call the automated number at 806-775-2509, go the City of Lubbock Utilities website, use an automated kiosk in Citizens Tower or at Western Union payment stations, log in online, or mail a check to pay their bill. If you have questions, you can also email CustomerFirst@CityOfLubbockUtilities.com.

For anyone who has been disconnected, Rose says paying the bill using any of these methods should get service restored automatically, without requiring a phone call.

Rose says they’re also hiring new customer service agents to assist with the heavy call volume.

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