Tulsans will start seeing the city’s new-look utility billing system Monday.
Online account registration for water, sewer and trash service is now open. Everyone will have new account and customer ID numbers, but Utilities Systems Manager Troy Stafford said they’ve tried to make those easier to find to ease the burden on the city call center.
"They can log in to their old account with their old account number and it’s going to inform them that there’s a new page, but it’s also going to give them their new account number when they log in and make that more of a smoother process to keep those calls from having to come in to ask, 'What’s my new account number?'" Stafford told the city utility authority last week.
Stafford and Call Center Manager Ed Lydens said they’ve bolstered staffing and call takers are ready to answer questions customers will have about the changeover. But if the call center is busy, customers can elect to have someone call them back rather than wait on the line.
"We’re moving our part-time staff to help with our midday rush, to help cover our lunches … primarily, our biggest gap," Lydens said.
Utility customers already on autopay will not need to make any changes, but those who use a bank’s online bill pay will need to give their financial institution their new account and customer ID numbers.
Billing statements will look different, and there will no longer be a fee for credit card payments.
