On Thursday PA American Water issued a boil water advisory. A neighbor stopped at our house to tell my wife on Friday morning, after she had learned from her husband who heard it from the secretary at work that the water was contaminated. My wife then received an email from the school as she was on their alert notification list.
Does it seem strange that in this day and age between the technology and automation that customers can't be contacted directly?
The water company ought to have a plan in place that customers are contacted by either email or automated phone call with a brief message and where to go for more information. They could outsource this to a company specializing in this service limiting their cost.
I don't like the idea that I spent a day drinking and using potentially contaminated water since it was known to be potentially contaminated, when I could have found out more directly and sooner. I don't know how often they test, so I could have been drinking it this way for a while, but the fact remains the sooner the customers find out the better for everyone.
What are your thoughts? Should a company with a product that has health implications be obligated to contact customers directly? Or does the current system work?
2 comments:
I knew nothing about this until I got home today. Thanks for posting this message. A utility has no problem getting in direct touch w/ a customer who falls behind on his bill. I think a water company, especially, as a regulated utility, should make DIRECT contact w/ every customer as soon as such an advisory is issued. Now excuse me while I go and puke.
The boil water advisory is now lifted.
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