Digital Innovations for Field Crews
Digital Innovations for Meralco’s Field Crews Are Making WFH Life Easier for Customers
Meralco continues to serve with passion as it introduces the Meter Reading App and Real Time Validation App, two new solutions that benefit customers and crewmen alike.
By Marco Sumayao
Published September 1, 2021
Working professionals at home can rest assured that Meralco will always find ways to make sure their lights are kept on.
Working professionals at home can rest assured that Meralco will always find ways to make sure their lights are kept on. The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted a large amount of the country’s workforce to a work-from-home (WFH) setup, with a vast majority of employees either doing it full-time or on a rotating schedule. While many new business insights have come up as a result of this change, one major consideration has sprung up: the need for stable electricity at home.
Simply put, it’s almost impossible to work at home if the power is out. But with two new digital innovations, Meralco—the country’s largest power distributor—has been ensuring its customers that the lights are kept on for everyone. Here’s how:
A more convenient way to read meters
Each crew member now has a phone with Meralco’s Meter Reading App (MRA) installed, allowing them to read meters with more ease.
How does this help the customer? With the app, Meralco’s field crews can now calculate the best routes between their locations and the meters they’ll be servicing, optimizing their travel times and encouraging more timely readings. It also alerts crewmen about potential concerns involving meters, allowing them to address these more efficiently.
Meter readers can also upload photos of the meters on the app for reference and as proof of completion of the readings.
Validating disconnection orders
Meralco also rolled out another digital innovation: The Real Time Validation App (RTVA). This allows the disconnection personnel to check a customer’s disconnection status on demand.
With RTVA, the disconnection personnel can make one final check on their phones before your power supply is cut. If your payment is reflected in Meralco’s system by then, they won’t push through with the disconnection, minimizing instances of what some people call "salisi."
"It's good that our payment status can now be verified, especially for customers like us who have already settled our payments but don't have the receipts on hand," says Corazon Mendoza, a customer from Baliwag, Bulacan. "Now, we're assured that our electricity won't be cut because there's additional proof of payment."
("Maganda 'yung nakikita talaga na nagbayad na, katulad namin na nakapag-settle na ng payment pero hindi pa namin hawak ang resibo. Ngayon, mas sigurado kami na hindi kami mapuputulan dahil may dagdag na proof of payment.")
Apart from the customers, members of Meralco’s field crews have also been seeing the benefits of this innovation. "The advantage [with RTVA] is that once we verify the status, we know right away if the customer has already settled their bill or if we should proceed with the disconnection, says Paul Alamag, a disconnection crew member based in San Pablo, Laguna. "Because of this, we're able to save time and prevent misunderstandings."
("Ang advantage ay once nag-verify ka, malalaman mo agad ang status—kung bayad na ba ang customer o tuloy ang disconnection. Dahil dito, makakatipid ka sa oras at maiiwasan ang mga misunderstanding.")
Meralco field workers can now check customers' disconnection status via the new app.
As of this writing, RTVA is estimated to have prevented more than 4,000 cases of "salisi" disconnections, which means Meralco’s service personnel have helped prevent more than 4,000 stressful WFH days. The validation system has also saved each of those customers the cost of reconnection fees.
Solutions like the MRA and RTVA were developed to make things easier for Meralco customers counting on a stable power supply to get through these trying times. Trust that Meralco will continue to innovate with its core values of customer centricity, malasakit, and bayanihan in mind—keeping the lights on for everyone.
#ServiceWithPassion
To learn more, contact your Relationship Manager, call 16210 or email us at corporatepartners@meralco.com.ph.
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Story originally posted on Power Club.