When I&M Technician Christopher Russell received a system notification of blinking electrical service at a Michigan home he was determined to fix the problem. Russell went to great lengths to resolve the issue and carry out our vision of "improving customers' lives with reliable, affordable power."
Christopher Russell and Joseph Mickiewicz
"This service call was a win-win," Russell said. "The customer received the help they desperately needed to have safe and reliable power, and we demonstrated that I&M cares about the people it serves."
In July, Russell inspected a power quality order at a Niles, Mich. home and discovered there was an issue with a socket in the meter. To ensure safety, Russell replaced the damaged meter. He also explained to the customer that the meter socket was their responsibility to repair.
"While talking to the customer, they informed me back in May a tree fell and damaged the service wire and the repairs depleted their savings," Russell said. "They weren't aware there was still damage contributing to blinks in their electric service."
It came as no surprise to Russell when weeks later another order was assigned to him for the same Niles home. Russell knew he had to put the customer first.
"We never want our customers' power to be disrupted for any reason. But it happens. In this instance, I knew we could help the customer and fix the issue," Russell said. "I reached out to our district's meter electrician for help. The electrician mentioned we could use materials we have in-house to make repairs, and we had a plan."
Russell reassured the customer he was going to take care of the service issue. Days later Russell and the meter electrician followed through and repaired the meter base, resolving the service quality issue.
"What strikes me in this case is that our technology found the issue, but it was our team who solved the issue," Russell said. "The tools we've invested in are helping us be proactive for our customers. We still need to put ourselves in our customers' shoes and respond with empathy, initiative and teamwork to be successful."
Teamwork is exactly what was used. Russell said all this couldn't have been accomplished for the customer without Customer Service Representative Miranda Wilcox and Meter Electrician Joseph Mickiewicz.