ForumGarden

I'll post any response I get, but this is a let's see what happens email:

date 6 April 2011 16:48

subject Bristol outage Saturday 2nd April

[name address and phone number]

Dear Tony,

I'm looking for information, I wonder whether you can tell me what I'm after.

I had five power cuts over the course of Saturday evening. I'm tempted

to buy a UPS, I don't like my computer being hit repeatedly that way.

Bristol town centre was also reportedly blacked out. On a Saturday

night, with all those sordid underground technobeat garage clubs pitch

black and silenced. I wasn't there, I merely pass on what I heard.

Could you tell me what caused it?

Do you think Western Power Distribution round Bristol way is having

more cuts this year than usual? I'm beginning to suspect it is but I

might be wrong.

[signed]

(I've not emailed you before, this is by way of an experiment. Excuse

any over-familiar tone, that's email for you).

Hmm, I'd check with next door if I were you - if they didn't have them I'd have stern words with the electrician.

Bryn Mawr;1357059 wrote: Hmm, I'd check with next door if I were you - if they didn't have them I'd have stern words with the electrician.


I very nearly just typed "I checked with Geoffrey and he had it too", but I stopped myself in time.

Ah.

spot;1357063 wrote: I very nearly just typed "I checked with Geoffrey and he had it too", but I stopped myself in time.

Ah.


That would have been so sad :yh_rotfl

:wah:



We had a power outage here yesterday due to a storm system that swept through the area. My question is this: Can this loss of power for several hours be deducted from my electric bill?





:rolleyes:

along-for-the-ride;1357086 wrote: :wah:



We had a power outage here yesterday due to a storm system that swept through the area. My question is this: Can this loss of power for several hours be deducted from my electric bill?





:rolleyes:


But they didn't charge you for it :-p :wah:

Bryn Mawr;1357087 wrote: But they didn't charge you for it :-p :wah:


We pay a set amount each month.....an amount averaged out from the previous year..

I should have known they'd behave impeccably. It's what comes of writing to the correct person instead of a helpdesk.

The story so far... I wrote, you'll remember, at 4.48 yesterday afternoon, asking the regional Information Centre Manager what had caused my electric supply to momentarily quiver.

He was not only at his desk before nine the following morning, he'd written back. I got a sorry to hear that, and he's forwarded my e-mail on to the Distribution Manager responsible asking him to get in touch directly, please get back to me if I can help further and offering his kind regards.

Come on, full marks, that's faultless.

Five minutes later the phone rang. I am at this point speaking with the Distribution Manager for Bristol's nominee who gives me ten minutes talking me through the event leading up to the outage, the reason for the five dips (sectionalization, when it's appropriate and how it tracks down a fault), the difference between a dip and a system reset and a quick test at the end to make sure I'd grasped the key points. I pressed my luck and asked his view on the frequency of regional distribution faults and far from taking offence he gave it, and we discussed the nature and vagaries of local news reporting. I thanked him properly when we finished.

This is, to be honest, as good a reaction to a pushy email as I've ever heard of. Well done the local management of Western Power Distribution, I'll remain impressed by that for decades.

That's quite stunning, actually.

koan;1357129 wrote: That's quite stunning, actually.


I'm sufficiently impressed to have written to the CEO:Dear Mr Symons,

I'd like to commend two of your staff, and your policy of engagement

with the public.

I wrote yesterday to your Information Centre Manager, Tony Taylor,

asking about a power cut in Bristol last Saturday. By nine this

morning he'd passed my request to the right quarter and given me an

interim reply, concisely and to the point. Later that morning I had a

more detailed phone call from Neil Rawcliffe, who talked me through

the circumstances and checked that I was satisfied with the

information they'd given me.

Tony Taylor hasn't isolated himself from contact with the general

public, his name is on your impressively informative website with an

open invitation to email him.

Firms which deliberately avoid this efficient short-cut alienate their

customers. Western Power Distribution is fortunate to have management

staff prepared to make time for oddball queries like mine. I am left

with a very favourable impression of the way you choose to conduct

your business.

Thank you,

[signed]