Customer Service Representative 1

Our purpose is sustaining energy and water for life, and it is demonstrated in everything we do as a business, and as an employee team.

At Liberty, we hire passionate people who care about doing the right thing for our customers. We are entrepreneurial, creative, and outcome-focused. Here, your natural talent and achievements will flourish in an inclusive environment of teamwork, trust and continuous learning. We are always pursuing excellence to exceed our ambitions goals, rewarding both the goal outcome and how we achieve it.

Purpose

Customer Service Representative will be responsible for providing prompt, accurate, professional in-person, electronic and telephone service to internal and external customers. Support other departments as needed.

Accountabilities

• Respond to all incoming customer inquiries including but not limited to:
• Emergency calls
• Service connects, disconnects, new service installations
• Rate, billing and payment inquiries
• Water quality complaints, inquiries
• Resolving high bill complaints
• Identifying complex meter and billing situations
• Negotiating and establish payment arrangements
• Provide information on products and programs offered by the Company and generate referrals to the appropriate departments
• Promote low-income programs
• Promote water efficiency programs
• Process payments
• Communicate with customers electronically and/or outgoing calls and in person
• Perform back office, walk-in and cashiering responsibilities as assigned
• Liaison between customer, field personnel and office staff
• Expected to respond to emergency call out and extended work hours when company emergencies occur.
• Ensure all working practices are compliant with Liberty Utilities’ policies, procedures, and NY PSC regulatory rules
• Speaking French is considered an asset

Education and Experience

• High School Diploma or GED required. Associate Degree preferred.
• 2-year experience working in a customer service environment handling incoming/outgoing calls required.
• Knowledge of computer systems and Microsoft Office (Excel & Word) required.
• Experience with accounting or billing software a plus.
• Must be available during emergencies and be flexible with working longer shifts and additional hours required.
• Demonstrate ability to effectively communicate with customers in a fast-paced environment while developing positive customer relations, anticipating, identifying, and responding to customer needs effectively.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills required.
• Ability to set priorities, plan and coordinate work activities to accomplish work objectives.
• Experience with use of cash register, receiving and posting payments.
• Facilitate customer service satisfaction and a smooth flow of information between all departments.
• Clearly and effectively communicate emergency information.
• Communicate research results effectively with internal and external customers as it relates to customers, office, field and accounting.
• Ability to communicate recommendations regarding policy development and implementation.
• Experience with electronic data storage processes, ability to organize, plan and simplify business-filing systems preferred.
• Work requires the ability to read and process customer applications, street addresses, computerized information and related reports, accounting terms and spreadsheets, vendor invoices, state statutes, federal laws, service area maps, correspondence and legal documents and contracts, and property legal descriptions at a college level.
• Ability to perform math calculations (add, substract, estimate). Ability understand and detect errors in meter readings and billing calculations.
• Work requires the ability to document customer related issues and summarize research performed as it relates to all office operations. Documentation of follow-up, prepare and maintain reports and records.
• Work is widely varied, to include involvement with customers, customer service operations, field operations and accounting. Must learn and understand the interdependency of all company operations and be able to analyze and prioritize situations as they arise on a daily basis.
• Capable of making decisions that are within Liberty’s business standards and guidelines; and New York rules and regulations, seeking assistance when necessary. Must be able to perform duties and function effectively with minimal supervision.
• Valid driver’s license is required.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. is a growing renewable energy and utility company with over $15 billion of assets across North America and internationally.

For more than 30 years, Algonquin has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to delivering clean energy and water solutions. Our rapid growth has led both our regulated utility services and renewable energy business groups into different geographies and commodities, but our purpose remains unchanged – Sustaining Energy and Water for Life.

Through our operating business (Liberty), we provide regulated electricity, water, and natural gas utility services to over 1 million customer connections, primarily in North America. And, our growing portfolio of clean, renewable wind, solar, hydro and thermal power generation facilities represent over 3 GW of renewable generation capacity in operation and under construction.

With our robust, diversified, and growing presence in communities across North America and internationally, we are continually demonstrating our “Think Global, Act Local” business model.

What we offer

• Company funded Pension program
• 401k with Company match
• Full insurance benefits (health/dental/vision/life)
• Collaborative environment with a genuine flexible working policy
• Share purchase/match plan
• Defined Contribution savings plan
• Top Talent Program
• Volunteer paid days off
• Employee Assistance Program
• Achievement fund

We are focused on building a diverse and inclusive workforce. If you are excited about this role and are not certain you meet the all the qualification requirements, we encourage you to apply to further investigate the opportunity.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value each person’s unique background, diversity, experiences, perspectives and talents. Full participation of all employees in a safe, healthy and respectful environment is key to individual and company success. We are committed to fully utilizing the abilities of all of our employees and expect each of our employees to honor this commitment in their daily responsibilities.