ALBEMARLE — The city of Albemarle’s new after-hours system for reporting power outages, street obstructions, and water and sewer service disruptions is now up and running.
At the Albemarle City Council meeting on Monday night, Jay Voyles, director of the city’s public utilities department, hosted a presentation that introduced the Daupler response management system and call center.
“This program has been highly anticipated,” Albemarle City Manager Todd Clark said in a preamble to the agenda item. “It came as a recommendation from our public utilities director, Jay Voyles, who’s with us tonight and going to make a presentation.”
Daupler’s response management platform currently serves utilities in 38 U.S. states, Canada and New Zealand.
“I’m excited to announce that Daupler is now live,” Voyles said. “The operating hours of this system are going to be on weekdays from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. and 24/7 or around-the-clock coverage on weekends and holidays. Once a customer calls us in, the dispatching service will send the appropriate crews based on the issue at hand, and the system will also open up a portal for customers to receive updates on whatever issue that they report.”
Voyles explained that a trained customer service representative at Daupler can be reached at the same service disruption number (704-984-9679) that Albemarle residents have used previously for these reports.
Prior to Daupler, after-hours responses were sent over to the Albemarle Police Department, where it would dispatch crews and intake customer calls.
After making a report, a user can opt-in for real-time repair tracking via text message — a new method designed to enhance communication, faster response times, and an improved customer service experience by allowing users to submit photos and notes.
The Daupler system was fully deployed on March 12, initiating a trial period where the Albemarle Public Utilities Department tallied 63 customers who chose to speak with a live representative and 138 customers who instead opted for text message updates.
“One of my favorite components of this is the flexibility for people that have different preferences in communicating,” Voyles said. “Some people may not like to speak with a live representative and may like to receive updates through their phone, but I know many of our customers do want to speak with someone whenever they have to report an issue.”
Albemarle’s public utilities director noted that he hopes in the future that Albemarle will be able leverage Daupler for 24/7 response management, extending well past its current after-hours designation and benefitting the city’s customer service staff that handles 3,500 to 4,000 calls per month.
“This is great — I think it’s next level,” Councilmember Bill Aldridge said. “It’s going to elevate the customer service experience with all of our citizens, so I’m glad to see this coming live.”
The Albemarle City Council is set to meet again on April 21 at 6:30 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers.