Caring For Our Neighbors

Customer Service Center Team Goes “Above and Beyond” to Aid Missouri Customer

Four women in the Alton Customer Service Center (CSC) just may have saved the life of an elderly Missouri woman. 

Havis-Fish, Smith, & Werner and a colleague acted quickly when a customer was in distress.

The woman, a longtime customer of Missouri American Water, called the CSC on Aug. 7 because her water had been turned off July 24 for nonpayment. But Kristina Reinke, the customer service representative who took her call, recognized the woman was in distress and contacted her supervisor, Sarah Werner. Together, they took the case to Aimee Smith on the Help Queue.

After calling back several times to check on the woman – who repeatedly hung up her phone out of apparent confusion – Smith learned the woman had no family in the area to help her. A check of her records found that a field service representative had visited her home in April and turned off water to a leaky toilet. 

No payments had posted to the woman’s account since October. When she told Smith she was tired and thirsty, and then did not answer her phone after hanging up, Smith became concerned. 

The group spoke with Business Service Coordinator Joan Havis-Fish and then alerted police. When police checked on the woman, they found her health was in jeopardy and she was taken to a local hospital. A police sergeant later called the CSC to thank Missouri American Water for acting on its concerns.