The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1929-03-21
PUBLIC UTILITIES
Urged TOEDUCATE
COMPLAINTS AWAY
c. w. Mcdonald Of State Rail-
road Commission, Speaks
to Otter Tail Stats

Fergus Falls. Mimi. March 2l.-tR,
Pointing out that the public forms
its opinion OF public utility largely
BY its experience with public utility
employees. c. w. Mcdonnell, member
of the North Dakota State Railroad
commission, today told representa-
tiyes Of the Otter Tail Power company
that their attitude toward the public
will largely determine the success Of
their corporation.
TO the customers the man with
whom he comes In contact Is the
company. Mcdonnell said, and If his
impression is bad the company usu-
ally gets the blame. It's public rela-
tions suffer and trouble develops.
Companies serving the public are de-
pendent for success on the good will
of the communities served and good
will Is best obtained by earning 1t.
Comparatively few people know
the general managers of the large
utilities and seldom have any deal
ings with them direct, but every Gus
toner knows the meter reader, the
cashier. and. usually, the linemen
and trouble shooters" Mcdonnell
said. ITO the customers they are the
company and their attitude is taken
as an indication of the attitude of the
managing heads of the business.
More Patience Required
1.-THE public as rule is poorly in
formed as to the details of the opera
ton of any public utility and fire.
quently ask what appear to be foolish
questions regarding them. Having
been a railroad agent in the good old
days when the agent performed the
duties Of telegraph operator, freight
hustler, mall carrier, yardmaster and
others, I can sympathize with any
one behind counter who is required
to explain things that the questioner
knows nothing about"
He said he once took half an hour
to explain to lady that she could
not buy a railroad ticket from North
Dakota to Boston with a stopover at
San Francisco.
Ignorance on the part of a GUS
toner may be a joke to the public
utility cmploye, Mcdonnell said, but
it is no joke to the customer and he
resents its being taken as such. Dur
ing car shortage when the grain
movement was at its peak, he said. a
brakeman for railroad extending
into Canada jokingly told business
men who wanted cars that all cars
were being sent over. into Canada for
use by Canadian shippers.
Proved Costly Joke
The employees joke became so
serious that the state railroad board
had to conduct an investigation to
prove that Canadian shippers were
not being favored by the railroad,
Mcdonnell said. and in that COM
munity the public relations of the
railroad are still unpleasant because
Of the incident.
He suggested that care and atten-
ton to complaints about overcharges
for electric current would save power
companies much trouble. If quail
fled representative of the utility
would make check of the customers
premises, compute the time that
lights and appliances are used and
demonstrate that the bill is fair and
just. the customer would be perfectly
willing to pay for service received,
Mcdonnell said. He said customer
whose complaint had been handled
in this manner probably would pass
the word along to his friends with the
ultimate result that complaints would
be reduced to a minimum.
Suggesting that public utility COM
panies launch educational campaigns
to acquaint their customers with their
business, Mcdonnell said the result
would be sharp decrease in the
number Of complaints received by the
company and the number Of COM
plants which come to the state rail-
road board for settlement.
About IS per cent of the complaints
received by the state railroad board
come from five per cent of the utili-
ties or their customers, Mcdonnell
said, expressing the opinion that this
situation is due largely to poor public
relations on the part of the utilities
involved.