Uggghhh least favorite day of the month

[gvillemama]

I work for a city with gas water and sewer services. I am the billing clerk...and today is cutoffs! I hate this day!

 

[golfgal]

Around here it is illegal to cut off service in the winter months. You could move here and not have to worry about this time of the month for 4 months each year

 

[jen0610]

Some times the job that puts food on our tables is a job doesn't even faze you, then days like these makes you feel for those that are without a job and struggling.

 

[gvillemama]

Around here it is illegal to cut off service in the winter months. You could move here and not have to worry about this time of the month for 4 months each year

Once it gets to a certain temp we can't do it either. But today it wasn't that temperature.


It's really sad to do to people (especially this time of year) but for the city, it is something we have to do. On Friday we had over 15,000 dollars out still unpaid. I collected 13,000 over the weekend and today.

 

[rparmfamily]

Oh that does stink.

 

[babytrees]

I think I would hate your job today also.

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

Cutting sewer services off

 

[gvillemama]

Cutting sewer services off

Ha! We can't actually "cut" sewer off. There are several people that we know of in town that live without water service. They just truck water in and then use it instead of the public supply. So technically they are still using our sewer but there is really no way to know who is and who isn't.

And today sucked pretty bad but when I left work, there were still about ten people still off. That means tomorrow morning I will have several ticked off people at my door when I open. Because it was totally my fault!

 

[kilee]

First hugs, it's hard to do.

I am the billing manager for a large medical clinic in the city here. We do and can turn people away for non-life threatening treatment for past due balances. Now mind you we offer payment plans as low as $5 a month and that keeps you current.

However, it's my job to flag patients w/ appointments who don't pay. Usually about 20 patients per day.

I don't flag them this week each year. I've told my boss, it just doesn't seem right. Most of our patients are struggling as it is, and they have large families. So it's the 1 week out of the year they all get a free pass on carrying an old balance.

The worst for me was when my former boss didn't see eye to eye w/ me on this moral stand. I had to turn a mother away w/ her toddler who took 3 different buses to get to us on a very stormy Christmas Eve.

It's hard because people need healthcare but we need funds to be able to stay open and well it's just hard.

 

[Darsa]

Like three times in the 13 years I lived at my previous house I forgot to pay the water, and they came to the house. I felt like SUCH an idiot, for some reason that ONE thing was the hardest thing for me to remember, even with the bill that came in. Could be because it was the only bill I had to pay quarterly.

I truly don't envy you at all!

 

[gvillemama]

Like three times in the 13 years I lived at my previous house I forgot to pay the water, and they came to the house. I felt like SUCH an idiot, for some reason that ONE thing was the hardest thing for me to remember, even with the bill that came in. Could be because it was the only bill I had to pay quarterly.

I truly don't envy you at all!

On our list, we have a lot of people who are on there every single month either bc they truly don't have the money or they have put it off as the last bill to pay in terms of importance. I know that a lot of people think bc we are local and they can talk to a live body (rather than a telephone service), that we will be more lenient but we can't. They learn that real quick. But every month we have two or three people who have never been on the list before and they have truly forgotten to pay the bill. Those people come in and are more times than not apologizing to me! They really seem truly mortified over what happened and those are the customers that I get to sign up on bank draft every month (They can't forget this way!!!). Now the rest of my list think it is my fault and will cuss me until they leave the office (and probably all the way home) but I know that my cutoff process is thorough and very fair.


Oh and thanks everyone for the hugs!! I'm gonna bring my Disney planner into work today to keep myself motivated as to why I go to work each day!!