PROMISES

When I was about 13, my father promised to take me fishing at a creek nearby. The creek was bordered by a thick forest of mature oak trees. Historically, the creek served as a water and fish source first for Indians, then for immigrant German farmers who settled adjacent prairie. However, currently it was shallow and yielded only "bullheads" and crawfish. One could hop rocks to the opposite bank, and the ruins of an old limestone bridge that once spanned the creek imposed curiosity.

Today, the creek serves primarily as a conduit for effluent from upstream wastewater treatment plants and for storm water sewer inflows, sending its burden to the Mississippi river via two other rivers.

The promised fishing was deferred several times by various interventions. However, one cold, snowy January day, my father surprised me saying he wanted to take me to the creek's woods to show me how to use my new official Boy Scout ax. It was one of those with a one piece steel head and handle, and a blade so sharp that could slice cheese from six feet away.

After we arrived in the forest, my father selected a 10 inch diameter log lying on the ground as the intended target for an ax demonstration. Then he made a looping swing of the ax to begin the cutting. Unfortunately, the log was frozen like a rock. and the ax bounced off the log to make its first cut into my father's ankle instead. Promise, and lesson, over.

Promises, it seems, may be easy to make, but difficult to fulfill at times. In the provision of public utility water service, customer perception of the quality of that service can be critical. A utility can be providing good service, but if customers perceive otherwise, a utility may suffer from unrest and opposition from its customers. For example, if a utility promises to promptly resolve a customer concern or complaint, it is essential that the promise be fulfilled. If action is delayed or overlooked, a perception can arise that the utility provides poor service--regardless even if there was a good reason for delay. In this example, timely communication to the customer of the likely delay may have adequately satisfied the customer.

The point is that a utility has a responsibility not only to provide good water, but also to provide good service. Empty promises can not be justified by good intentions. Disappointed customers may become utility management's frozen log.