About The Village of Lombard
But unlike the drought-stricken regions battling severe scarcity and sustainability concerns in the West and Southwest, the challenges Lombard faced were more common with those plaguing many municipal utilities across the country, namely overwhelmed staff, frustrated customers, and escalating operational strain that served no one well.
To combat these challenges head on, the Village of Lombard set out to modernize its water utility operations, implementing software that enabled a fundamental shift in the utility’s philosophy and approach to customer service, transforming its customer engagement model, and the very relationship it has with the community it serves.
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60%+
Fewer Customer Service Calls
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70%
Customer Portal Adoption
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75%+
Reduction in Disconnections
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98s
Average Call Handle Time
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The CHALLENGE
Before implementing VXsmart, the Village of Lombard’s water utility operations reflected a common reality for municipal providers: service depended heavily on staff time, phone calls, and manual processes.
The utility served more than 13,000 water accounts, yet customers had limited visibility into their own usage and billing data. As a result, staff were fielding 400 to 500 phone calls per month, many driven not by system failures, but by uncertainty.
- Why their bill was higher than expected?
- Whether the meter reading was accurate?
- How much they owed and when payment was due?
- What caused a sudden spike in usage?
At the same time, the village was beginning a mass AMI meter deployment, an investment that promised better data but also carried risk. Without a clear way to share that data with customers, increased granularity could easily result in more confusion, more calls, and more pressure on staff.
Staff were doing their best, but the system was reactive at best.
Facing rising customer service demands, high call volumes, and the operational strain of manual processes, the Village of Lombard set out to modernize its water utility operations.
But rather than asking how to manage calls more effectively, Lombard began asking a different question:
Why are customers calling at all?
The answer: customers lacked access to the information they needed.
The solution
Self-Service as the Foundation
Self-service wasn’t positioned as a replacement for customer support. Instead, it was framed as empowerment and aligned with a single goal: reduce friction for customers while freeing staff to focus on meaningful work.
By implementing VXsmart, Lombard transformed its customer engagement model from reactive, phone-heavy service to proactive, data-driven self-service. Residents gained direct access to their water usage, billing data, alerts, and communications in one centralized portal.
- Accelerate AMI deployment to unlock granular usage data
- Move from bimonthly to monthly billing to reduce bill shock
- Put customers in control with real-time data and clear visualizations
- Replace phone calls with proactive digital communications
During Implementation: Building the Foundation for Self-Service
The implementation of VXsmart became a strategic turning point for the Village of Lombard, rather than just a standard software rollout. Instead of treating VXsmart as a standalone portal, Lombard aligned it with broader operational changes, including:
With AMI and VXsmart in place, Lombard moved from bimonthly to monthly billing, reducing bill shock and making expenses feel more manageable for customers.
This shift helped lower delinquency risk while allowing households to better align their water costs with their monthly budgets.
- Portal links on every bill
- QR codes and website placement
- Customer service reps walking callers through the portal
During this period, Lombard also began integrating additional VXsmart capabilities, including: usage alerts, leak detection workflows, billing notifications, and messaging tools.
The results
From Call-Heavy to Customer-Driven
By rolling out VXsmart, Lombard gave their customers direct, real-time visibility into their water usage and bills. So rather than calling, customers could log in, view a simple bar chart, and immediately see what had changed.
Today, nearly 70% of Lombard’s customers are registered in VXsmart. Customers know where to go, what to expect, and how to manage their accounts on their own terms and at their own convenience.
The transformation to self-service wasn’t just technological, it was cultural.
The shift alone has changed the tone of customer interactions. Instead of fielding complaints, staff now spend time walking residents through leak detection, payment options, or usage patterns. Once customers learn how to use the portal, most never need to call again.
Fewer Calls, Better Conversations
Since implementation, Lombard reduced monthly call volume from 400 to 500 calls to fewer than 200, averaging just 10 or 11 calls per day across all 13,000+ accounts.
- 90% of customers who are walked through the portal never call again
- Most remaining calls are simple balance or due-date questions
Faster, Less Stressful Interactions
Lombard’s average call handle time now stands at just 98 seconds, indicating fewer disputes and more straightforward conversations.
- Reviewing usage data together
- Identifying leaks
- Helping customers take action
“If someone calls and asks why their bill is high, we just look at the data together. You can usually pinpoint it right away – sprinklers, guests, a running toilet. It’s not an argument anymore. It’s just information.”- Scott Gargano, Village of Lombard Business Process Manager
Dramatic Reduction in Shutoffs
Before VXsmart, Lombard disconnected 15 to 20 accounts per week. Today, that number is 15 per month, a reduction of nearly 75%.
- Bill notifications
- Due-date reminders
- Group email messaging
- Robocalls and tags only as a last resort
- 1,086 reminder emails sent
- Reduced to just 10 shutoffs by the end of the process
As a result, Lombard eliminated shutoff and reconnection fees entirely, without impacting revenue.
Rapid Portal Adoption
Customers didn’t adopt the portal because they were told to. They adopted it because it made their lives easier.
Once Lombard integrated online payments directly into VXsmart, registration jumped from 17% to over 50% in less than two months. Today, nearly 70% of customers (around 9,000 accounts) are actively registered.
Operational Impact: Empowered Staff, Elevated Outcomes
With fewer interruptions and less stress, Lombard’s utility staff can now:
- Investigate root causes instead of reacting to complaints
- Spend time helping customers locate leaks and reduce waste
- Cross-train with permitting and licensing departments
- Proactively suggest new automation and service improvements
For leadership, the result is greater confidence and visibility. Issues are addressed early, transparently, and effectively, without constant oversight.
lessons learned
Today, VXsmart is embedded in how the Village of Lombard operates.
Customers know where to go, what to expect, and how to manage their accounts independently. Staff are empowered to do meaningful work. Leadership has visibility without friction.
Most importantly, the Village achieved something that can’t be automated alone: trust
The Village of Lombard: By the Numbers
- 60%+ reduction in monthly customer service calls
- From 400–500 calls/month → ~187 calls/month
- 10–11 calls per day on average
- 98 seconds average call handle time
- <20 calls per month lasting longer than 5 minutes
- ~70% portal adoption (≈9,000 registered accounts)
- Portal registration increased from 17% to 50%+ in under 60 days
- 90% of customers who receive portal walk-throughs never call again
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Water shutoffs reduced from 15–20 per week → ~15 per month
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75%+ reduction in disconnections
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8–9 automated contact attempts before shutoff
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Shutoff and reconnection fees eliminated with no revenue impact
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Only 2 staff members manage all inbound utility calls
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Near-zero escalations (2 total in 7 years)
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Staff freed to focus on root-cause analysis, customer empathy, and cross-training