|
60%+
Fewer Customer Service Calls
|
70%
Customer Portal Adoption
|
75%+
Reduction in Disconnections
|
98s
Average Call Handle Time
|
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.
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.
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.
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.
During this period, Lombard also began integrating additional VXsmart capabilities, including: usage alerts, leak detection workflows, billing notifications, and messaging tools.
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.
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.
Lombard’s average call handle time now stands at just 98 seconds, indicating fewer disputes and more straightforward conversations.
“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
Before VXsmart, Lombard disconnected 15 to 20 accounts per week. Today, that number is 15 per month, a reduction of nearly 75%.
As a result, Lombard eliminated shutoff and reconnection fees entirely, without impacting revenue.
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.
With fewer interruptions and less stress, Lombard’s utility staff can now:
For leadership, the result is greater confidence and visibility. Issues are addressed early, transparently, and effectively, without constant oversight.
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