Shining the spotlight on Laura Woods, Business Customer Team (Billing & Collections) Advisor

Can you talk us through your role?

As I’m part of the business customer service area that specifically works with our business customers, the role I have is contacting business customers who are in arrears to get them back on track and paying. Some business customers can face financial difficulties so in these circumstances I work with them to create manageable payment plans and get them back on track.

I’ve worked at Welsh Water for about two and a half years and have developed my knowledge in other topics, with these skills I support other areas. One of them is ensuring customer data – particularly payment history data – is maintained accurately across our systems.

The other is working on our customer support line where I support colleagues with more complex queries as sometimes our standard process isn’t applicable to everyone and business customers need a more tailored approach.

How do you work with businesses within your role?

We deal with all types of business customer – from farmers and sole traders to larger multinational companies. Every business customer is different, for example a small corner shop’s needs will be different to a large supermarket.

A key part of my role is collaborating with different teams to resolve complex customer issues. For example, when a business customer experiences a leak I will work closely with our private leakage team and customer liaison team so that I can regularly update the customer. I always make sure the customer understands the situation and the steps we’re taking to address it, as well as how the issue affects their bill.

I’ve built strong relationships with these other teams so we are able to combine our knowledge to resolve customer issues as soon as possible.

Can you give us an example of how you’ve helped a business customer recently?

We recently had a farmer contact us who’d received a high bill, suggesting a leak. As with many farmers, his water supply was very complex, and he had a long supply pipe leading to our water main, so it was not going to be an easy fix. He’d also just been through a family bereavement and was concerned about being able to afford the large bill.

The investigation has been ongoing for a while with different departments, and the the customer was frustrated. I stepped in and did a thorough account review to understand what had happened and understand the leak status. We confirmed the leak was repaired and put through a leakage allowance on their bill. The farmer was really pleased with the outcome and appreciated the proactive approach. It was the right thing to do to provide extra support for this customer.

What do you like to do outside of work?

My friends describe me as a bit of foodie. I particularly love travel and trying out local dishes while I’m away - I always bring a local ingredient home from trips! I often try and recreate dishes at home but I’m too scared to cook for others so I’ll just make it for myself. Most recently I went to Berlin and got to try out currywurst and other street food at the Christmas markets and before that I went to Greece and had some amazing gyros!

If you need extra support with your business bill, take a look at the options available on our support page here.