SaskEnergy will maintain cashiering services in Saskatoon and Regina, but will discontinue its cashiering function in 2014 at nine provincial office locations. This will allow the Corporation to focus frontline employees on customer service in higher demand areas, such as telephone inquiries and new customer connection activity.
On average, less than four per cent of customers now use cashier service at these locations. Use of cashiering services has steadily declined as the majority of customers pay their natural gas bill through their financial institution, including on-line and telephone banking, or pre-authorized withdrawal with SaskEnergy.
Cashiering services will be discontinued in Prince Albert, Moose Jaw, Yorkton, North Battleford, Swift Current, Weyburn, Estevan, Tisdale and Kindersley. Cashier services in Regina and Saskatoon will be unaffected as customer walk-in numbers are highest in these two centres. No job loss will occur as a result of this change.
"As the needs of our customers change, it's important that SaskEnergy keep pace and continue to provide high levels of service," said Doug Kelln, SaskEnergy President and Chief Executive Officer. "This measure will help us to better focus resources on demands from a rapidly increasing residential, business and industrial customer base across the province.
"We also wanted employees to continue working on these customer-related responsibilities within their home communities with no relocation necessary," Kelln added.
These measures are expected to result in $1.3 million of internal labour resource redeployment annually, allowing SaskEnergy's employees to more effectively serve customers. Cashiering closures will be in effect January 2nd, 2014.
