Did Detroit Water Department go out of business?

I've been trying to get a hold of the DWSD for a few months,. and they never answer the phone.

Each time you call you get the same message,.. that they "are unusually busy",.. Which cannot be true. If they are Always unusually busy,.. that means they are "Usually" busy,.. and either they need to hire more people,.. or do a better job so that not as many people need to call them.

But I'm getting the feeling they actually went out of business.

The last couple of times it said the hold time was greater than 25 minutes,.. and I held for more than an hour.

Anyone know if they are still in business?

Is there any way to make contact with them?

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Originally Posted by Bigdd

I've been trying to get a hold of the DWSD for a few months,. and they never answer the phone.

Each time you call you get the same message,.. that they "are unusually busy",.. Which cannot be true. If they are Always unusually busy,.. that means they are "Usually" busy,.. and either they need to hire more people,.. or do a better job so that not as many people need to call them.

But I'm getting the feeling they actually went out of business.

The last couple of times it said the hold time was greater than 25 minutes,.. and I held for more than an hour.

Anyone know if they are still in business?

Is there any way to make contact with them?

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Since the creation of the GLWA, 85% of the workers have been laid off.

So they're now severely understaffed.

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Originally Posted by 313WX

Since the creation of the GLWA, 85% of the workers have been laid off.

So they're now severely understaffed.

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The suburbs always said they'd run it so much better and cheaper than we did. So far it looks like they were half right.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 313WX

Since the creation of the GLWA, 85% of the workers have been laid off.

So they're now severely understaffed.

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Understaffed compared to what? What makes it severe?

If I actually need DWSD to lift a finger or give a concrete answer I've found it's best to not bother with the phone and just hoof it down to Randolph St. Last time I was there they were blasting CNN in the [[beautiful but acoustically horrible) waiting room neé lobby, making it an awful experience on par with getting stuck at an airport. Last year they turned a gravel lot into a small free parking lot for DWSD customers, altho maybe that's getting built on already.

Sometimes if you call the customer service number [[267-8000) after business hours you get the emergency service department, which tends to answer faster and actually get things done.

For what it's worth, I've had consistently great interactions with DWSD field personnel. No doubt, the customer service experience is lacking.

A few months ago there was a water main break in the middle of
the night in front of my house. At the same time I was calling it
in at about 5 in the morning, unbeknownst to me, another neighbor,
who moved in when Duggan became mayor, was also calling it in
at the same time. There was a scratchy message and maybe music
that played over and over. For what it's worth I have one sister who
used to be a chain restaurant manager. Chain restaurants, hyper
competitive businesses that they are, have standards on how long
a patron may be kept waiting once they arrive in the restaurant....
once they are seated....it should be no more than one minute before
you are greeted in a friendly manner, if I recall correctly. So after
about an hour the recorded message hung up on the both of us.
The neighbor called me at six in the morning and rightfully complained
for about five minutes about the extended wait time. I called DWSD
back, waited and waited again, finally got an operator, and learned
that someone had already called in about the break. It was fixed
later that day.

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Originally Posted by EastsideAl

The suburbs always said they'd run it so much better and cheaper than we did. So far it looks like they were half right.

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They'll run their piece of the system just fine.

The city and suburbs share the great lakes water authority. DWSD is 100% city controlled and only operates in the city. So any issues with DWSD are city problems.

If you were to send a polite letter detailing your experience to Mr. Gary Brown,
or maybe Mayor Duggan, and cc the GLWA board too, and the GLWA
Facebook page, that would be nice.

There IS short staffing. They are still going through a transition period after
the DWSD/GLWA split. The IT staff has been currently working on splitting
the former DWSD Oracle database for internal work orders into the DWSD
database and the GLWA database. There might be more about that over at
the GLWA Facebook page.
I think that in about a year there will be an automated app of some kind
and the wait times shouldn't be so bad. Still I think that if people communicate
NOW with powers that be about their slow response, that will create an
incentive to select an app/phone answering service with shorter wait times.
I heard the phrase THIRD WORLD COUNTRY ​a lot in that rant.

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Originally Posted by Wesley Mouch

... What makes it severe?

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bigdd

I've been trying to get a hold of the DWSD for a few months,... The last couple of times it said the hold time was greater than 25 minutes,.. and I held for more than an hour....

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Duh. :rolleyes:

ndavies has it right.

DWSD still exists, but only handles issues within the City of Detroit
GLWA handles suburban issues [[as well as ownership of some systems, IIRC)

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Originally Posted by Jimaz

Duh. :rolleyes:

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I asked because long wait times and bad service are not necessarily related to staffing levels nor funding levels. Some 'underfunded' groups do fine work, and some 'overfunded' groups don't do poo.

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Originally Posted by Wesley Mouch

I asked because long wait times and bad service are not necessarily related to staffing levels nor funding levels. Some 'underfunded' groups do fine work, and some 'overfunded' groups don't do poo.

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This time you're correct. One has to have worked there to appreciate the administrative level of incompetence @ the DWSD. I will say the guys @ Central Services are heroes.

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Originally Posted by Honky Tonk

This time you're correct. One has to have worked there to appreciate the administrative level of incompetence @ the DWSD. I will say the guys @ Central Services are heroes.

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Likewise, I've had nothing but good experiences with the crews of DWSD, with whom I have worked on several occasions over decades.

[[Its my 'agree with Honky Tonk day it seems)

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Originally Posted by Wesley Mouch

[[Its my 'agree with Honky Tonk day it seems)

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We all have our bad days.