This month, I want to spotlight our front-line employees. Chances are you have had the pleasure of speaking with them once or twice! Providing exceptional member care is the backbone of our cooperative. Our member services representatives take great pride in the assistance they provide to ensure our members have the support and answers they need.

Cody Smith and Dianna Partenheimer started with BCREMC is 2019 and are the first to make contact with our members. Cody comes from a background in accounting and customer service. “I offer advice for usage and billing management, and try to help members understand the processes and services we offer here at Bartholomew County REMC,” Smith said. “I always enjoy getting to talk with the members in our community and see how I can help while getting to share a smile with them. My team and I work closely with our operations and accounting departments to ensure the best possible experience for our members.” 

Dianna joined BCREMC with 10 years of customer service experience and says “serving members is second nature to me. I find comfort in knowing they can turn to me for answers.” Dianna lives by the golden rule. “I try to put myself in our members’ shoes and treat them as I like to be treated,” she said.

The department of four also includes Kathryn Joyner, who has been serving our members for seven years and has previous utility customer service experience. “We are here to help you in any way we can. We understand that we all go through tough times, especially with the pandemic the world just went through, so don’t be afraid to call and ask us for help,” Kathryn said. In her time, she has taken on extra projects that have helped her learn the ins and outs of the cooperative. 

Supervising the day-to-day operations of the front office is Melissa Pennington, who started with BCREMC in 2018. Whether she’s working on front-end reports or processing payments, her door is always open to her team and our members. ‘Customers don’t expect you to be perfect. But they do expect you to fix things when needed. Our member services team is here to make it right the best we can.” Her background in customer service of nearly 20 years ensures only the best quality care is provided to our members. 

A huge thank you to our member services department. This group works hard every day to provide you with top notch service. During the pandemic, they were all hands onboard to serve you remotely and curbside as circumstances required. They stepped up and I’m extremely proud of them for being a big part of why we set our all-time record last year in customer satisfaction, measured by the American Customer Satisfaction Index!