Beginning in January, California American Water (CAW) customers with email addresses linked to their water accounts can view their personalized water bill by video. This innovative customer-service initiative was designed to enhance customer communication by sending links to the videos by email to residential customers on the Monterey Peninsula. The emails will be sent monthly through March soon after electronic bills are available online and about five days before monthly bills arrive in the mail unless a customer opts to unsubscribe from the emails.
The animated videos demonstrate how to navigate and understand the components of water bills and highlight itemized charges, amounts due and water usage for the current and previous months. They further clarify water service and usage charges, tiered rates and surcharges. The videos also include reminders about state-ordered water-use restrictions, conservation tips and information about services available on CAW’s website such as paperless billing registration, links to rebate applications and more.
“With tiered rates and a number of surcharges, water bills on the Monterey Peninsula can appear complicated,” said CAW External Affairs Manager Catherine Stedman. “These videos are designed to improve communication about our water charges as well as helping customers analyze their water use and better understand their bills.”
