By Courtney Dentch
After repeated attempts, Con Ed is finally closing the doors of its last Queens customer service center at 92-15 Union Hall St. in Jamaica this weekend.
The closing is planned for on or about Friday, said Con Ed spokeswoman Joy Faber, although an exact date has not been named. Customers will be able to pay their bills or talk to a customer service representative at authorized payment centers, like the Keyspan office at 89-67 162nd St., Jamaica, or via phone or Internet, she said.
The closing, which was tried unsuccessfully in 1999, is aimed at streamlining the payment process for customers, Faber said. The Jamaica center is the last customer service center the borough and one of only four centers that remain open in the city, she said. Originally, there were about 19, but Con Ed is taking advantage of technology, including phone hotlines and the Internet, to handle customers, Faber said.
“We have other customer service options that we believe are a bit more convenient,” she said.
For example, Faber said, both the phone hotline, 1-800-75-CONED, and the web site, www.coned.com, are available 24 hours a day. Some of the authorized payment centers offer extended hours, and at the Keyspan location, electricity customers may be able to save a trip and pay their natural gas bill at the same time, Faber said.
Con Ed’s customer service will also be available at new payment locations. A Con Ed employee will be at the Keyspan location to answer questions, while other centers will have a phone and will be available to connect customers to company employees.
“We don’t just go in and say, ‘here are our customers,’ without any concern for them,” Faber said.
Aside from the location change, the payment process is the same, including the turnover time, Faber said. Some customers were concerned that if they go through other agents it would take longer for the payment to show up on the account, but Faber said that is not true, adding that the payment centers share the same software with the rest of Con Ed.
“Once we authorize a bill payment center, the centers are considered our agents, if you will,” she said.
Con Ed used fliers and posters at the Jamaica center to alert customers to the change, Faber said. So far, customers have been more surprised at the news than upset, said a Con Ed employee working at the center.
“It comes down to whatever you can do here you can do from home or your place of business,” he said, adding that people just need to adjust to the technology or the new centers.
But Jamaica resident Jacqueline White, who was leaving the center was still unaware of the closing.
“It’s so convenient for everyone here in Jamaica,” she said. “We’re going to miss it if they close it. I wouldn’t be surprised if people started picketing out here.”
In addition to the Keyspan location, customers can pay their bills at Power P/R, Inc., at 160-05 Hillside Ave., or S.L. Allen and Associates at 90-40 160th St., both in Jamaica, or at Woodhaven Check Cashing at 93-05 Jamaica Ave., in Woodhaven. Customers can also use any of the authorized centers across the city, which are listed on the company’s web site and in the Yellow Pages.
Reach reporter Courtney Dentch by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com, or by phone at 229-0300 Ext. 138.
