Looking for a new place to live is stressful. Boxing up your things and actually moving creates even more stress. Then, when you think your stress has leveled out, you’ll have to remember all the small details—like getting your utilities transferred or turned on, which begs the question – How much time do you waste setting up utilities?
Between the initial call (or online appointment scheduler) and waiting for the utility tech to come to your new place, how much time do you waste when setting up your utilities?
Which Utilities Do You Need at Your New Home/APT?
Before the internet and cable, it may have been a little easier to have professionals install utilities. Now, there are so many options going into a new place; getting water, gas, and electricity turned on is only the beginning of what you could need or want for your utility situation.
There are many ways to determine which utilities you need, but the exact choices will vary according to your lifestyle. People who work from home most likely need the internet to go along with their basic cable package. Some people no longer have a landline because the cell phone options can keep your budget lower; other people want a digital phone line.
Before you move into your new place, sit down with yourself (or your partner) for at least twenty minutes to figure out just what utilities will be necessary for your way of life.
Many Appointment Options
Once you figure out which utilities you’ll be getting, the next step will be to set up an appointment for each one. Most streamlined services (like gas, cable, or internet) may have an “easy” online appointment scheduler. This option won’t include the information you’ll need to give customer service reps (online or on the phone) or the time it will take for you to pick out your package and make the arrangements.
If you have had utilities before, the process may be as simple as telling a customer service rep your new address—this task can still take up to twenty minutes (or longer!) for each service you need. Verifying your account number and listening to the voice prompted guide to “help” you get where you want to go takes up most of this time.
Chances are, twenty minutes is a low estimation, and you’ll spend at least forty minutes (for each utility) talking to your customer service person.
Your Time Spent Waiting
If you are lucky, you’ll catch the call center when it’s not peak time, but chances are other people will be waiting for the same time you are in their interests of a shorter wait—so that may mean that you have to wait on the phone line or in a chat line to speak to someone who can help you turn on your utility of choice.
After you get an actual person and spend forty minutes to an hour talking about packages, plans, and appointment times, you’ll have to wait for those scheduled appointment times.
Wait..wait…wait… No More!
While technology has helped minimize wait times for larger companies, smaller companies often still have a waiting-window of four hours where you must be home.
So, if you are getting TV, internet, water, electricity, and gas, that adds up to a lot of waiting in line, waiting on the phone, and waiting at your home for utilities.
Utility Bellhop Saves You Time, Money, & Stress
We don’t want you to waste any unnecessary time! This is why Utility Bellhop offers to do all the utility research for you, get you the best price, and make all the arrangements to have your utilities connected when it’s best for you. We eliminate all those hours you’d spend researching options, then help you avoid the frustration of even more hours spent on the phone with various utility companies.
