A/V Geeks - Testing New Equipment

gas company well it is that's true of every company that serves a consumer what do you tell your readers don't you say your magazine well I got a little tile at night didn't I seriously miss Perkins it's been said that utility companies are big and personal protected from the nitty gritty of reality by thick marble wall I don't see any marble around here I'd be more concerned with profits than with people you're not exactly subtle are you question when are you gonna start treating the customer like a person instead of just a number but the gas company is people to some very nice people I'd like you to meet a few of them in fact about answering my question I told you that you were gonna have to face it specifically just what is this group of nice people doing for the consumer what [Music] [Music] he was meeting us here there he is now hi Barbara good morning this is mr. Fleming of our customer service department I miss fighting how are you I'm glad to meet you as I mentioned mr. Palmer is writing an article on the natural gas industry he'd like to know what we're doing to individualize service for the customer well I can't speak for the industry because gas companies are like well clothes they come in all sizes and styles to shave for example do you have any idea how many customers we serve that wasn't my question I'm sorry so I won't mention that some companies serve a few thousand and others serve hundreds of thousands there you see like I said numbers you're more interested in numbers than people and they prove it computers computerized service whatever happened to good old personal contact I'm glad you brought that up mr. Palmer because one personal contact the computer helps us with is coordinating and scheduling of our radio dispatch trucks it helps us to get to more homes faster here's another customer profile it details what kind of equipment the customer uses his average gas use during each season and the kind of service he's needed and how often all to enable us to serve him better now our telephone service representatives use this data all the time when people call in we have an automatic distributor instead of the usual central switchboard it speeds things up gives people a direct line to the representatives mister ever speaking mr. Bayliss just a moment sir let me get your file with the computer system we can get a profile immediately it's much faster than looking it up in a book and you don't have to keep the customer waiting know just how can we help you sure computers are efficient and you use names mrs. Travers mr. Bayliss but you call that contact Oh named a name well that's all very good but let's see more where's the human factor face to face do you do everything named a name I think we can manage face-to-face to in-home services I'll take you there tomorrow tomorrow what's the matter with today because if you really want to find out about home services it takes a lot of time [Music] gonna be very attractive what would your here I can let it down a little what did it do for you I mean alright alright I understand I didn't mean to get personal how about dismiss virgins a lot of our readers are concerned about clean air and water and everyone knows the energy business the major polluter of our atmosphere our lakes and streams the question is what are you doing to protect the environment I like that question much better let's see if mr. Lawson is available to help answer it alright let's follow natural gas from the earth to the consumers home that's where it starts mr. Palmer in the field natural gas out of the earth but once the well is drove when the gas comes in we restore the land to its original beauty and all we have left is what we call a Christmas tree there's a transmission line under there would you believe it unseen except for a small marker to identify its location now beneath that lawn a pipe was put in just a week before this picture was taken not even a scar showing all this is very pretty mr. Lawson but I'm not talking about beautification aren't concerned about pollution water pollution air pollution don't tell me you don't have any problems sure of course but like it says there let's face it who doesn't have problems but we're trying to solve them what about water pollution you do have a leak underwater once in a while doesn't it yes but when natural gas springs a leak under water it bubbles to the surface and dissipates in the air no harmful effects to the water or the beach air your wildlife because remember natural gas is as the name implies natural yes I know but what about when it's used after it reaches the customer it does burn into the atmosphere doesn't it now you're talking about air pollution why don't you step over here another the any burning process gives off pollute but a major fuels natural gas is the most pollution free here let me show you now even a candle will give off pollutes see the smoke Wow well we burn national gas look at the difference just clear blue you might also be interested to learn that natural gas can be used to burn off pollutants caused by the combustion of other fuels okay hmm so you see mr. Palmer natural gas is compatible with a world that must be concerned with nature because let me repeat natural gas yes I know I know as the name implies the curves are there under the ground under the sea and the uses for a dependable and clean burning energy for a clean nation or growing all the time like like heating air conditioning climate controlling homes all this creates a demand for more natural gas so what's being done about it well if our industry is to expand and meet the challenge of the future the people who produce natural gas must be given the incentive to drill more Wells to explore and the right to expect a reasonable return on what is a costly and risky investment that's what every business has to have seems fair enough one more question we can have dinner taking a quicker since no I'm sorry I already besides tomorrow we're going to cover two the word consumerism okay buddy phones are both going up yeah we might as well Jessica out [Music] [Applause] [Music] no mr. Williams I don't think I need any help with him his questions are pretty sharp but well it's the way he dresses he's so far out and he's pushy like already asking me out to dinner no there's nothing wrong with that no I didn't I took two aspirin and went straight to bed yes you should be here any minute all right mr. Windows goodbye just aspirin for dinner do you always arrive unannounced well that's me barb the casual type mr. Perkins if you don't mind well to me you'll always be barb I don't know what it is about you that's so so exasperated yes but then I suppose it's the technique you use in asking your questions well you've got it it works well then let me ask you one what's the most frequent question you get from your readers about the gas industry well that's easy most common complaints are about small things like a pilot light going off uh-huh you've been reading a male barb I'm sorry miss Perkins another typical question might be why don't gas companies find out what the consumer wants in a product before making it I know I know utilities don't manufacture the actual appliances but you still have a responsibility right we think so and we're trying to face up to it by helping the consumer here's one way the major problems that our servicemen have run into in the past few years are in this report which is used by the appliance manufacturers because they're vitally concerned - and then there's our blue star sale ooh I thought people want gold ones like for bashing your teeth or being a big girl you mean am I going to a flick with you fine because I was just about ready to show you one huh [Music] all right Paul [Music] American Gas Association established an appliance testing and certification program in 1925 to guide consumers to safer more dependable appliances its first laboratory was housed in these modest quarters in Cleveland Ohio here gas appliances which at that time were used mostly for cooking and eating water were subjected to rigorous tests today the American Gas Association maintains this large facility in handsome and spacious surroundings this testing and research laboratory now one of two such association facilities uses modern sophisticated equipment in its certification tests all the power for this complex operation is provided by a total energy system using natural gas it is the source for all the air conditioning and heating and is also used to generate the electricity needed throughout the laboratory [Music] any manufacturer of a gas appliance or accessory may submit a sample to the laboratory its design is then tested for conformity to standards accepted by the American National Standards Institute [Music] a prototype may be put through more than a hundred tests if