23 Apr Response to COVID-19

Posted at 16:20h in Company News by

As a valued member of South Plains Telephone Cooperative (SPTC), we appreciate the trust you place in us for your telecommunications needs. SPTC provides a vital role in maintaining communications to health providers, family, community, and the world. With the current health concerns, it is important for all of us to monitor the rapidly evolving situation involving the corona virus (COVID- 19).

During this time of social distancing, we continue to have doors locked to the public. We have staff available to take your call, answer questions, and provide installation or repair to your services. Below is our process until further notification. If you need service or have billing issues, please call our office at 806-763-2301 Mon-Fri from 8am to
5pm. Our after-hours repair number is 1-800-692-4057.


Preventative Measures Our Team is Taking

• We have a very strict policy in place that if any team member is not feeling well to stay home and consult with their physician
• We currently have adopted a “no hand-shake policy”
• All employees have been instructed to wear personal protective equipment on job sites to limit any hand to surface exposure
• We are limiting our time in groups as a team as much as possible
• Technicians already work in isolation for most of the day and are not exposed to large groups during work hours. We are limiting face to face interaction between our office team members and field team members
• We are following cleaning protocols recommended by CDC and state agencies


Bill Payments and Suspension of Service (updated)
We have resumed regular suspension practices and all outstanding amounts will be due in full to avoid suspension. We have been in the process of delivering Pay-by-Phone to our members in test mode with good results. So there are now five ways to make a payment:

  • Mail your check or money order to PO Box 1379, Lubbock TX 79408;
  • Make your payment through your bank using their bill payment option
  • Make a check, money order, or cash payment at the office using the drop box to the left of the front door. Envelopes will be provided in a box attached to the front door to assist us in applying your payment properly. Knowing your account number, phone number, and name on the bill will be very helpful.
    Bank draft (call in to the office for assistance)
  • Pay-by-Phone using credit card (MasterCard, Visa, Discover), debit card, or E-check. The number to call is 1-888-228-9812. You will need your account number from your bill to complete the payment. If you have questions, please call Customer Service at 806/763-2301.


Dispatching a Trouble Call

When you call in for trouble on your phone/internet/TV, and we determine an on-site visit is necessary, our office staff will be asking if anyone in the home has a fever, been diagnosed or had exposure to the virus, etc. We need to know so that we can be proactive with our team’s response and level of protection. We need to ensure the well-being of our employees and, at the same time, respond to those in most need. In most cases we can troubleshoot equipment over the phone, from outside, or in the attic with minimal face to face contact. We will be following protocols to maintain a safe work environment by wearing gloves, wearing masks if needed, and disinfecting work areas in the home and in our trucks after each call.


Installations

We will be doing installations for new service(s) during this time. If you are scheduled already, we plan to come but you are welcome to call and reschedule. Please know that you can call us at any time to go over any precautions that need to be discussed. As mentioned above, we will be asking questions to assess the home/business environment for potential health risks to our team. If we deem there is a health concern, we will do everything we can to install the services when the conditions are
safe to do so or through an alternate method.

Situation Updates

We will carry out our plan until the situation changes. As we receive updates to COVID-19 that change our daily operations, we will communicate that via our website at SPTC.NET. We greatly appreciate our SPTC customers and team members. We understand the value of trying to reduce the spread of this virus so that our healthcare system is not overwhelmed and our members are safe and healthy. Call us if you have any questions.


Wade Maner
CEO/ General Manager
South Plains Telephone Cooperative, Inc