WhatsApp helps Scottish Water support customers remotely

Innovation at work...Scottish Water engineers have been able to observe social distancing, with a little help from WhatsApp. | Other 3rd Party

Scottish Water has tapped into technology to help customers during the lockdown.

Engineers are helping people who report tap water issues by carrying out virtual inspections using the messaging platform WhatsApp to avoid the need for home visits.

Field response team members across the country have been able to resolve issues such as loss of normal water supply or low water pressure.

Sarah Prescott, Scottish Water’s field response business manager, said: “The team are using video calls to reduce the amount of face-to-face interactions we have with customers at a time when we are all being instructed to adopt social distancing practices to prevent spreading the virus.

“So far, about 15 per cent of the hundreds of jobs that would have involved visits to customers’ properties over the past couple of weeks have been resolved via WhatsApp.

“In many cases we’ve been able to resolve issues which have been causing customers inconvenience at a time when they are self-isolating.

“Customers have enough to contend with without an issue with their water, so we are delighted to be able to use social media to help them.”

For more information, visit www.scottishwater.co.uk.