I can see how Davao Light empowers the city when there are newly built high-rise condominiums, coastal roads, and households that are energized through us.
Engr. Jayson Labayan, despite his soft-spoken nature, has skillfully navigated the demands of both engineering tasks and customer interactions. As a Customer Service Engineer in Davao Light, Jayson is responsible for ensuring that requirements are met for new electric service connection applications. He inspects electrical plans, service entrance construction, and wiring installation to make sure the configuration and materials for a household seeking an electric service connection meet the required standards.
All customer applications submitted through Davao Light’s customer service centers are endorsed to the Customer Retail Services Department (CRSD) where Jayson belongs.
“Once a customer is endorsed to our department, we directly coordinate with them by creating a group chat on Facebook,” Jayson explains. As the experts with technical knowledge, their team directly liaises with customers to ensure clearer and more effective coordination. He learned about the customer service side of the business on the job, specifically, how to effectively communicate all the aforementioned requirements to customers.
“At first, I had no idea what my position entails. Since I graduated from an engineering course, I was not trained on how to directly engage with customers, and I considered it a challenge at first,” Jayson shared. “There are times when a customer needs us to explain technical stuff in a simple way so we had to laymanise everything from watts to billing.”
He recalls a recent encounter in which he found himself explaining the intricate details of their application process to a customer. “It feels nice when a customer thanks us for guiding them through the application process because our good service also reflects that of the company,” Jayson shared. But he’s also had to deal with the occasional irate customers demanding, for example, immediate approval of service applications or are not happy with the resolutions they receive.
One particular challenge is when customers hire electricians they already but may not be familiar with Davao Light’s standards or may not follow the Philippine Electrical Code and Philippine Distribution Code. In contrast, Davao Light-accredited electricians are well-versed in these standards (e.g. setup and materials) and the process for obtaining permits, applications, and documentation for electric service applications.
And then there are times when individuals turn to unethical means. Jayson shared, “I was once offered PHP10,000 for their application to be approved. Some customers or electricians offer even higher sums of money! Our services should remain free as it is part of our line of work.”
Jayson also liaises with local government units and manages applications from high-rise condominium developers, which gives him the opportunity to take an active role in the progress of Davao City. “I can see how Davao Light empowers the city when there are newly built high-rise condominiums, coastal roads, and households that are energized through us.”
