The V.I. Public Services Commission convened Tuesday morning seeking an update on telecommunications company Viya’s restructuring and information about how the company’s diminished local presence has affected Virgin Islands customers.
Viya Chief Executive Officer Geraldine Pitt told the PSC that she was informed “somewhere along the line” that the day’s discussion would include the subject of Viya’s restructuring and asked commissioners to clarify their expectations.
Boyd Sprehn, general counsel for the PSC, explained that they were looking for an update on customer complaints, adding that their own office had run into issues recently.
“Once we reached certain people, we got everything resolved very quickly. But it took some time to get to the right people. So we have some questions regarding customer service,” he said. The PSC’s other question, he said, was more of a “rumor mill-addressing question” about Viya’s restructuring — “Is Viya continuing to be Viya,” or is the company being sold or reorganized?
Addressing the service complaints, Pitt acknowledged that the utility’s service level fell below the mark in October, November and December.
“What I could also say is that from January and February, we are way above the expectation and there is no reason to think that’s [an] anomaly in any way,” she said, calling it a “reflection of the direction the business is going in and the changes being made.”
Pitt said a number of factors contribute to service issues — including power outages, maintenance work and scheduling issues — before assuring the PSC and the public that the problems are “not customary for Viya.”
“And we are headed, definitely, in a different direction,” she said. Pitt called the last year a transition year for the company which included relocating call center services to Guyana. Pitt acknowledged that there has been a “learning curve.”
The PSC meeting came a week after members of the 36th Legislature voiced concern over the utility’s restructuring and outsourcing practices.
“Are we really supporting our local economy when the actions taken by companies like Viya lead to outsourcing at the expense of local jobs?” Sen. Novelle Francis Jr. asked Pitt during a Committee of the Whole hearing last Monday.
Senate Majority Leader Kurt Vialet went further after Pitt said she disagreed with the characterization that Viya was “dismantling” the utility.
“These individuals no longer pay an income tax, they no longer have health care,” he said. “You’re dismantling your workforce and you have the gall to sit in the Legislature and say that you’re not dismantling local talent? Well you are, and you need to stop.”
During that hearing, Sen. Carla Joseph — an ex-officio member of the Public Services Commission — raised concerns about whether the outsourcing could lead to a loss of tax revenue for the territory. On Tuesday, she reiterated those concerns and asked how many people had been placed on leave or let go.
Pitt said “15 or 20” Virgin Islands-based employees left the company in the last year.
Commissioner Laura Nichols-Samms noted that the telecommunications company has been steadily losing customers to competitors like Starlink and asked whether Viya is considering offering satellite internet services going forward. Pitt said the company is looking into it but added that fixed technology is “still the best method of carrying internet and getting speed to your house.” Responding to follow-up questions, Pitt said incorporating satellite service was not an immediate part of the utility’s restructuring plan.
Asked by Commissioner Raymond Williams to describe the volume and tenor of customer complaints about Viya, PSC Assistant Executive Director Tisean Hendricks said complaints typically focused on the hoops callers have to jump through in order to get assistance.
“And sometimes there are … a language barrier, where they’re unable to clearly communicate or understand what’s being said on the other line,” she said. “Those are some of the complaints that we have encountered thus far — very recently, as well. I think [PSC] staff had an actual firsthand experience.”
Williams said he’d had his own experience with the issues Hendricks mentioned.
