Resilience, Innovation, and Trust: How the City of Provo’s Customer Service Team Transformed Challenges into Lasting Change

When the City of Provo faced one of the most turbulent periods in recent history—navigating a pandemic, civil unrest, and even earthquakes—its Customer Service leadership team not only survived, but also thrived. They transformed. Under the guidance of Amanda Ercanbrack, Annalee Larsen, and Britny Densley, Provo successfully implemented major systems upgrades, restored public trust, and built a resilient, people-centered culture that continues to inspire across the utility industry.

Innovation Born from Curiosity

The team credits much of their resilience to a straightforward habit: asking why. Whether it was questioning outdated processes or examining failures, they used curiosity as a compass for more intelligent decisions.

“We weren’t afraid to challenge old habits,” the team reflects. “By embracing failure as an opportunity to learn, we built momentum even when things were tough.”

That mindset—combined with a shared vision and a team they could trust—created the foundation for navigating enormous projects, such as the Cayenta CIS system and the SilverBlaze portal. Far from being paralyzed by setbacks, they treated each obstacle as a chance to grow stronger.

Technology as a Tool for Trust

One of their proudest accomplishments was transforming SilverBlaze into a vehicle for restoring customer confidence following a highly publicized failure. By giving both citizens and customer service representatives access to reliable, transparent data, the system flipped the script.

Instead of asking customers to "just trust us," the team provided tools that allowed people to view their own data in real-time. For employees, it meant faster, more accurate responses. For citizens, it meant clarity, transparency, and confidence in their utility provider.

“More than just a technical upgrade, SilverBlaze became a symbol of accountability,” the team explains. “It gave us a way to rebuild credibility and deliver service with integrity.”

Balancing Efficiency and Humanity

Another transformation occurred with the streamlining of Provo's billing cycles. By moving away from legacy practices tied to physical meter reading, the team introduced multi-stream billing, which modernized operations while improving the quality of life for staff.

“Freeing up working holidays may sound simple, but it was significant,” Annalee shares. “It gave our team more balance while also making billing more consistent and transparent for customers.”

The change required a holistic view—considering impacts on call volume, payment processing, and delinquency cycles—but the payoff was worth it. Staff gained predictability, and customers benefited from a smoother, more reliable billing process.

Leadership Grounded in Experience

For Amanda, who began her career as a cashier and call taker, the journey from entry-level to department director has profoundly shaped her leadership style.

“Learning the department from the ground up gave me an appreciation for the everyday realities our staff and community face,” she says. “It taught me to listen first, support my team, and always look for ways to improve.”

Her experience in quality control, training, and even outside the department provided her with a broad perspective, reinforcing her commitment to transparency and continuous improvement.

A Culture of Continuous Learning

Built on the belief that development should be engaging, collaborative, and consistent is the team's culture. Its monthly "learning lounges" rotate formats—from field trips to department-wide games—ensuring that learning never feels stale.

They’ve also institutionalized training by creating a dedicated position, giving momentum and ownership to professional development. “It’s been a game changer for engagement and growth,” Britny explains.

Mentorship also plays a pivotal role. By identifying people's strengths early and giving them stretch opportunities, the team has seen employees evolve into informal leaders who shape processes and train others.

"When people feel seen and supported, that's when real breakthroughs happen," Amanda notes.

Collaboration that Builds Trust

Cross-department collaboration has become a hallmark of the Provo team's success. Monthly coordination meetings bring stakeholders together at the same table, fostering trust, alignment, and shared accountability.

These relationships have helped the team streamline policies, improve communication, and approach customer service as a unified city effort. Supported by administration, these collaborations have grown into spaces for problem-solving and mutual learning.

Centering the Customer

At the heart of every innovation is a customer-first mindset. Projects like net metering bill consolidation and wastewater audits grew directly from listening to customer feedback—both what was said and what was left unsaid.

By monitoring calls, social media, and in-person interactions, the team identified pain points and made changes that removed barriers for customers. Even when policies couldn’t change, communication did, making systems more transparent and accessible.

A Legacy of Ingenuity and Accountability

What makes this team’s story remarkable is not just that they recovered from setbacks—it’s that they used adversity as a launchpad for lasting improvement. They stabilized critical processes, regained trust, and created sustainable systems that continue to set the standard for innovation in municipal utilities.

“We were set up to fail—and we didn’t,” the team says with pride. “Instead, we built something stronger. We proved that with curiosity, trust, and resilience, even the hardest challenges can lead to transformation.”

The City of Provo Team Award recognizes not only technical accomplishments but also a culture of ingenuity, inclusion, and unwavering commitment to the community. Through innovation and heart, Amanda, Annalee, and Britny have shown that the accurate measure of success is not avoiding failure, but turning it into a foundation for progress.