Golden West Keeps People Connected During Pandemic
As COVID-19 continues to impact South Dakota and other parts of the country, Golden West remains vigilant to keep you connected while also keeping you, our employees and our communities safe.
To that end, Golden West continues to follow the Center for Disease Control recommendations. Primary actions include encouraging social distancing, minimizing personal interaction and providing necessary protections while still connecting rural South Dakota to the world.
“Golden West employees pride themselves on offering personal service to all our customers,” says Golden West General Manager and CEO Denny Law. “I’m pleased to say that even though we aren’t seeing many of our customers in person these days, we continue to offer top-notch service by phone or online.”
Golden West continues to take extra precautions in the work it does for customers every day. Specifically, Golden West’s ongoing efforts include:
- Golden West lobbies remain closed to customers. The doors may not be open, but our member services and sales representatives are still available to assist customers with all service-related needs. Call 1-855-888-7777 or use the chat button on the website to reach them between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Payments can be made by phone, by mail, in a bill payment drop box, or online at goldenwest.com with no fees applied.
- Customers must answer COVID questions prior to an on-site appointment. The questions ask if anyone in the household or business is under quarantine, has been experiencing COVID-like symptoms or has been exposed to someone with COVID-19 or flu-like symptoms. There is also a question about the ability for customers and Golden West employees to remain socially distanced during the visit. The answers to all the questions must be “no” or else the customer must wait and receive service later.
- Technicians will take precautions during on-site appointments. This includes using hand sanitizer prior to entering your home or business and wearing personal protective equipment, including masks and gloves. The technician will also remain socially distanced from the customer(s) during the visit and will sanitize their work area upon completion, when possible.
- Golden West both requires and encourages employees to social distance. Employees are required to social distance at work, and they are encouraged to do so outside of work, as well. Travel between Golden West locations is also limited. As part of social distancing, reluctantly, Golden West is not participating in community events that encourage in-person interaction. The company continues to support community causes in ways that do not require employee participation or involve large crowds.
“Like you, Golden West is eager to see COVID-19 subside,” Law says. “However, it looks like any improvements will still be some time in the future. Until that time, Golden West appreciates your time continued cooperation and understanding.”
Golden West will continue to monitor the situation and will adjust these protocols as needed moving forward. We look forward to not just connecting all of you, but to reconnecting with you in person when the pandemic subsides. Until then, stay safe!
