AWWA ACE91109

When the City of Portland (Oregon) Bureau of Water Works tried to help non-English speaking customers, it succeeded beyond expectations-- in ways that had nothing to do with its original intent. In the 1980s, as Portland experienced an influx of Asian immigrants, the city asked service bureaus to make the transition easier for new residents. This water bureau had a series of bill stuffers on billing procedures, water quality issues, and other topics translated into Spanish, Cambodian, Laotian, and Vietnamese. On the English-language version of the bill stuffers, the utility imprinted (in the appropriate language) "this bill stuffer is available in (Spanish, Cambodian, etc.). Please call this number for more information." While the effort created a positive image of the water bureau as caring and responsive, no one called in for the foreign-language versions of the bill stuffers. In this effort, the author concludes, the process was the product. The utility missed its target of a few thousand minority consumers but improved its image among mainstream users.