Southern California Gas Company Customer Service

Calling Southern California Gas Company seems like it could be helpful if you have an account that exists already, but if you're trying to set up new service, it's not going to be your best option. That's because Southern California Gas Company sets up a chokepoint very early in the call.

If you select residential customer, the system makes it seem like it's going to take you right to the person you're attempting to reach, but instead takes you to a menu where you've got to enter in the full account number associated with your account. For most people, that isn't an issue, but when you don't have an existing account, there isn't anything you can do.

The system does provide another way out for people who can't remember their account number: they can type in their phone number and show their identity that way. Usually, this plan would work pretty well, but if you're not willing to provide an actual phone number for an existing customer, it becomes impossible to get actual assistance.

The other thing a person can do with this number is alerting Southern California Gas that there's a gas leak or a potential gas leak in the home. If there is a gas leak, all a customer has to do is tell the automated system there's a gas leak and get out of the area as soon as possible. The system asks if there's a gas leak on the very first question, so there's no time wasted here.

Overall, it seems that Southern California Gas takes security seriously. It provides multiple ways for a genuine customer to get through their security tests with ease, as its questions to verify identity are fairly easy for anyone who's a genuine customer but difficult for someone who shouldn't have access to answer. The company also makes clear that it takes gas leaks seriously by not waiting around for someone to identify themselves before they ask them if there's a gas leak. If there is a leak or anything that smells like a leak, there's no need to worry about who's actually on the phone. Priority one needs to be getting everyone to safety, and Southern California Gas acts accordingly.

It's not possible for me to find out how the Southern California Gas team responds to different questions, given that the representatives are blocked off by the aforementioned chokepoints. But if the company's commitment to security and preventing problems is to be believed, it stands to reason that it would operate well under normal conditions. As such, I would feel comfortable using this number to get assistance if I needed it.