In Focus Collections


What is wrong with customer service?


Could utility providers be delivering a better customer service using modern technology?


Amy Lomax Senior account manager – utilities and financial services, Esendex amy.lomax@esendex.com


In 2018, no fewer than 11 energy suppliers exited the market, demonstrating the volatile nature of the utilities sector. It has been well documented that smaller


‘challenger brands’ have been growing at an exponential rate since entering the market, gaining significant market share at the expense of the ‘big six’ as they go. These brands should be mindful that, as their business grows, so should their customer service resource; if this fails to scale with their customer base, they could find themselves getting headlines for all of the wrong reasons. Citizens’ Advice publishes a quarterly


review of energy suppliers’ customer service and it is telling that, of the 10 worst performers, nine are challenger brands; generally scoring well for the ability to switch, they are falling behind on complaint management, ease of contact, customer guarantees, and transparent billing. However, utility providers are faced with


an enormous balancing act: delivering excellent customer service, while keeping down the cost to serve.


Out of touch with customers While direct mail can work well with certain demographics and applications – such as a one-time welcome pack – over-reliance on paper notifications and documentation is inefficient and expensive. According to Citizens Advice, a third of


consumers feel that letters are irrelevant and they lack the ease of response that digital


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communication channels – such as e-mail, SMS, and apps – deliver. Equally, it is hard to know how many


letters were delivered to the intended recipient, or if they triggered the desired response; if you included a pre-paid envelope, you can track replies, and measure spikes in website activity that you can attribute to the direct mail campaign, but it is rarely accurate and is difficult to collate. That is another win for digital – you can


measure it. Using SMS to send reminders about meter readings costs a fraction of the price of letters and, with a link to your website or an input system for your readings, can be tracked.


Call waiting times are still letting customers down If the majority of adults feel that ‘valuing their time is the most important thing a company can do to provide them with a good customer experience’, according to Forrester, then how is it possible for Which? to have found an average call length time of 27 minutes 21 seconds when calling a utility provider? A call that could potentially cost customers


£15 is essentially a hidden charge that comes along with the service. If call agents are spending time handling


calls for simple administrative tasks, such as inputting meter readings, then less time can be spent handling calls for complex tasks that require an agent to solve. Introducing an automated voice solution can take


www.CCRMagazine.com


Citizens’ Advice publishes a quarterly review of energy suppliers’ customer service and it is telling that, of the 10 worst performers, nine are challenger brands; generally scoring well for the ability to switch, they are falling behind on complaint management, ease of contact, customer guarantees, and transparent billing. However, utility providers are faced with an enormous balancing act: delivering excellent customer service, while keeping down the cost to serve


away meter-reading requests and other administrative tasks, such as making a payment, from call agents. The cost of a simple IVR and a payment


solution is minimal compared to adding additional heads into your call centre. Moreover, customers will experience


shorter wait times as lines are not being held up by others needing to deliver meter readings or organise payments.


May 2019


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