Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | MAY 2021 | 29 Customers Citizens Advice supplier ratings on customer service The latest Citizens Advice star ratings on customer service showed Octopus, M&S Energy and Co-op Energy all in the Top 10. The highest placed big six supplier was EDF at number 8, while the lowest placed bix supplier was Eon Energy at 29. Topping the table was disruptor brand Igloo Energy with a score of 4.4. Igloo's average call centre waiting time during the quarter was 21 seconds, more than 20 seconds ahead of M&S Energy which in second place. Igloo registered just 4.1 complaints per 10,000 custom- ers, however it was beaten on this by GoTo Energy which recorded just 4 per 10,000. It was not all good news for smaller players with disruptor brand So Energy falling out of the Top 10 aŠer a three-year run. Where Octopus and its white label brands stand on customer service (Q4 2020) Rank Supplier Fewer Easier Clearer Easier Customer Overall complaints to contact bills to switch guarantees rating 1 Igloo Energy 5 4.2 4 5 3 4.4 2 M&S Energy 5 4.2 4 5 3 4.4 3 Outfox The Market 4 3.4 5 5 5 4.25 4 Co-Operative Energy 4 3 5 5 5 4.15 5 Octopus Energy 4 3 5 5 5 4.15 6 GoTo Energy 5 3.6 n/a 3 3 4.06 7 Green 4 2.6 5 5 5 4.05 8 EDF Energy 3 3.8 5 5 5 4 9 Affect Energy 4 3 5 2 5 3.85 10 Zebra Power 4 5 3 5 0 3.75 15 British Gas 3 2.2 3 5 5 3.2 23 SSE 3 1.4 2 5 5 2.8 24 Scottish Power 1 3 4 5 3 2.7 29 Eon Energy 2 1 3 5 3 2.35 Source: Citizens Advice Dibb-Simkin adds: "You get that brand as well and actually knowing that your money is going into a co-operative where profits are shared around the members, which is very important to people." There is also the joint venture between Co-op and Octopus, Community Energy, which is described as bringing together "like-minded locals to invest in community generation projects". "We seek PPAs [power purchase agree- ments] with small community genera- tors. That's something we're really keen on because Co-op means community, that's what it's about. "It's quite a deep relationship, it's not just a white label and they pay us to look a‡er their customers. There's actually lots of things that we do together to try and drive the idea of community energy and commu- nity power." M&S Energy Having traded since 1884, Marks & Spencer is another high street fixture and Octopus has been keen to maximise this brand recog- nition. To that end, sales teams continue to operate in-store to allow customers to ask for help with bills. "You find that our teams almost become part of the store staff and will point people in the right direction for particular items and that kind of thing," she says. This layering in of additional elements, Dibb-Simkin adds, meant M&S could make its offering more bespoke. Yet while offering a more personalised service is highly valued, Dibb-Simkin says customers of historic brands (who are o‡en in a slightly older demographic) are willing to adapt to new ways of doing things. She says that when the company took over the supply of Co-op's customers it intro- duced interactive voice response (IVR) as an option for submitting meter readings. Her verdict? "We've been surprised at how well Co-op and M&S customers actually respond to things being digitally driven. IVR involves customers phoning in and interacting verbally with a computer to give a meter reading rather than doing it by email. Dibb-Simkin says that in the event, they are getting a much higher percentage of Co-op customers using IVR than Octopus custom- ers. "Let's not just assume that because someone is slightly older they have to write you letters. People do adapt, she says." Friendly rivalry When Octopus took on the 300,000 custom- ers of Co-op Energy in 2019 it also retained the Co-op brand and staff, who became Octo- pus Energy employees. The M&S customer service team remains a separate body within Octopus and has its own customer service phone number. Dibb-Simkin says there is a friendly rivalry between the M&S Energy customer service teams and those of Octopus Energy. She adds: "M&S has its own ring-fenced team within Octopus, there's a particular number and they answer the phone as M&S Energy – it's the Leicester-based team. Those team members are trained in exactly the same way as Octopus. "We don't move people in and out of the Octopus and M&S businesses but we have had a couple of team leaders come from Octopus go into M&S and back into the main business so they're the same kinds of people. "It's quite funny actually because we get a lot of competitiveness internally in weekly metrics. The M&S team likes to be much bet- ter than the Octopus team." Adam John, reporter "It's a deep relationship with the Co-op, it's not just a white label and they pay us to look after their customers." REBECCA DIBB-SIMKIN, OCTOPUS Marks & Spencer opened its first outlet in1884

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