Utility Week - authoritative, impartial and essential reading for senior people within utilities, regulators and government
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/442700
UtILItY WeeK | 12th - 18th December 2014 | 25 Customers The delegates Five key points: Systems will ena- ble customer focus, but staff behavior is key. It shouldn't be a case of who you talk to, engagement must be consistent. Engagement with customers varies across the sector but is largely dictated by customers' appetite for interaction with the supplier of par- ticular products or services. The relationship between energy companies and cus- tomers is changing to become two way. Smart meters and digitalisation open up far more scope for interaction and engagement with customers on their energy and water consumption. Customer insight is important but can stifle innovation and, taken in isolation, will only be able to make a company the same as everyone else. Andrew McMillan, former head of customer service, John Lewis "I don't see much dif- ferentiation between businesses in utilities, it is quite magnolia- ish around the middle, so could an energy supplier be saying actually we don't want to speak to you, we are not going to have a call centre?" Matt Rudling, director of customer service, UK Power Networks "Between 80 and 90 per cent of our customers still don't understand the dif- ferentiation between supplier and distribu- tor, but they shouldn't need to. That bit we should make seamless so whatever they want they can just go and get it. If we are truly customer centric it should just happen for the customer." Lewis Shand-Smith, chief ombudsman, Ombudsman Services "We did some research in January and found that people seem to be complaining more and being much more assertive when they complain, much more aware of their rights. People are 30 per cent more likely to complain than they had been in the same period last year. " Sarah McMath, head of strategic business planning, thames Water "We've been look- ing at the skills and capabilities of the people involved. We've got lots of people who love a crisis, they really come to life in the middle of a drought and in the middle of a flood… We are looking very closely with the HR team to see if we recruit the right kind of people." Myron Hrycyk, global chief information officer, Severn Trent "With digital technol- ogy it isn't just about pushing a mobile app out there and hoping people will download it. You have to look at how digital trans- forms your interaction with the customer. You need to use digital to re-engineer the way your customers engage with you. For instance, if all you do is replicate your bill on a digital device you're missing the opportu- nity. Digital enables you to do something completely different with that bill." Brought to you in association with