In this, the first of a series of monthly columns I’ll be writing for Utility Week, I’d like to discuss how Britain’s biggest blackout in more than a decade offers some important lessons for the energy sector.
The episode is also a salutary reminder of how consumer trust in a system, brand or sector – which takes years to build up – can be jeopardised by a single incident.
Trust can only be maintained in a crisis if there is a quick and effective response from the party or parties involved.
This is true for a major incident like last month’s grid outage, but also for an individual consumer’s complaint about a late or inaccurate bill. That’s because, for that customer the problem with their bill is a personal crisis that is having a big impact on them at that moment – even more so if they are in vulnerable circumstances.
It’s when handling these seemingly routine, even mundane complaints that a company’s execution must match its intent if it is to deliver good customer outcomes.
Intent is not the problem
From what I see and hear when travelling around the country visiting energy suppliers, big and small, I don’t sense widespread problems when it comes to intent.
Almost all the suppliers I speak to have good intentions. They want to provide a good service, look after their customers, resolve any complaints quickly and ultimately build lasting relationships with their customers.
The issues happen in the execution stage, when that customer account is set up, bill is sent out or phone call is taken.
Failure to execute means poor outcomes for consumers, which in turn can lead to those customers becoming dissatisfied, losing trust in their provider and potentially switching away.
That might be good news for the gaining supplier in the short term, but what impact does poor service from one supplier have on a consumer’s view of our whole sector over time?
My message to the energy sector is that, as the ombudsman, we want to help you close this execution gap.
Our complaints data can help you to identify and address ‘pain points’ in your customer journey: the issues that keep cropping up and result in complaints that are hard to resolve and end up requiring ombudsman involvement.
Execution is key
Better execution by suppliers means improved outcomes, happier consumers and fewer unresolved complaints.
This is specifically an area where the National Audit Office (NAO) and National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) are challenging utilities regulators.
According to their reports and to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the opportunity is to make real-life personal outcomes for consumers match up to the high-minded aims and ambitions of regulators.
This ‘execution gap’ is one of the themes we’ll be exploring during the party conference season, specifically at the Labour conference where we’re holding a fringe event called How can we build trust and protect consumers in the energy sector?
Shadow energy minister Alan Whitehead and Energy UK’s Audrey Gallacher will be among my fellow panellists at the Labour event, whilst at the Conservative conference the following week we’ll be discussing the experience of SMEs when procuring and using essential services like energy and water.
The unifying theme of the events is trust. Do consumers and small businesses trust the energy – and utilities market more broadly – to give them a fair deal? Do they have confidence in providers’ intent and execution? If not, why not? And what can be done to build consumer trust?
It’s these searching, fundamental questions that, as a sector, we must give serious thought to if we are to create a market that works for everyone and has the faith and confidence of the customers it exists to serve.
If you have any feedback on the contents of this or any other column, please do get in touch on LinkedIn.