During 2013, the utilities sector became the subject of growing public and political scrutiny; there were many calls for energy providers to curb price increases and improve service.
New research from the Institute of Customer Service – the UK Customer Satisfaction Index January 2014 – shows that the utilities sector has the lowest scores of all the 13 sectors, scoring 69 out of 100 – the overall average is 77.1. The research also demonstrates the link between good customer service and trust and the importance of delivering consistent customer service across the whole value chain.
The research shows that organisations that deliver a good customer experience are easy to do business with, resolve customer problems promptly, deliver on promises made and train staff to ensure they are able to cope with a range of customer issues.
In the utilities sector, organisations achieve a wide range of scores for each of these aspects, with more than 18 points between the highest and lowest in each area. Customers in the utilities sector are undoubtedly sensitive to price, however, more than half of those surveyed said they are seeking a balance between price and service and are not prepared to sacrifice service levels in pursuit of the cheapest deal.
With increasing pressure from the regulator and the potential of growing competition, those organisations that put the customer at the heart of their operation will improve their reputation, increasing trust, loyalty and organisational performance.