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“UK utilities must monitor customer needs and wants”
Our European Customer Satisfaction Index (EUCSI) recently found that the UK utilities sector has one of the highest customer satisfaction rates in Europe. Although this is good news, utilities is the only sector in which the UK didn’t come out on top – falling into second place, behind Germany. So what is different about Germany’s approach to customer service when it comes to utilities?
The EUCSI data shows that German customers prefer to use email over other methods of communication and reports high satisfaction with customers’ overall experience – particularly in the utilities sector. Conversely, the UK consumer reports the highest satisfaction with services through an app or in person, and yet the UK frequency of use for these channels is below the European average. This demonstrates that a key part of successful customer service is allowing customers to interact with a business in a way that suits them.
The fact that a major UK energy provider was recently criticised for its management of customer call waiting times and complaint handling perhaps highlights the fact that investment in customer service training and processes is still needed.
To boost its customer service ranking, the UK utilities sector needs to closely monitor the needs and wants of its customers and develop the necessary infrastructure to interact with them. There has to be synergy between the mode of communication a company invests in and that which consumers prefer to use.
Jo Causon, chief executive, The Institute of Customer Service
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