I am the customer: Nik Philpot

“Technology enables these interactions to be softened”

The days when consumers’ financial arrangements revolved around four or five straightforward predictable bills are long gone. A consequence of this complexity is that customers can miss payments, requiring service providers to be diligent in the pursuit of payment. Culturally, debt collection comes from a rocky place, but these days it needn’t.

Some utilities have suffered from claims of aggressive tactics to recover debt. Empathy somehow gets lost, when often it’s simply a case of a memory lapse on the part of the customer, requiring no more than a gentle reminder. Technology enables some of these crucial interactions to be softened, turning a potentially negative exchange into an opportunity to strengthen the relationship.

Technology at its best enables far more nuance than old-fashioned demands or red bills. Using text messages, emails and the facility to pay at any time directly over the phone or online gives consumers more choice and encourages them to make contact. It also increases opportunities to contact them, which in turn enhances collection rates.

Deft pursuit of a payment through the careful deployment of solutions supported by technology, can turn what has previously been seen as an adversarial interaction into another positive interaction with a long-term customer. If utilities see the process as connection rather than collection, it greatly improves the experience for all concerned.

Nik Philpot, CEO, Eckoh