What a Happy Customer Means for Public Utilities

What a Happy Customer Means for Public Utilities

No matter what industry or profession you work in, great customer service will always reflect positively on your business. However, what about necessary services that do not face competition, such as public utilities? Little is known about the effect of customer satisfaction at utilities. As a result, utility managers are often unsure how much to invest in customer service — if anything at all. However, recent research shows that displaying great customer satisfaction, even for these businesses, actually leads to increased profits and other benefits in the long run.
 

Access to resources such as water and gas for a home or building is considered a necessity – and so is the act of utilities providing and maintaining these resources. While the process itself may be streamlined, obstacles that can stand in the way can include anything from payment disputes, rising costs due to upgrades, interruption of service for one reason or another, and more. What these all have in common is the fact that communication with the end user, also known as the utility’s customer, may be necessary – and a satisfied customer should be the goal. Below are all the benefits that a high customer satisfaction rate can lead to for public utilities:

• Increased profits
• Lower direct and employee engagement costs of dealing with dissatisfied customers
• Greater customer trust and cooperation from customers
   

In order to see where your utility stands on the topic, it’s encouraged to start tracking your own customer satisfaction rate, which is often achieved through surveys and polls. From there, you can properly gauge how much to invest in the cause and what that should be. In fact, if done right, efficiency gains coming from improved customer satisfaction, trust, and goodwill could lead to greater acceptance of costly, new technology initiatives that utilities want to introduce, researchers say. Satisfied customers also mean happier employees, thus leading to lower turnover rates for the utility and more.
 

Obtaining happy customers doesn’t just happen overnight but, thanks to the proper resources and investments, the ability to provide great customer service can be achieved. A.Y. McDonald holds 165 years of experience in serving the customer. Our motto is to treat them like the boss and we’re always looking into new ways to do so. Customer satisfaction is an ongoing commitment that we take very seriously – and it’s one that we encourage our customers to commit to as well!