By Lloyd Day
The national press has hauled the Big Six over the coals again this week following another rise in customer complaints at a time of rapidly soaring prices. Of the 530,000 complaints Ofgem received the most common were billing errors, delays in getting through to call centres and poor treatment by staff.
These are all fairly simple aspects of providing good customer service. Which begs the question why are the energy suppliers finding this so difficult to crack? I don’t have the definitive answer. But for such basic mistakes to be continually being made it seems the problems must go right to the heart of how the suppliers operate.
And whether that results from a hangover from pre-privatisation, their expansion into a wider range of services or the size of the logistical challenge, one thing is clear – the mainstream media, consumer groups and customers are no longer prepared to stand for it.
Or as self-styled consumer champion Which puts it, people are “fed up” with bad customer service and suppliers will now have to “work hard” to win back customers’ trust.
Why is customer service proving such a tough nut to crack?
Mastering the basics would be a good start. Ensuring bills are addressed and calculated correctly and that call centre staff have real-time access to all of the information so that mistakes can be resolved quickly would cut down on some of the most common complaints. But starting from such a low baseline the industry will have to go much further if it is to lose its negative image.
Co-operative Energy for example has just announced it is to offer a tailored energy payment scheme for pensioners and the 3.5 million British workers who are paid fortnightly. This might seem like a pretty simple thing to do. But it could be a godsend for those struggling to budget for rising energy prices and demonstrates that the company is responsive to the needs of its customers.
Why do you think the Big Six are systematically failing to deliver on the fundamental principles of good customer service? And what do you think the Big Six must do if they are to win back their customers’ trust?
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