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November 18, 2008
Trust
Thanks to the Washington Post, last week we found out that there's no one keeping an eye on that bailout money that was approved last month. That's right, apparently Congress hasn't gotten around to filling any of the oversight posts to make sure that your $700 billion in taxes are being used properly… to avoid things like, say, when the Department of Defense spent almost a billion dollars on two washers.
There was a lot of talk about using our money responsibly so as to avoid another Great Depression and make sure the taxpayers weren't being exploited in the process, but I have to say, this latest revelation doesn't engender any trust in whatever it is the feds think they're doing to fix the economy. After all that talk, it all sounds like lip service. They got the money they wanted and that's that. The dynamic is different between the people and government, but the analogy can still be used for the purposes of this little column: this is bad customer service.
The articles we've collected for this edition of the CIS & Customer Service Newsletter will provide you with some tips on how to genuinely serve your customers better. You probably know better than those folks on the Hill, if the people you serve feel like you're coming at them insincerely, or if you promise one thing and deliver the opposite, you're going to have more problems than just an overworked complaint department.
As always, thank you for reading and please email me with your questions, comments, and ideas.
John M. Powers, online editor
jpowers@pennwell.com
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Feature Articles
Bull's-eye of customer service success comes after first focusing on the target's concentric rings
Utilities that want to improve their customer service can reach that goal by using a visualization technique that involves an archery target and successfully hitting not just the bull's-eye but also the rings around it.
Help yourself: Learn what customers think about self-service tools
Customer use of self-service options is on the rise, but increased use of self-service doesn't mean increased customer satisfaction, new research has found. So which self-service tools do utility customers like and dislike, and which should your utility offer?
Madison Gas and Electric campaign surpasses industry average for e-bill adoption
While many utility customers pay bills online, the industry's challenge is to encourage consumers to take the next step by receiving bills electronically, turning off the mailed paper bill entirely. On average, only 10 percent of consumers actually do paperless billing. Find out how Madison Gas and Electric surpassed their own expectations with their e-bill campaign.
CIS/Customer Service news in brief
Customer service awards, CIS implementations, customer service tips and more. We've sampled some of the important CIS/customer service-related news articles from our website and put them all in one convenient place. Take a look at what's been happening in customer service and satisfaction since our last newsletter.
NEW DEADLINE for 2009 Projects of the Year Awards
The deadline for the 2009 Projects of the Year Awards has been extended to December 1, 2008. Send your entries in before it's too late!
New Products
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Transaction processing application
First Data Utilities has released the Peace Market Solution application. Market Solution facilitates interaction between the Peace CIS and transaction hubs in competitive retail energy markets. Market Solution is designed to meet the needs of retail energy providers and distribution companies operating in competitive markets. Peace Market Solution is a transaction processing framework and rules engine that simplifies integration between competitive markets and the Peace CIS. Market Solution automates the sending and receiving of market transactions and the workflows required to accurately process any action transaction changes within the CIS. Within Market Solutions, transactions are managed via standard rules and workflows compliant with market rules. The application also allows energy companies to configure custom rules and workflows to support company specific business processes.
First Data Utilities
Visit the website to learn more.
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E-billing platform
The KUBRA i-doxs Suite, an e-billing and self-service platform, is a convergent enterprise application that is delivered as an outsource or ASP-based solution and combines e-billing (multiple delivery models -- biller-direct, consolidation, secure e-mail delivery), non-enrolled one-time payments (across IVR, call center, internet channels), customer self-service, inbound electronic payment consolidation, and document archival/retrieval all powered by a common solution technology platform and system architecture.
KUBRA
Visit the website to learn more.
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Electric Power Books
PennWell’s electric power books cover every aspect of the energy industry! We offer a complete line of business and nontechnical books
for sales and marketing professionals, as well as technical titles for engineers. Our experts include Richard Baxter,
Denise Warkentin-Glenn, and Tim Shaw. Shop our online bookstore here.
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