Ellis Communications, Inc.

NEWS STORY

Is Customer Service the North Star of Your Utility?
Measure-X Offers Tips On Creating Outstanding Customer Service

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE              CONTACT: Tom Ellis
Jun. 13, 2003                                Ellis Communications, Inc.
                                                      Phone: (417) 881-5635

      Is your utility company’s customer service like the North Star: steadfast and shining?

      “Every day, customers call your utility for a variety of reasons, most likely because they need someone to help them solve a problem or answer a question,” says David Saxby, president of Phoenix-based Measure-X, a company that specializes in helping utilities improve their customer service. “The course of that conversation may determine whether that client becomes a loyal customer.”

      As utilities confront new competition and roll out new services to boost revenues, customer service becomes increasingly critical, Saxby says.

      “The skills your employees demonstrate either meet your customers’ needs or not,” Saxby says. “From their greeting to the expressed appreciation to the customer for their business, your employees’ front-line performance can create loyal customers who can help you compete and preserve new revenue streams.”

      Saxby offers the following five tips on how to help employees provide only the best in customer service.

1. Set the Standard. Train every employee on how each customer should be greeted. Role play with employees to make sure they have first-hand experience as to what the standard means. “Does each employee clearly understand why that standard is important?” Saxby asks.
2. Seek Customer Feedback. Implement a system to measure the customer service experience from the customer’s point of view. “Ask your customers what is working well and what needs improvement and then share this feedback with your employees,” Saxby suggests.
3. Become A Coach. Enlist your managers to be coaches to their employees. You need to be your managers’ North Star. “Guide your managers by providing the training that will give them the skills they need to work with frontline employees,” Saxby says. “Include training on ways to improve negative behavior and conflict resolution.”
4. Provide Recognition. “Recognition is a powerful tool, but the sad truth is that many companies do nothing beyond base pay to recognize their employees for performance above and beyond,” Saxby notes. Implement a recognition program to reward employees for exceeding your standards. For a winning combination, recognition should be both private and public - a hand-written thank-you note, a letter to the employee’s family or a plaque or trophy with their name engraved are all simple ways to recognize stellar performance.
5. Make It Fun. Employees deal with customers who are in a variety of emotional states ranging from one end of the spectrum to the other. You have an opportunity to demonstrate to your staff how much you value them by also teaching them how to reduce their stress level at work. “Provide an area where they can unwind,” Saxby says. “Create fun breaks where they can forget about that last frustrating experience.”

      “Employees are the key to long-term customer loyalty, Saxby notes. “Your investment to improve your employees’ skills and attitude will have a direct, positive impact on your bottom line,” Saxby says. “Are you dedicated to providing North Star service?”

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For more information on Measure-X, call 888-644-5499 or visit its Web site at www.measure-x.com.

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