The industry keeps getting smarter and smarter: Hot topics at DistribuTECH January 31, 2012
Posted by Dennis Smith in Utility Industry News.Tags: Chartwell, Chartwell Blog, customer engagement, Customer service automation, demand response, DistribuTECH, electric vehicle, electric vehicles, energy conservation, energy usage, meter data, mobile apps, online energy information, plug-in electric vehicle, smart grid, smart meter, smart meters, utilities, utility, utility communications
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Analytics, metrics, meters, home automation gadgets, bucket trucks, plug-in electric cars, dog bite repellent and some remote control vehicle that looked like the Mars lander. Even Hooter’s girls. Yes, the 2012 DistribuTECH had something for just about everyone last week in San Antonio.
Once again, the exhibit hall was extensive, or, as one attendee quipped, “big enough to land a [Boeing] 747 on.” We at Chartwell couldn’t cover it all. So we stayed focused. What was there to improve the utility customer experience? And the answer: still plenty. Here’s a recap (more…)
What do utilities have in common with Nordstrom? August 5, 2011
Posted by Dennis Smith in Utility Industry News.Tags: billing and payment, call center, Chartwell, Chartwell Blog, Chartwell research, contact center, customer experience, customer service, Customer service automation, EMACS, EMACS - The Customer Experience Conference, utilities, utility, utility communications, utility customer engagement, utility customer service, utility marketing
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I moderate a panel of executives from leading utilities each year at EMACS – The Customer Experience Conference http://bit.ly/hU7eX. One year, a member of the audience – a customer experience consultant as I recall – asked the panelists: “What is it you really want to be – the best utility, or the best overall?” It seemed she had become exasperated with some of the discussion among the executives about the challenges they face around regulation, cost containment, customer engagement, etc. and so forth.
It was an intriguing question that brought into perspective the challenges faced by utilities that are not known in other industries. (more…)
More utilities recognizing the value of usability with their websites February 2, 2011
Posted by Doris Yon in Utility Industry News.Tags: customer self service, customer service, Customer service automation, utilities, Web-based customer service, Web-based transactions
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There are two characteristics that will most certainly discourage me from interacting with a company on its website – an antiquated look and/or a complicated layout. When a website has an “old” feel it is apparent the company does not want to invest any resources into its online offerings. So I’m likely to return the favor. Also, I don’t want to spend 10 minutes looking for what I need, let alone all day. If I’m looking for help, I want to get my answer within a few clicks.
It’s hardly a secret that utilities want to encourage their customers to adopt online self-service options. If nothing else, channeling customers away from the contact center already yields a win for utilities, but the million-dollar question is how to guide more customers to performing transactions online. (more…)
Not just another year-end countdown – the top Chartwell member requests for 2010 December 23, 2010
Posted by Dennis Smith in Utility Industry News.Tags: billing and payment, call center, contact center, customer self service, customer service, Customer service automation, demand response, energy efficiency, energy usage, Nashville Electric Service, online energy information, smart grid, smart meter, utility communications, utility market research, Web-based customer service
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Being a music aficionado, I have always enjoyed the year-end countdowns hosted by the likes of Dick Clark, Casey Kasem, Rick Dees and more recently Ryan Seacrest. Okay, I don’t actually listen to countdowns anymore and I only assume Seacrest does one, as my age has me disliking most of the modern music out there, instead preferring my “adult alternative” programming and the popular music of my youth.
Still, countdowns, Top 40s and Pick 5s are fun, and I confess I still enjoy them. They also provide a window into the trends and styles of the day. Things in the utility industry aren’t as fashionable as the music business, but we do indeed see trends come and go. In the 1990s it was automated meter reading (AMR); music business parallel: grunge. Today, it is smart meters; music biz parallel: hip hop, unless it’s been replaced by something I’m too old to know about. There are also styles and genres that are evergreen – blues, R&B, rock. In the utility industry, things like billing, customer contact and outage management come to mind.
So, if we draw up an issues-oriented, Top-10-or-so list for the utility industry, what would it look like? (more…)
Big electric vehicle ideas aren’t just limited to the West Coast December 10, 2010
Posted by Darren Epps in Utility Industry News.Tags: customer service, Customer service automation, electric vehicle, energy usage, gasoline, plug-in electric vehicle, rates, smart grid, smart meter, utilities, utility customer engagement, utility customer service, utility marketing
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – California utilities aren’t the only ones playing a major role in the deployment of electric vehicles. That observation was inescapable after leaders from TVA, DTE Energy, FPL, Duke Energy and Southern Company convened for a panel I moderated at the NAATBatt annual conference this week in Louisville. From Michigan to Florida, and North Carolina to Mississippi, utility leaders are contributing to electric vehicle discussion and education.
Let’s hit the highlights:
Smart grid will require smart contact centers September 21, 2010
Posted by Dennis Smith in Uncategorized.Tags: billing and payment, call center, contact center, customer self service, customer service, Customer service automation, online energy information, smart grid, utility customer engagement, Web-based customer service
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Utilities have for more than a decade implemented self-service technology, from interactive voice response to the various website channels that have emerged. Newer communication channels will continue to evolve in the coming years with the proliferation of smart phones and other technology that will increase self service capabilities and desires for customers. Still, self-service adoption for the utility industry is slow and the channels themselves often create a need for human interaction, at least until the customer figures them out.
Add this to the emerging smart grid and the energy management programs and services on the horizon and one can see how the skills required of utility customer service representatives (CSRs) will soon be changing. The utility CSR of the future will need to understand energy consumption and the capabilities new technology will bring (more…)
Self service is where it’s at; Is your utility there? July 21, 2010
Posted by Dennis Smith in Utility Industry News.Tags: customer self service, Customer service automation, interactive voice response, IVR, online energy information, self service, utilities, utility communications, utility customer engagement, utility customer service, Web-based customer service, Web-based transactions
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Fueled by increasing sales of its Kindle e-reader, Amazon.com announced Tuesday its sales of electronic books outpaced sales of hardcopy books in the first half of 2010. This is not surprising coming from an online retailer, but I doubt Barnes & Noble is yet to see the same thing. Still, it is the wave of the future – moving toward online products and services, and no doubt one day B&N will see digital books surpass hardcopy, too.
Without having any firm evidence to cite, I feel pretty confident saying that more people read the news online than in paper format. And rarely, unless there’s a problem with the website, does one purchase airline tickets over the telephone. Usually, if you do pick up the telephone, you will “talk” to a machine. We purchase concert tickets online, book hotels and do most of our banking in the self-service realm – via online or through an automated telephone call.
So I guess it should have come as no surprise when PPL Electric Utilities recently announced that, (more…)
