Proactive customer contact - Another step towards achieving customer service excellence in ESB Networks

A key ingredient of any service business is the ability to establish and maintain effective communication channels for customers. In the past year or so much work has been done by staff and management in the Customer Contact Centre and local areas to ensure that there has been a major improvement in this aspect of our business.

Traditionally ESB Networks has operated on a mainly reactive basis when dealing with customers, especially in relation to the new connection process. However this traditional approach, particularly in the highvolume business that ESB Networks are now experiencing, has downsides in terms of customer service, efficiency of work management and job scheduling.

A work study group comprising of Managers, Supervisors, Engineering Officers and Clerical Officers with practical experience in the new connections business strongly recommended that ESB Networks needed to become much more proactive when dealing with customers in the high-profile new connection process. Feedback from the ongoing Ipsos MORI customer research also reinforced this view.

These proposals have now been taken on board and a number of new initiatives have been implemented as part of the new connection process:

Receipt of Payment
On payment of capital contribution all customers receive an acknowledgement card detailing job reference number and local ESB Networks contact details. They also receive a copy of the DPR (invoice) stamped "paid".

Initial proactive call to the customer
This call is made by the local Clerical Officer on receipt of the customer payment documentation from the Network Services Bureau and has two objectives:

• To establish local contact with the customer, including giving the customer, Clerical Officers' and Engineering Officers' telephone numbers
• To collect information on the progress of the customer's construction and establish the date that connection is required on (based on present construction stage) and record this date in SAP-ISU.

Second proactive call to the customer
On receipt of job authorisation either the local Construction Supervisor or the Clerical Officer will contact the customer to:

• Confirm that the job is now at ESB Networks construction stage.
• Remind the customer of ESB Networks ducting and wiring certificate requirements.
• Establish what stage the development is now at and confirm the date that the customer requires connection.
• Provide a commitment to the customer on connection date (assuming all site requirements are met).

Other proactive calls as required
The intention is that if at any stage a problem arises in delivering the connection, ESB Networks will contact the customer to explain the situation and to give an indication as to the timeframe around resolution

SMS Text Messaging
When ESB Networks make the final connection to a new metering point and the job is closed on AREAS, a text message automatically issues to the electrical contractor who completed the customer's wiring to alert them that the job is now ready for their final checks/switch on of supply for the customer at the isolator.

The move towards this approach has a number of benefits for customers and ESB Networks. It represents a major improvement in ESB Networks customer relationships in a process that they often find complex and stressful and that is very much in the public eye given the present high level of new connections. This approach also allows ESB Networks to collect very valuable information in relation to the customer's state of readiness and connection timeframe requirements. These are essential inputs to effective planning and scheduling of work by Construction Supervisors.

The response from customers to this initiative has been extremely positive with genuine appreciation and indeed sometimes pleasant surprise that ESB Networks has taken the bother to proactively update them on the status of their job.

These initiatives coupled with a number of future planned initiatives in the area of SMS messaging and the availability of interactive on-line services e.g. online application and tracking of jobs are all important deliverables from ESB Networks five-year Customer Service Improvement Plan. The overall objective of this plan is that, over the next two/three years, ESB Networks will achieve excellence in all aspects of customer service in ESB Networks dealings with customers.