An Examination of Residential Customer Satisfaction and How Electricity and Gas Retailers Compare With Other Service Providers
Posted on: Monday, 11 February 2008, 00:00 CST
Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c82261) has announced the addition of "Customer Satisfaction And Channel Preference In Australian Utilities" to their offering.
Introduction
An examination of residential customer satisfaction and how electricity and gas retailers compare with other service providers, whether utilities are delivering to expectations for new customers, and areas for improvements. Also examined is the extent to which customers would use the internet or email for certain interactions with utilities, and the potential for utilities to reduce cost to serve.
Scope
A May 2007 survey of 1000 Australian households regarding experiences and expectations with customer services from utilities and channel preferences; breakdown of responses by state, age group, spending and household size; survey responses are compared to a similar survey undertaken in 2005.
Highlights
For overall customer service, electricity and gas suppliers received higher average ratings compared with our 2005 survey, and were rated ahead of banks, fixed-line telecoms, mobile telecoms and digital/cable TV providers. After switching electricity supplier, 29% of switchers found customer service provided by a new retailer to be above expectation. While 16% of respondents would prefer to communicate with suppliers online/via email, 69.8% prefer the telephone as it provides the comfort of being able to engage in a conversation with a customer service representative.
Reasons to Purchase
Benchmark utility customer service against other service providers, such as banks and telcos; identify areas for improving customer service and satisfaction; evaluate opportunity to drive customers to use the internet for payment and customer service.
OUR VIEW
CATALYST
SUMMARY
METHODOLOGY
ANALYSIS
Rising levels of customer satisfaction in Australia's electricity and gas sector
Electricity and gas retailers' service rated higher relative to banks and telcos
Net improvement in service experienced
More switchers find customer service and savings above expectations
Highest levels of satisfaction are with staff
Key areas for improvement are pricing, supply reliability, and green energy availability and cost
What prospects for driving customer service online?
Use of the internet is high for bill payment
Money talks - online use would increase significantly with higher financial incentives
CONCLUSIONS
Improvements in customer service have been recognized
Potential to reduce cost to serve, but significant uptake is unlikely without incentives
APPENDIX
Further reading
Ask the analyst
Company mentioned:
Leucadia National Corporation
For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c82261.
Source: Datamonitor
Source: Business Wire
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