BOULDER, CO?(Marketwire ? Nov 13, 2012) ? The E Source Midsize Business Gap and Priority Benchmark 2012 revealed that customer service issues are nearly as important to midsize businesses as low energy prices and having a reliable supply of energy. Utilities that stand behind their commitments and business customer representatives who follow through on their commitments were highly valued, as was effective energy-emergency communications.
Snohomish County Public Utility District (SnoPUD) earned the top rank in midsize business customer satisfaction and value with an overall score of 8.4 out of 10.0. The utility scored well above average for working to keep energy prices down. Business customer representatives at SnoPUD received higher-than-average scores for understanding the needs and challenges of their customers? businesses.
?As a public utility, our primary objectives are to continuously improve customer value, satisfaction, and loyalty,? says Jim West, assistant general manager for customer and energy services at SnoPUD. ?Our team approach and an emphasis on process improvement have proven effective to better serve our customers.?
APS ranked second with an overall score of 7.7. The utility received higher-than-average marks for offering a variety of rate options, and its business customer representatives earned high scores for effectively communicating during energy emergencies.
Alliant Energy and Wisconsin Public Service (WPS) tied for the third-place ranking with an overall score of 7.5. Alliant Energy and its business customer representatives received remarkably high scores for being trustworthy; the utility also earned high scores for treating customers fairly. WPS stood out compared to the industry average because of its business customer representatives? ability to resolve customer issues on first contact and their ability to be proactive energy advisors.
?The two highest-ranking utilities earned better-than-average performance scores for nearly all of the 26 utility and business customer representative attributes that were examined in our study,? says Sarah Fiebiger, senior research associate at E Source. ?This underscores how important it is for utilities to take a holistic view of the customer experience and to strive to perform well in all aspects of serving midsize business customers.?
For the purposes this study, midsize businesses were defined as not having an assigned key account manager from the utility and spending between $25,000 and $250,000 annually on natural gas or electricity (double that for dual-fuel utilities). The benchmark included 10 utilities, representing 1,042 midsize businesses across the United States.
?In spite of their different energy and customer service needs, utilities often lump midsize businesses with small businesses,? explains Chad Garrett, manager of E Source Business Market Services. ?This benchmark, requested by our utility members, will help them improve the service they provide to this important group of customers.?
For more information, please visit www.esource.com/Midsize_Gap_and_Priority_Benchmark.
About E Source
For 25 years, E Source has been providing unbiased, objective research and advisory services to over 300 utilities and large energy users. Our energy experts have answered more than 8,000 questions over the past 3 years. This guidance helps our customers advance their efficiency programs, enhance customer relationships, and use energy more efficiently.
Public Relations Contact
For details about scheduling interviews with the research staff or service manager involved with this benchmark study, please contact:
Wendy Bloechle
Vice President of Marketing and Customer Service
E Source
Email Contact
303-345-9158
Article source: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/e-source-announces-top-utilities-150000180.html
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