More Contact sees fewer complaints

More Contact sees fewer complaints

Improved communication and empowering staff to resolve problems has seen Contact Energy’s share of deadlocked customer service complaints progress from one of the worst in sector to one of the best in the space of a couple of years.

Latest data from industry-wide disputes resolution organisation Utilities Disputes shows Contact’s share of deadlocked complaints fell to 5.4%, in the second half of 2017 compared with its 20.26% share of the market. This is down from the 46.55% share of complaints Contact had in 2015/16.

Utilities Disputes is the approved scheme to which all electricity and gas providers must belong. It quantifies deadlocked complaints, which is when a customer has come to the end of an organisation’s complaints procedure and the complaint cannot be resolved.

The latest data shows the total number of complaints for the whole sector decreased by 33% in the latest six months. Contact Energy registered just 2 deadlocked complaints for the period.

In 2015-2016, when its deadlocked complaints spiked, Contact knew a change in its approach to customer service was needed.

So, what changed? Contact Energy Chief Customer Officer, Vena Crawley says the difference comes down to a couple of vital transformations:

1. People were empowered
2. Early and frequent customer engagement
Vena says Contact set out to equip its customer service team with the right skills, support and information to take ownership of issues and directly deal with customer problems.

“We focused on career development and coaching with our own people to change behaviours, improve communication, and we enhanced the tools and processes that supported the conversations our team members’ were having with customers.

“We learned to better trust our team members and encouraged them to rethink how they were dealing with complaints; to accept ownership and be more understanding. That is what customers want to hear on the other end of the phone – that they’re talking to another Kiwi, just like them, who cares.”

Early and frequent engagement with customers to minimise and manage issues, and help customers stay on track with payments was also a key change.

“Instead of flagging a problem once it has already escalated, we now identify potential problems and provide solutions for our customers before an issue become unmanageable.”

The result is in the numbers. Not only are their significantly fewer complaints, but the overall experience has improved for all customers. And Contact’s Net Promoter Score – a measure of customers’ willingness to recommend a company's products or services to others – has been improving as well. Last year it moved up to +14, from -3 a year earlier.

“At its simplest, our strategy was to increase meaningful contact with customers and try see complaints through their eyes. It required a change in our thinking to be more human-centric.”

“Our 200-strong customer service team are the backbone of Contact, responsible for talking to and looking after more than 400,000 Kiwis every day. Support for their wellbeing and ability is a top priority; Contact would not work without their help.”

The latest Utilities Disputes data for the sector is available Here

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