Customer Service Initiatives

Single Call Centre

The creation of a single call centre to deal with all customer enquiries from the combined YEDL and NEDL area has played a major part in raising levels of service. Our regulator, Ofgem, has set a new target for all the electricity distribution companies of achieving customer satisfaction scores of at least 82 per cent. Both the YEDL and NEDL teams of customer advisers have consistently achieved scores on average of more than 90 per cent. The customer call centre operates 24-hours- a-day for 365-days-a-year and deals with customer calls about power interruptions and emergencies. The call centre staff, who deal with up to 120,000 calls a month, pride themselves in engineering appreciation, customer care and telephone handling skills to help them deal quickly and efficiently with all enquiries from our customers.

Trouble management system

The centre makes use of state-of-the-art technology, including a trouble management system. This system can show where interruptions to supply have been reported and also get right down to the detail of street maps pinpointing the affected areas. Also in the centre are control engineers who mobilise support when and where required. This support includes 80 engineers who are part of our Rapid Response Team. These engineers work with operational staff to ensure power is restored as quickly as possible. Customers can listen to information about power interruptions in their area through our interactive messaging system, which is updated as work gets under way. It also gives an estimated time for power restoration. This messaging system enables the maximum number of customers to get the latest information about power interruptions as soon as possible. If customers hear a message which does not relate to their area, they can continue to hold and will be put through to an adviser.

Satisfaction surveys about the Customer Relations Centre’s performance are carried out each month by an independent agency. They ask customers who have experienced power interruptions to rate the centre’s advisers on: politeness and willingness to help; the accuracy of the information given; and the usefulness of the information given.

Customer Ambassadors

In 2004 we introduced an elite team of troubleshooters called "customer ambassadors". Chosen because of their skills of empathising with customers and also because of their ability to get things done, they become involved if a problem has not been resolved by a customer adviser or the adviser’s team manager. Sometimes they can achieve a solution by phone; at other times they visit the customer. Ambassadors are also involved in liaising with community organisations, particularly parish councils, to explain steps we are taking to improve quality of supply in their local areas.