Watch out for Customer Rage Metrics! It's like a Megaphone for Customer Pain Points.

In the realm of customer service and user experience, Rage Metrics hold significant importance as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that gauge the frustration and negative impact encountered by customers. Essentially, Rage Metrics provide valuable insights into where and to what extent our user interface (UI), user experience (UX), and customer support experiences are driving customers to the brink of frustration. By identifying these pain points, companies can make targeted improvements to enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty, thereby bolstering their overall success in the energy industry.

The term "Rage Metrics" refers to specific metrics that assess the intensity of customer frustration when interacting with a company's products or services. These metrics delve deeper than traditional KPIs, as they focus on emotions, providing a glimpse into how customers feel about their experiences. By monitoring Rage Metrics, energy companies gain a deeper understanding of their customers' pain points and can take proactive measures to address them effectively.

Here are a few of the most common and most critical pain points to watch for in your customer service ecosystem.

Unhelpful IVR - The detrimental impact of poorly designed IVR messages, prompts, and selections cannot be understated, leading to a frustrating customer experience precisely when they need assistance the most.

Imagine your customers facing an unexpectedly high bill due to a potential leak in their main water line, pushing their budget to the brink. Now think of their mindset as they encounter an IVR with an extensive recorded message with a warning about changes to the choices, followed by reminders about the privacy policy and prompts to visit the website or download a mobile app for further information before offering choices for the customer to find answers to their question. It's evident that such an IVR experience amplifies your customer's anxiety, especially when billing questions are buried deep in the list of IVR choices. This type of IVR setup significantly contributes to increasing customer rage metrics.

To combat this issue, utility customer service executives must adopt helpful IVRs that prioritize customer needs and optimize their experience. Effective IVRs get straight to the point, offering only a brief segue to the website, and prioritize customer choices based on call volume for more responsiveness and efficiency. While this may not directly reduce call center volumes, a helpful IVR demonstrates that your utility understands its customers' needs and strives to create intuitive experiences that support them effectively.

Indifferent IVRs - We've all been there – calling customer service departments of various brands and encountering IVRs that seem to have a mind of their own. You know the type – they ask for your response, but it's like they're in a world of their own and don't understand a word you say. Other times, they offer limited choices that don't match your needs, leaving you frustrated with no outlet to report an outage or ask a billing question.

Customers in these situations often express their irritation by loudly shouting "REPRESENTATIVE" into their phones or repeatedly pressing "0" in a desperate attempt to reach a human being. 

But wait, it gets worse! Imagine how your rage score would skyrocket if the IVR responds with something like, "I can't recognize your input, let's try again," or worse, it just dismissively says, "have a good day" and hangs up on you. What could have been a moment for quick resolution with a representative turns into a perilous situation for your customer relationship and leaves an indelible mark on your customer rage metric. Customers walk away from these experiences feeling like the service provider couldn't care less about their needs.

Let's put an end to this madness! Take a peek into your reporting to see how often your IVR shows indifference to your customers. By closing those loops and making improvements, you can immediately boost your CSAT score and lower that pesky rage metric. You might not win back the love of previous customers, but at least you can stop the pain and frustration for future ones. 

Chatbot Doom Loops - As utility customer service leaders, you are well aware of the growing importance of chat as a customer service channel. While telecom and Internet providers have successfully utilized chat to increase digital self-service and reduce call volumes to their contact centers, many energy and water utilities are still in the process of embracing this powerful tool.

Chat powered by a chatbot holds immense potential as an efficient support channel for handling common customer queries. However, it's essential to be cautious of the dreaded "Doom Loops."

In a Doom Loop scenario, a customer finds themselves stuck in a repetitive series of questions without making progress towards resolving their issue. Consider a situation where a customer clicks on chat to report an internet service outage or request a bill credit for the downtime. Unfortunately, chatbots sometimes adhere to rigid policies that require customer verification before providing any advice or assistance.

We’ve all experienced those chats where you ask a question about service interruptions or bill credits only to be greeted by a note from a chatbot needing more information.  Here’s the Doom Loop that follows.

Chatbot:  I can help you, but first let’s get a little more information.  Please click the following link and log into your account.

Customer:  I don’t have my password.  My spouse has it.

Chatbot:  I can help you reset your password.  Please click the following link to reset your password.

Customer: I don’t want to reset my password.  I just want to talk to someone about a bill credit.

Chatbot:  I can help you with a bill credit.  Please tell me a bit more about the issue.

Customer:  My service has been down for two days and I’d like to get a credit on my bill.

Chatbot:  Okay. I can help you with your bill credit for two days of service.  Please click the following link to log into your account.

Customer:  I don’t have my password. Please connect me with a representative.

Chatbot:  I understand you don’t have your password.  I can help you reset your password.  Please click the following link to reset your password.

Customer.  Please connect me to a representative.

Chatbot.  I can help connect you with a customer service representative.  Please tell me a bit more about your issue so that I can connect you with the right team.

Customer: I want to get a credit on my bill for a service interruption.

Chatbot: Okay, you want to speak to someone about a bill credit.  Please click the following link to log into your account.

Customer: REPRESENTATIVE!!!!!

While written for fun, I’m sure everyone recognizes the kernel of the real experience in this chat scenario.  It’s easy for customers to get stuck in a Doom Loop if the service provider, in this case an Internet provider, trains their chatbot for overly rigid procedures that would otherwise be easy to resolve on a call.  Instead of reducing calls to the contact center, these Doom Loops dramatically increase calls, handle time with an agent, and the rage levels of the customer.  

By leveraging chat technology effectively, you can create a friendly and credible customer experience, allowing your customers to receive prompt assistance without unnecessary hurdles. Embracing this approach will undoubtedly lead to increased customer satisfaction, improved efficiency, and a stronger customer service reputation for your utility company.

Embracing rage metrics can be a game-changer for utility customer service leaders seeking to enhance the support experience. These often overlooked KPIs shed light on critical pain points, enabling targeted improvements that resonate with customers. By addressing three common challenges and leveraging technology and reporting enhancements, utility leaders can pave the way for a smoother more customer-centric experience. Empathizing with customers and adjusting the CX accordingly will undoubtedly lead to positive responses in CSAT scores and foster greater customer satisfaction and loyalty. Taking proactive steps to reduce rage metrics will ultimately strengthen the utility's reputation and solidify its position as a customer-focused industry leader.