Welcome to the Customer Care Group roundup, Customer Corner. As always, your fellow group members are paying close attention to utility customer care trends and sharing their insights. This month’s selection includes information about how to better serve residential renters, how to implement social customer service, and more. Be sure to like and comment on your favorite posts. Happy reading!
How Utilities Can Better Serve Residential Renters
Link to original article: https://energycentral.com/c/cc/how-utilities-can-better-serve-residential-renters
In their efforts to achieve energy equity, utilities shouldn’t overlook renters, who make up more than one-third of American households today. In this article, Nathan Shannon, President & CEO at the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative (SECC) explains the unique challenges these customers face, including a limited ability to make changes to their residences, and therefore to participate in EE programs. He offers key findings from a recent SECC study, which show that renters are willing to participate in programs but need help from utilities to do so.
Utilities Can’t Ignore Social Customer Service Any Longer
Link to original article: https://energycentral.com/c/cc/utilities-can%E2%80%99t-ignore-social-customer-service-any-longer
Customers are increasingly expecting companies, including utilities, to respond to customer service requests via social media. Yet many utilities are not prepared to incorporate this channel into their customer service offerings. In this post, Mark Wilkinson, SVP Products at Ibex Digital explains that any utility can learn to do so using a few simple steps. Given benefits like lower costs and reputation boosts, all utilities should at least consider this move.
Tout Your Utility’s Ukrainian Charitable Efforts
Link to original article: https://energycentral.com/c/cc/tout-your-utility%E2%80%99s-ukrainian-charitable-efforts
Getting the press interested in a utility’s charitable efforts can be challenging but linking them to a bigger news story can help. Here, Andy Gotlieb, Editor of a specialty publication and former public relations practitioner, recommends actively promoting any campaign in support of Ukraine, the story currently dominating the news. Such promotions can help with any effort underway — such as collecting supplies — and draw attention to the utility’s caring attitude.
“Institutional Change Is Hard”
Link to original article: https://energycentral.com/c/cc/institutional-change-hard
In this piece, Independent Writer Nevelyn Black describes the efforts of ratepayers in Maine, who are pushing to replace investor-owned utilities (IOUs) with a consumer-owned utility (COU) called Our Power. The effort is in response to hefty rate increases from the IOUs, occurring while existing COUs within the state offer far lower rates. However, introduction of a COU involves risks on the part of consumers, making change a complex matter.
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