Monday 4 May 2022: Customer Service

Monday 4 May 2022: Customer Service

1. Which utility companies (not Affinity Water) do you feel provides a truly great customer experience and why? 
• What specifically do they do which makes their overall service so great? 
• What do they do that actively makes you happy to be their customers?
• Outside of resolving queries/issues, how do these providers go above and beyond for you?
2. Thinking about Affinity Water…
• How do they compare when it comes to great customer experience? 
• What would an exceptional customer experience (from start to finish) look like for Affinity? 

My experience specifically of utility companies is that I am mostly treated as an account, not as a person. I used to like taking my Toyota Avensis to be serviced at Minories Toyota in Canterbury because:

1. I was welcomed, and called me Mr Hughes, rather than either avoiding my name, or else using my first name (for which I rarely give businesses my permission).

2. The service having been scheduled, I was expected, and my car was slotted straight into the smooth running of their day.

3. The work to be done was explained to me.

4. The expected costs were detailed to me, so that there would be no surprises.

5. A telephone number on which to reach me was written down so that if something unexpected was discovered I called be called, the matter discussed, including if extra time would be needed, and what the additional costs would be.

6. I was offered coffee and a comfortable place to wait (with an electrical socket for my laptop and a wi-fi signal), if I wished to do so, or offered a lift into Canterbury if I preferred.

7. When I collected the keys for my car, the work done was gone through with me, and the bill was clearly itemised.

In summary, my customer experience journey had been thoroughly thought through, and the staff trained to help me through that journey. The social transactions were personal (but not 'matey'), friendly, transparent and collaborative. I was always left feeling good about having participated in that journey, despite having had to pay out hundreds of pounds.

I do not have anywhere near as much experience with Affinity Water, so I am less certain about generalising. However, last week, I had the experience of an Affinity Water employee coming to my house to perform a leak and water-saving survey. He arrived at the correct time, which was good. I asked him for ID, which he showed me. I asked him to wear a face-covering, with which he was happy to comply. He was friendly and respectful throughout. He told me how long the survey would take, which was useful. He fitted two taps with aerators, and explained why other taps could not be fitted in the same way. He asked me questions about the major leak we had had, expressed how impressed he was with the water meter reading spreadsheet that I had printed out to show him, and asked whether I had registered with Affinity Water for Priority Services because there is a severely disabled person in my family (i.e. he was being attentive and thoughtful). I discussed with him about smart water meters (which Thames Water are now fitting for domestic customers). At the end of the visit, I was left feeling good about having participated in that journey, despite having had to have someone in the house (we are continuing to isolate ourselves pretty strictly). If this is the type of encounter that Affinity Water wish to have with its customers, then I applaud it.

1. Can you tell us about a provider who provided an exceptional customer service when you had an issue/ query? 
• What happened and why did they exceed your expectations?
2. When contacting Affinity customer services, what could customer service representatives do that shows outstanding customer service? (If you have any examples of this with Affinity or another utility company, we’d love to know)
3. Do you have a preferred way of contacting customer services for Affinity Water e.g. do you have a go to method (phone, email, text)? Does this vary for different contact reasons?
4. Some Affinity Water customers need additional support e.g. flexibility with payments, language support, priority services due to medical conditions. What do you think a brilliant customer experience should be like if you/people you know need more support?

I could give so many examples of customer service being badly handled, that I have mostly given up ever trying to pursue matters. What's the point in doing so when I know that I shall encounter heavily defended call centre staff whose only interest is to get off the telephone as quickly as possible, maybe because they have targets to meet, and company complaint systems intended primarily to exculpate themselves and thereby absolve themselves from any responsibility. So very many examples, including insurance companies.

However, I had a recent experience with the NFU insurance company in response to a tree crashing into my house and coming through the roof. The call centre person was friendly and gave the impression that she was not working against the clock. She took down details, provided an e-mail address to which to send photographs and further written details. She asked whether we wanted a loss adjuster to visit and arrange for trades people to make good, or whether we would prefer to organise the repairs ourselves. As we chose to make our own arrangements, we were told explicitly where to send the tradespeople's invoices. Money was duly paid out. It was as though the customer journey had been thought through and the member of staff who dealt with us had been well trained.

I like to be able to contact people by e-mail. (It is unbelievably frustrating that none of the many NHS medical staff we are frequently required to deal with have e-mail addresses. Instead, we can spend many hours trying to get through to them on the telephone.) Text messages are fine for very small pieces of information, but not as a primary means of communication.

People who require more support need to be interacting a member of staff who:

1. knows everything about the range of support available (knowledgeable),

2. has / is given the job of ensuring that the person who requires more support receives all the support that can be offered (in contrast to local and central government staff who are permitted to mention specific support only if it is explicitly requested by the service user);

3. are empathic (that is, they try to get a view of things from the perspective of the enquirer;

4. are warm and friendly.

I think that this would deliver an excellent customer experience.

People can be Affinity Water customers for years and years, particularly if they stay in the same area over very long period. We’d like you to come up with an idea of how Affinity Water could show these long standing customers they are appreciated (beyond just discounts on their bill!)

INSTRUCTIONS: Upload an image that represents your idea, then fill in the following boxes to describe your idea in as much detail as possible...

1. Name of the idea...
2. Key features/how it would work
3. Why you think this is a good way to show appreciation

Affinity Water lapel pin

Many years ago, I used to be a blood donor. I found this hard because giving blood always made me feel unwell. However, I felt emotionally committed to doing so. It came as something of a surprise to me to be issued with a Blood Transfusion Service discreet lapel pin once I had given blood ten times. I felt inordinately proud of myself, and wore the lapel pin on my jacket, in the same way that the photograph shows a discreet lapel pin being worn. I doubt that anyone ever noticed my lapel pin, but I knew that it was there, and that is what mattered to me. I gave up wearing tweed jackets twenty years ago, and regret that I no longer know where the lapel pin is (otherwise I would have photographed it and uploaded it here). Maybe Affinity Water could issue lapel pins or brooches (customer to choose which) to long-standing customers. (Remember that high court judge a couple of years ago who became identified by the spider brooch that she wore.)