ATLANTA – North America’s energy delivery organizations have moved beyond "brochureware" and early false promises of the Internet into realities of how the Web can improve vital business processes. This is especially true on the customer service side of the business, where more utilities have added interactive customer service tools, such as online sign-up for new service and energy information applications.
Internet bill presentment and payment remains the most popular online customer transaction, but Chartwell predicts the number of electric and natural gas utilities offering customers the ability to view their payment history or sign up and transfer service via the Internet will be nearly universal in the next two to three years.
Web-based Customer Service in the Utility Industry, the latest industry report from Chartwell Inc., includes these and other research findings surrounding utilities’ use of the Internet to serve and satisfy customers.
More than half of utilities now report offering some form of customer interaction via their Web sites. It appears, however, that some of these utilities offer online forms to fill out and e-mail, but the process on the utility’s end remains manual, Chartwell notes. The next challenge for these utilities will be to integrate online services with back-office systems. The challenge for all utilities is to move more customers to their Web-based service options.
The 36-page Web-based Customer Service in the Utility Industry is a part of the Chartwell Customer Care Research Series. The industry report contains an industry analysis, more than a dozen charts and graphs, general customer usage data comparisons for online bill presentment and payment and four case studies. Chartwell’s industry analysis is based on two recent surveys of utility officials, each consisting of at least 100 interviews.
Web-based Customer Service in the Utility Industry is available to non-Chartwell members for $250. For more information, visit www.chartwellinc.com, or Chartwell’s online industry research library at www.energylibrary.com. For subscription or membership information, call (800)432-5879, or (404)237-9099.
Press contact: Dennis Smith (404)237-9099.
