The award – one of several Chartwell Best Practice Awards – honors the most innovative utility customer service, marketing and/or communications initiatives aimed at building goodwill, improving customer satisfaction and increasing loyalty among business customers. A number of utilities from across the U.S. entered the competition.

A panel of Chartwell research analysts in customer service and utility marketing chose FPL’s Gold Service Standards Initiative as award winner for its innovation, execution and results. FPL’s research, which included in-depth process mapping; examination of the customer experience; strategies used for presenting the initiative to team members; training efforts; and significant improvements in business customer satisfaction catapulted the entry into the top spot.

The award was presented at a luncheon held in conjunction with The Chartwell Summit on Fostering Relationships with Mid-Size Businesses. More than 50 utility professionals attended the two-day Summit that featured presentations by J.D. Power & Associates and customer service and marketing professionals from some of the nation’s top-ranked and most innovative utilities.

Joe Acquaviva, FPL Business Account Manager, and Delgardo Terry, FPL Marketing Liaison, were present to accept the award. “We are deeply honored that our efforts are being recognized in the industry. Our entire team has worked hard to ensure we are providing our customers with the highest levels of service, and this award acknowledges their commitment to the Gold Service Standards,” Acquaviva said.

“A lot of hard work on behalf of our employees goes into making the Gold Service Standards successful,” Terry said. “After seeing the quality of utility programs that were presented here at the Chartwell Summit and as part of the award competition, we are even more gratified to be honored as the award winner.”

Dennis Smith, Chartwell’s Vice President of Research and Information Delivery, presented the award. “The Initiative was innovative in the way it looked outside utilities at the travel, hospitality and retail industries,” Smith said. “FPL is now managing the ‘total experience’ of the business customer, from start to finish. They are addressing human needs, like emotions and expectations, in addition to business needs. They set lofty customer satisfaction goals and worked hard to achieve them.”

A full case study on the FPL Gold Service Standards Initiative will be published in an upcoming issue of Chartwell’s Best Practices for Utilities & Energy Companies newsletter.

Sacramento Municipal Utility District was also recognized for its account management program for mid-size businesses as the runner up for 2006 award.

Other Chartwell Best Practice Awards focus on residential customer service, utility marketing, and other areas of utility operations. Chartwell holds a number of Best Practice Summits on various topics throughout the year as well, including Advanced Metering and Customer Self-Service.

For more information on the awards, summits or newsletter, contact Jennifer Allen, Senior Research Analyst, at jallen@chartwellinc.com or 404-237-9099.