Taking care of business

With total assets of about $11 billion, Wisconsin Energy Corporation’s principal business is providing electric and natural gas service to customers across Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Although WEC was formed in 1987, its predecessor companies carry over a century of history. Joan Shafer, WEC’s VP of Customer Services, has been with the company for 30 years. Looking back, she recalls some of the company’s milestones and achievements to be proud of.

“Going back 13, 14 years, I was the leader of a team that built our customer contact center that was recognized for high achievement , i ncluding being named call center of the year several times. W e consolidated everything into a single contact center, which enabled us to really elevate the level of service that we provided for customers,” Shafer says, adding: “ Then , kind of as a reflection of that, in 2001 we were called upon by the Department of Justice to work with them on September 11. ”

F or about 48 hours after the attacks, WEC handled all calls for information f rom family and friends of the victims of 9/11. “The 800 number that was up on the screen was coming to us. It was an incredible company effort to do that ,” she recalls seven years after the terrible event.

Customer focus

Providers who do not deliver great service run the risk of losing their customers and consequently , the ability to earn reasonable returns . U tilities and energy service companies , believes Shafer, are very focused on customers and working to provide them excellent service. “Particularly in an environment where there is tremendous pressure on price ,” she adds. “ So when I meet with my peers, customer satisfaction is something we talk about a lot. ”

With energy customers facing a greater choice of providers these days, WEC like any other company in the industry aims to differentiate itself in terms of customer service . WEC, says Shafer, does so in several ways. “A s a whole corporation we have a tremendous focus on customer satisfaction. And I would share as evidence of that the fact that all management employees in Wisconsin Energy have a part of their incentive package based on how we achieve and improve our customer satisfaction. So it doesn’t matter if you’re in the power plant , in a field office or in the department called customer service. I t’s important that it’s part of everybody’s incentive package.

In addition, Shafer continues to say, WEC employees work to do ing it right the first time. “W e do that in a number of different ways,” she elaborates. “ We have worked to ensure our front line has the skills and tools to resolve the customer’s issue the first time every time. And if they don’t, they have a way to quickly move it to somebody who can. W e also work to ask our customers ‘ How did we do?’ through a follow-up process to show them that we care . ”

Surveys

How do utilities companies such as WEC e nsure that the systems they have in place accurately reflect what the customers actually want? In a number of different ways , Shafer answers . WEC su rvey s between 1000 and 1200 customers per month who are involved in nine critical transactions. In addition, at the end of phone calls with customers in the company’s contact center, customers can opt to take a survey to provide immediate feedback.

“ And there’s the follow-up calls,” Shafer adds. “ We do probably a half million to customers a year. For example, after every appointment we call a customer back to make sure everything went okay in that appointment. W e do that for a number of our transactions . In that follow up process we get an incredible amount of feedback from customers on how we’re doing, what they expect from us, what they need from us , and so on . T hose are some of the ways that we get customer feedback. ”

Ensuring quality at the front line is paramount. A person who answers a customer’s phone call should be able to answer 80 to 90 percent of their questions – a target that can only be achieved with the right training procedures in place.

“We provide a significant amount of training when a consultant first join s us to work with customers. Ge nerally , that’s a six to eight week time period. Then there’s mentoring a nd follow up, with e ach of them work ing on a team that has a coach attached to it. ”

P robably the most important training that goes on , Shafer believes, is the relationship between the coach and the front line person. T he goal is for the coach to work with the individual to help them continue to improve their performance. In addition, WEC also provides a number of resources including online tools for information.

“ We have people in place that can assist if our customer consultants have a question. We have a support line in place that if a consultant can’t answer a customer’s question they can call somebody on the support line to immediately help them. They can also do something called ‘ pumping up ’ a customer concern. If they can’t solve it or if the customer’s not happy with the resolution , the consultant can get some help from their team leader , with the team leader contact ing the customer. ”

What if the customer is late paying or refuse s to pay their bills? “ In terms of credit and collections, our customers can contact us and they can negotiate a pay agreement with us,” Shafer answers. “W e’ll consider the factors that they raise that have caused them to be late. I f they’re successful then they would make a down payment . T hey would pay their current bill and then make monthly payments after that. ”

WEC work s very closely with customers , ensuring they are aware of energy assistance which is available for customers who fall at or below a certain income level and ensuring the y receive the benefits that they may qualify for or other resources they may need.

Future improvements

M ore and more customers today want to do business with companies electronically because it is more convenient for them. WEC is responding to this trend by enabling customers to do anything online that they can do in a phone conversation. “ T hat’s probably the largest initiative we have right now. In addition to moving to a step change in our web presence, we’re always working to improve our quality performance t o continue to hone the skills of our employees. ”

Shafer is certain that customer satisfaction is the key to success for any company. “ It is now in the genes of the culture in our company. And so it is just critical for success. ”

Joan Shafer was appointed Vice President, Customer Services at Wisconsin Energy Corporation in 2003. In this role, Shafer directs customer research and programs, metering, billing, remittance process, credit and collections and business and residential customer contact centers. Shafer joined the company in 1978 and has held a variety of positions in human resources, operations and customer service.