RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS
Hera intends to make listening to its customers a permanently ongoing, organised activity. At the start of 2006, it therefore repeated its survey so as to monitor its ability to meet customer needs.
The survey involved a sample of approx. 2,000 customers, representative of the "Hera population" for the entire area. It was conducted by telephone by the same specialized company that had conducted the 2005 survey. The increased size of the sample, over that of 2005 (1,800 interviews), was a consequence of extension of the survey to take in the Modena area.
The overall customer satisfaction index (ICS ) reached a score of 67 out of 100.
The three dimensions of customer satisfaction (global satisfaction, satisfaction with respect to demands, satisfaction with respect to the ideal) also paralleled the previous survey findings.
Overall index stability, however, hides a number of quality indicator changes.
The level of satisfaction for three of the services provided by Hera (gas, electricity and water) remained encouraging (70+). Only waste management remained at a level of less than 70.
There has been a worsening of perceptions of communication, billing procedures and branch operators (approx. -3) compared to the previous year. Information system changes mainly impacted billing and branch operators.
Reliability and safety maintain excellence levels for gas and electricity (approx. 80/100).
We note an overall improvement for the water service (from 73/100 to 74/100) with respect to the previous survey, above all in terms of perception of cost of improved service and user-friendly self-reading.
Cost perception worsened for energy services, as a result of rising tariffs. Waste management performed less satisfactorily than the other services, but its performance was not less satisfactory than for the previous year. Customer perception was adversely affected by cost (in some cases to be ascribed to transfer from tax to tariff) and the cleanliness of the streets. The results for waste collection, instead, improved (frequency and timetables for emptying of bins, user-friendly bins) as was also the case for the drop-off points.
On the basis of the first customer satisfaction survey of 2005, urban hygiene was considered a priority area for intervention. It was noted that there was room for improvement with regard to separate waste collection. This area has been targeted in many of the projects for improvement started up by six Local Operating Companies. The group objective is to develop the service to reach a level of 35% separate waste collection by 2008.
Other improvement projects regard:
- management of work sites (extension/maintenance of gas and water grids etc.) to minimise inconvenience for the public in general;
- communication with customers/the general public, with the focus on separate waste collection (drop-off points, discount arrangements according to separate-waste yield performance);
- communication regarding industrial plants under construction (power stations, waste-to-energy plants).
BUSINESS CUSTOMERS
The first business customer satisfaction survey was conducted in May 2005 by means of 575 telephone interviews with the procurement decision-maker and/or main contact with Hera from the customer company.
The level of satisfaction of business customers is fairly far from the threshold value. It stands at a level of 6 points less than for residential customer satisfaction.
Among the components which business customers are least satisfied with, we note "contact".
In this regard we must improve, efficiently manage and promote the call center and website channels.
Environmental hygiene and image are among the main factors impacting customer satisfaction.
Findings confirm that sale channel must be customized, hence the marketing plan for 2006 which introduces fast track contact channels with call centers and dedicated agents.
