Customer service is one of the few variables over which retail managers have control, and lowering service costs is one of the few ways of raising profitability in low switching markets. This brief identifies the metrics that managers need to control in order to realise this ambition, and then asks what managers think about them.

• The 22 key customer service metrics as identified by Datamonitor.
• An analysis of the metrics through the lens of a survey of 45 utility executives.
• An appendix containing fully charted survey results.


Highlights



Managers were very diverse in the billing metrics they consider important, but with a definite bias towards service quality metrics. However, the number of faults in the billing cycle should be treated more seriously.





Respondents showed a marked emphasis on quality focused metering metrics rather than cost metrics. However, metering metrics were considered less important than one might suppose, presumably because there is little chance of improving them.



Reasons to Purchase


• Understand the key metrics that influence cost-to-serve
• Discover what metrics managers of small and medium sized utilities are concentrating on