Customer expectations for service efficiency are at an all-time high. While traditional support methods struggle to keep up, AI and intelligent automation are helping utility service providers transform customer experiences with ease.
Utility companies are vital in powering homes and businesses, supporting essential infrastructure, and ensuring smooth operations for industries. Adopting tools that streamline customer support keeps these businesses competitive while enhancing overall service quality.
Utility service providers deliver electricity, water, sewage, natural gas, telephone, internet, and TV services within specific geographical areas. Despite the critical nature of these services, customers give utility companies no leeway. Their expectations continue to rise, making customer support a constant high-stakes challenge for utility providers.
Expectations from utility service companies
Providing satisfactory service isn’t enough to guarantee customer loyalty to any enterprise. With clients expecting more from brands today, even the most negligible disruption in service doesn’t feel so small to the customer. That is why, on the one hand, we can see customer expectations increase. But on the other hand, we can also see barely any tolerance for subpar service.
Let’s understand what customers expect from utility companies when dealing with them.
Uninterrupted affordable services: One of the first things customers expect when subscribing to a utility service company is uninterrupted services. New and existing subscribers desire reasonable and predictable pricing from service providers. Excess or unexpected charges can lead to dissatisfaction.
Reliability and consistency in service and support delivery: Customers expect consistent and uninterrupted service delivery. Outages or fluctuations in service can lead to significant inconvenience and may cause harm to many. In case of service disruption, they must communicate this to customers. Besides providing uninterrupted service, utility companies must pay attention to how customer service requests are fulfilled. Raising tickets/cases/support requests should be easy and support communication across multiple channels. Easy bill payment options and physical/digital customer helpline centers with 24/7 assistance improve consumer well-being and increase trust in service providers.
Transparency in communication: Clear and timely communication from companies about service disruptions, rate changes, and billing processes is essential for customer satisfaction. Embracing social media is imperative since it has evolved into a dynamic arena where businesses and customers engage for various reasons. Omnichannel communication systems with AI help provide conversational support to clients and mitigate issues.
Now that we know consumers’ expectations from utility service providers, let’s understand the common pain points in the utility industry and how they can be solved.
Also read: Patient First: How Service Software Is Redefining Healthcare Support
Transforming challenges into solutions
Let's explore a few common customer service issues that various utility service providers face through example scenarios. These examples will help you understand how utility companies overcome challenges in customer support and communication.
1. Customer support for billing and payments
Challenge: Electricity consumers frequently encountered issues with delayed bills, incorrect charges, limited visibility into their energy usage, and overwhelmed customer support teams.
Solution: The electricity supply company integrated an AI-powered customer service solution with their existing billing system. This seamless software integration automated billing inquiries, allowing the helpdesk software to provide customers with real-time access to their bills, payment history, and usage data. An automated bot handled common questions, ensuring faster responses.
Results: Call volumes related to billing dropped significantly, and customer satisfaction improved due to the instant, accurate availability of information. The integration also streamlined the support process, reducing the workload on support teams by automating routine tasks through the case management system.
2. Multichannel communication
Challenge: During water supply disruptions, customers were frustrated by slow communication and unclear timelines for service restoration, leading to an increase in complaints.
Solution: The waterworks company deployed an AI-based customer service management system that detected disruptions and sent real-time notifications to affected customers via multiple channels (SMS, email, WhatsApp, and Messenger). The system provided regular updates on estimated restoration times. Customers could also reach out to the service provider through their preferred channels at any time for service-related issues or other inquiries.
Results: Customer complaints related to outages dropped significantly, and proactive communication improved trust, as customers were kept informed without needing to contact support teams.
3. Reducing service call wait times
Challenge: A piped natural gas supplier faced severe backlash from consumers due to service deficiencies. Long wait times to speak with customer service representatives, especially during peak hours, frustrated customers seeking information about service interruptions, maintenance schedules, or billing issues.
Solution: The supplier deployed an AI-powered virtual assistant, capable of handling both text and voice inquiries, to manage routine customer interactions like service disruptions, maintenance, reconnection requests, and account information. The virtual assistant provided instant responses and routed complex issues to human agents when needed. Additionally, an automated case management system with auto-classification and auto-routing ensured that customer queries were efficiently directed to the right teams, improving response times and reducing agent workload.
Results: The utility supplier’s contact center wait times were drastically reduced, and first-contact resolution rates improved. The virtual assistant handled the majority of routine queries, freeing human agents to focus on urgent issues.
4. Streamlining new service requests
Challenge: Customers of a telecommunications and internet service provider experienced frequent delays and confusion when requesting new connections or upgrading their service plans. Often, customer requests were not processed on time, leading to dissatisfaction and multiple follow-ups with support representatives.
Solution: The internet service provider (ISP) automated its customer service process using a customer portal within the servicedesk software, equipped with BPMN and intelligent automation. The portal supports self-service and includes a comprehensive knowledge base along with AI-powered workflow management. It enabled customers to request services, submit necessary documents, and track the progress of their tickets in real time without needing to contact customer support.
Result: Application processing times were significantly reduced, and customer follow-ups decreased as the automated system provided transparency and real-time updates. The automation features and self-service system delivered instant solutions, greatly enhancing the overall customer experience.
5. Maintain Steady Customer Relationship in Utility Service Providers with Service Desk Software
Challenge: A TV service provider faced challenges in maintaining steady customer relationships. This led to customer dissatisfaction and increased churn, making it crucial for the company to enhance their engagement strategies.
Solution: Implementing service desk software revolutionized utility providers' interactions with customers. This software allows for centralized management of customer inquiries and issues, ensuring effective responses and proactive communication. AI-driven chatbots integrated within the service desk facilitate service requests 24/7, enhancing the customer experience.
Result: The proactive communication and immediate support reduce frustration during outages, while streamlined issue management enhances overall efficiency. As a result, providers can experience reduced churn rates, increased customer retention, and an enhanced reputation within the community.
Stellar customer experiences
Offering superlative experiences to utility subscribers requires a proactive and customer-centric approach to addressing customer issues. Utility companies can enhance client satisfaction and loyalty by mapping customer journeys, utilizing AI and automation technology in their business and customer support solutions, personalizing service deliveries and support interactions, and monitoring enterprise health through analytics.
Here are a few chief benefits of using an AI-driven servicedesk for customer service:
- Customer service anytime, anywhere, across various channels
- Powerful automation in business processes to boost productivity
- Agile and robust customer service ecosystem
- Perfect human-machine collaboration, leveraging artificial intelligence
Also read: Voicebots: Conversational AI For Customer Support
ThinkOwl streamlines utility customer service
ThinkOwl's AI-driven multichannel customer service solutions, OwlDesk and OwlForce, help utility service providers navigate the complexities of modern customer support. It enhances support agents’ efforts, streamlines operations, and improves organizational reputation. By leveraging intelligent automation, machine learning (ML), and natural language processing (NLP), ThinkOwl’s robust solutions deliver meaningful assistance that elevates the customer experience.
OwlDesk is a cloud-based service desk and ticketing system that empowers service teams by automating business processes, creating service workflows, offering self-service options, and generating insightful reports that reveal crucial service metrics and enhance customer-centric journeys.
OwlForce utilizes Conversational AI to transform customer interactions, efficiently automating business processes and improving service experiences.
With ThinkOwl’s software solutions, experience a seamless synergy of technology that boosts your support teams’ efficiency and enhances customer satisfaction. Sign up now for a 30-day free trial.