March 28, 2003—The majority of electric utilities—62%—maintain a special program to service their key accounts, and these efforts can go a long way toward keeping large commercial and industrial customers satisfied, says a new Chartwell report on key accounts service initiatives in the utility industry.
When including gas and water utilities in the mix, Chartwell estimates that about half of utilities provide some form of specialized service to their largest customers. The preferred method is overwhelmingly the key accounts representative—specialized customer service and sales reps whose job it is to know their customers inside and out.
“Utilities placed a great emphasis on serving their key accounts in past years as the deregulation wave spread throughout North America,” says Dennis Smith, director of editorial and research for Chartwell Inc. “That wave has now subsided, but the emphasis on quality customer service remains on all fronts.”
Utilities with key accounts programs offer special customer service lines and billing options, energy management and power quality programs, among other services, Chartwell reports.
“The Chartwell Report on Key Accounts Service”, a part of the Chartwell CIS & Customer Service Research Series, examines efforts undertaken to meet the needs of large commercial and industrial customers. The report includes an industry analysis with charts and graphs and three case studies on key accounts programs at both municipal and investor-owned utilities.
“The Chartwell Report on Key Accounts Service” is available to non-members for $250. For more information, contact Chartwell or Chartwell’s online industry research library, where a free table of contents is available to non-members.
