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Walk-in Payment Trends and Customer Demographics

March 19, 2010 | Updated: September 11, 2012

Are utilities keeping their in-person payment centers open or shutting them down? What are the customer demographics for people who pay in person?

Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: UCC-AskES-36 | Author: Sarah Weldon and Ethan Brown

Leveling the Paying Field, Part 2

Levelized Billing Programs for Business Customers

August 29, 2012

What are the standard characteristics of utility levelized billing programs for business customers, and how do utilities calculate monthly payments?

Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: UCC-AskES-54 | Author: Sarah Fiebiger

Pick a Date, Any Date

Insights into Utility Custom Due-Date Programs

March 21, 2012

I’m looking for information and best practices around customer-selected or “pick a due date” programs. What utilities offer these types of programs, how interested are customers, and what are the cash-flow implications?

Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: UCC-AskES-53 | Author: Stephanie Spalding

Staffing Ratios: Quality Assurance Analysts and Trainers to CSRs

May 19, 2011

How many quality assurance and training staff should we have supporting the customer service representatives in our utility contact center?

Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: UCC-AskES-48 | Author: Justin Rickard

Preparing for Surges in Call Volume

April 20, 2011

How do utilities prepare for call-volume surges in their contact centers?

Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: UCC-AskES-46 | Author: Maggie Boys, Sarah Fiebiger

Summary Billing Programs

March 2, 2011

Which utilities have summary billing programs? How are those programs structured?

Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: UCC-AskES-47 | Author: Alexandra Behringer, Sarah Fiebiger

Verifying Outage Restoration with Outbound Messages

January 21, 2011

Can you offer some examples of outbound phone messages for outage verification?

Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: UCC-AskES-39 | Author: Maggie Boys

Designing Automated After-Call Surveys

December 8, 2010

What are the best practices for designing automated after-call surveys on a utility interactive voice response system (IVR)?

Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: UCC-AskES-45 | Author: Maggie Boys

Plugged In: Agent Availability, Utilization, and Schedule Adherence

November 8, 2010

Can you explain agent availability, utilization, and schedule adherence in the contact center? What level of utilization is considered best practice?

Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: UCC-AskES-37 | Author: Maggie Boys

Better "Make a Payment" Features

November 3, 2010

What is a good way to construct a self-service payment feature for the interactive voice response system (IVR)?

Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: UCC-AskES-5 | Author: Maggie Boys

Please Hold: Caring for Your Customers While They Wait

September 28, 2010

We are looking into the possibility of putting in some messaging for customers who are on hold in our interactive voice response system (IVR) or waiting to be transferred to a representative. What is appropriate messaging? Can you give specific examples?

Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: UCC-AskES-43 | Author: Maggie Boys

How Hardware- and Software-Based Prepaid Metering Differ

September 28, 2010

We are looking into offering a prepaid metering program and are trying to decide what type of system would be best. What are the differences between hardware and software solutions for this type of program?

Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: UCC-AskES-42 | Author: Sarah Weldon

Can Utilities Allow Customers to Opt Out of Bill Notifications?

September 9, 2010

Many customers pay their bills through their banks but receive e-mails from both the bank and the utility when the bill is ready. Some customers have asked us to stop sending e-mail notifications, but they don’t want paper bills either. Do other utilities offer a “no paper and no e-mail” option? ...

Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: UCC-AskES-41 | Author: Alexandra Behringer and Stephanie Spalding

Using Rewards and Recognition for Agent Retention

September 9, 2010

What part do reward and recognition programs play in retaining front-line employees? What are some best practices for these programs?

Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: UCC-AskES-15 | Author: Maggie Boys

Holding on to Your Contact Center Employees

August 18, 2010

What are the best practices for retaining contact center employees?

Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: UCC-AskES-13 | Author: Maggie Boys

Leveling the Paying Field, Part 1

Levelized Billing Programs for Residential Customers

June 24, 2010

What are the standard characteristics of utility levelized billing programs, and how do utilities calculate monthly payments? How many utilities offer levelized billing programs, and what participation rates have been seen?

Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: UCC-AskES-38 | Author: Sarah Weldon

Customer Adoption of Utility Bill Payment Channels and Tender Types

May 13, 2010

What channels are utility customers using to pay their bills? And what types of payment are utilities receiving—check, credit cards, cash?

Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: EBiz-AskES-39 | Author: Alexandra Behringer

Paradox and Opportunity: Rural and Urban Customer Satisfaction and Attitudes

May 13, 2010

Are there any differences in customer satisfaction ratings and customer attitudes between rural and urban customers, or between residential and commercial customers?

Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: UCC-AskES-40 | Author: Sarah Weldon and Ethan Brown

Hiring to Minimize Attrition

April 14, 2010

How can utilities minimize attrition when hiring call center agents?

Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: UCC-AskES-11 | Author: Maggie Boys

Utilities Using Bill-Payment Kiosks

February 8, 2010

Which utilities have self-service kiosks in place, and who are the current kiosk vendors?

Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: UCC-AskES-34 | Author: Alexandra Behringer and Rich Goodwin

How to Process IVR Payment and Handle PCI Compliance

January 29, 2010

How do other utilities process IVR payments and handle PCI compliance?

Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: UCC-AskES-35 | Author: Stephanie Spalding

Text Messages: The Other Mobile Customer Service Channel

December 31, 2009

How have utilities used text messages to provide customer service? What are the issues to be aware of when using text messages for customer communications?

Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: UCC-AskES-14 | Author: Florence Connally

Providing Alternative Language Options on the Utility IVR: “Oprima el Numero Ocho”

December 15, 2009

We want our interactive voice response system (IVR) to provide Spanish-speaking customers the opportunity to hear the IVR options in Spanish. How have other utilities designed their IVRs so that all customers feel valued and appreciated?

Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: UCC-AskES-3 | Author: Maggie Boys

Managing and Reducing Call Center E-mail Bounce-Backs

December 9, 2009

What are techniques for managing and reducing the rate of outgoing call center e-mails that “bounce back” from customers because of an incorrect address or technical difficulties?

Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: UCC-AskES-12 | Author: Sarah Weldon

Principles of Call Center Training and Coaching

November 24, 2009

Do you have any research regarding effective coaching techniques in relation to utility contact or call centers?

Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: UCC-AskES-2 | Author: Maggie Boys

Prepaid Metering Using AMI

November 18, 2009

How does prepaid metering work using advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) instead of traditional methods? Are any utilities implementing prepaid metering using AMI?

Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: IGS-AskES-10 | Author: Sarah Weldon

Security Deposit Policies for Commercial Customers

November 16, 2009

What security deposit policies are utilities using for their commercial customers?

Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: UCC-AskES-10 | Author: Sarah Weldon

Programs That Help Customers Pay Regularly and On Time

August 27, 2009

What are some programs utilities can offer to customers at various income levels that help them pay their bills?

Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: UCC-AskES-08 | Author: Sarah Weldon

Utility Delinquency Rates

July 2, 2009

Do you have data on utility delinquency rates, such as the percentage of people who are late on their payments and how late payments are in the U.S., by state, or by utility?

Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: UCC-AskES-7 | Author: Sarah Weldon

Security Deposit Policies That Help Struggling Customers

June 26, 2009

What security deposit policies can both protect the utility against risk of customer nonpayment and still allow it to help financially struggling customers who might have a hard time meeting deposit requirements?

Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: UCC-AskES-6 | Author: Sarah Weldon