Customer satisfaction
At a glance
We commenced monthly voice of the customer surveying in January 2020 and refined the process to provide greater insights from January 2021. During January to June 2021, voice of the customer surveys were distributed weekly to gather feedback and to examine and enhance our customer experience.
These surveys were sent to customers who had indicated they would participate in an EWOQ customer satisfaction survey and had also had their complaint:
- referred to a higher level within their electricity, gas or water provider
- investigated by EWOQ, or
- referred back to their electricity, gas or water supplier (from April 2021).
These surveys help us improve our service for customers, including how we handle complaints, the information we give our customers about our complaints process, and our skills in talking with customers about their complaints. The survey is based on the Australian Government’s benchmarks for industry-based customer dispute resolution. These benchmarks focus on six key attributes of effective dispute resolution services: accessibility, independence, fairness, accountability, efficiency and effectiveness.
EWOQ cannot improve anything. I am really happy with my outcome. The process was easy to follow and there is lots of information on their website to read and understand. My case manager was very professional. My sincere thanks to EWOQ who solved my problem after months of trying by myself. I am very grateful there is something like this in Queensland to help people like myself.
Key data
About our survey respondents
- Male 49.1%
- Female 48.1%
- 2.8% preferred not to say
Top three age ranges
- 65-74 years – 28.7%
- 55-64 years – 25.9%
- 45-54 years – 16.7%
Top three ways customers first learnt about us
- Internet search and found EWOQ website – 25.0%
- Prior knowledge of EWOQ – 10.2%
- From a friend, family member or colleague – 8.3%
Key results
Based on voice of the customer surveying from January to June 2021:
- 80.6% of surveyed customers indicated they would recommend EWOQ to others
- 90.7% of customers were satisfied or very satisfied with how courteous, friendly and helpful our team members were
- 88.9% of customers were satisfied or very satisfied with the ease of finding an ombudsman to complain about an electricity, gas or water retailer
- 75.6% of customers were satisfied or very satisfied with the time we took to investigate and resolve their investigation complaint.
From April 2021, we extended our voice of customer surveying for refer back customers and found that:
- 62.5% of customers surveyed were satisfied or very satisfied that having their case referred back to their provider was a helpful step
- 50% of customers reported they were satisfied or very satisfied with the fairness shown by their electricity, gas or water provider in dealing with their refer back complaint.
In detail
Trends and key findings
According to the survey results, customer satisfaction levels vary between those who have had their complaints referred back, referred to a higher level or investigated, with three key measures standing out.
| Key measures (satisfied/very satisfied) | Refer back results | Referral to higher level results | Investigation results |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1. The effort made by EWOQ staff to listen and fully understand your side of the complaint | 75% | 92.2% | 78.0% |
|
2. The knowledge, skills and expertise of EWOQ staff involved in your complaint | 81.3% | 92.2% | 80.5% |
| 3. The final outcome of your complaint | 100% | 72.5% | 68.3% |
Customer experience improvements
Over the past 12 months we have undertaken several initiatives to enhance customer experience. These include:
- trialling the role of a senior quality officer to oversee quality assurance across the dispute resolution team’s investigation procedures. This role regularly reviews investigation cases through the quality assurance process and provides feedback each month to EWOQ team members.
- following up with customers who have indicated they were dissatisfied and had also provided contact details. This provides an opportunity for EWOQ to gather further details about their experience, address the customer’s concerns and enhance our processes, as required.
- a warm transfer trial with selected scheme participants for refer backs.
- creating a register of local support services to enable our team to offer additional support when a customer mentions they are experiencing issues such as financial hardship or domestic and family violence.
- implementing a new service model for our Assessment, Investigation and Resolution team, including an early resolution approach to manage the RHL process.
- Investigation and resolution officers are now the first point of contact for customers and manage the referral, refer back and referral to higher level processes. If the case needs to be escalated, it is transferred to the investigations team to enhance service delivery and manage customer expectations.
See the official copy of the 2020-21 annual report, as tabled in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland, on the Queensland Parliament's tabled papers website.