Guernsey Water’s customer satisfaction better than UK

The utility’s second online customer survey was aimed at gaining an insight into what individuals and businesses thought about it.

The survey was conducted by The Institute of Customer Service, an independent professional membership body.

The results were then compared against utility companies in the UK through the institute’s business benchmarking survey.

Guernsey Water customer service manager Phil Marquis said: ‘We are really pleased with the results and proud that our customers are rating us so highly compared with other utilities and businesses.’

Guernsey Water’s business benchmark score was 81.4, which put it above the UK national average of 77.9 for all sectors.

This was based on a survey of 10,000 customers. The score is also above the national average for utilities of 74.7.

The highest scoring UK business in this sector was OVO Energy with 79.9, while First Direct was the highest overall with 86.7.

‘This is the second survey we have conducted with the Institute of Customer Service, which means we can use these findings as an indicator of how we are developing,’ said Mr Marquis.

‘Last year our benchmark score was 79.5 so we have seen an improvement, but there have also been areas highlighted where improvements can be made, so this will be something we will be addressing.’

Respondents were asked to provide feedback on Guernsey Water’s product reliability, service quality, billing and price issues as well as how well it communicated.

Customers were most satisfied with the competence and knowledge of staff, speed in which problems were resolved and ease of contact.

‘We strive to supply a high quality product and to provide a good customer experience, but there are always areas that could be improved and we think the best way to highlight these areas is to ask for feedback,’ said Mr Marquis.

‘We will be engaging with our customers to understand their thoughts on the results, as well as working hard to improve further our overall service.’