Thanks for Joining Us! Service Excellence Amid Turmoil: A Look at Best-in-Class Business Customer Support in Tough Times. How to Submit Your Questions

Transcription

1 Thanks for Joining Us! Service Excellence Amid Turmoil: A Look at Best-in-Class Business Customer Support in Tough Times National Web Conference March 30, 2010 How to Submit Your Questions Step 1: Type your question here. Step 2: Click on the Send button. Links Box

2 Today s Moderator Tim Sullivan Director of Commercial and Industrial Business Development Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Agenda Review the results of Touchstone Energy s 2009 Survey of Small and Medium Businesses Hear from the CEO of Southwest Arkansas Electric, the co-op ranked best-in-class in the survey Hear from the Superintendent of Genoa Central School District, a key account of Southwest Arkansas Learn about brand tools and programs to help you raise your game with business customers Take your questions Polling Question Are you familiar with: Touchstone Energy s Best Practices Knowledgebase Yes No The Cooperative Difference Research for Small and Medium Businesses Yes No

3 2009 Cooperative Survey Results Tom Laing Market Research Director TSE Services, Inc. Raleigh, North Carolina 2009 National Survey on the Cooperative Difference Business Members TSE Services Background Market research organization owned by North Carolina s electric cooperatives Satisfaction tracking systems used by forty seven co-ops in sixteen states Touchstone Energy s Cooperative Difference research helping drive brand strategy Documenting best practices for Touchstone Energy Cooperative s Knowledgebase

4 2009 Survey Logistics Small-to-Medium Business 11 cooperatives, one from each NRECA region 1,000 small-to-medium business interviews Fielding began early November, 2009 Interviews focused on: Satisfaction with the cooperative Impact of energy costs to their bottom line Actions they have taken to save energy Energy efficiency investment horizon and barriers Interest in information and incentives Communication preferences

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6 How to Improve Satisfaction 2009 Business Members Reliable Service Outage Restoration Handle Problems Always Deliver Trustworthy Good Value Control Prices Goal of Low Cost Commit to Renewables Look Out For Them Treat them Fairly Attract Business Gives Money Back Keep Them Informed Communicate Costs Help Manage Energy

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11 Key Take-Aways Small-to-Medium Business Members Cooperative s core competencies in reliability, and problem resolution are key to this sector Many low-cost / no cost measures have been taken to reduce energy costs Biggest barrier to further investment in energy efficiency is access to capital and financing Prefer written communications for energy saving ideas from the cooperative

12 Staying Focused on Fundamentals Wayne Whitaker President and General Manager Southwest Arkansas Electric Cooperative, Inc. Southwest Arkansas Electric Cooperative Texarkana, Arkansas 27,250 meters 4 district offices 5,203 miles of line 88 full time employees Wholesale power supplied by Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation Wayne Whitaker, President and CEO since 1986 It starts with the workforce Hire, train and educate a first class work force From the CEO down to the supervisor, everyone is responsible for hiring an employee that will make the Cooperative successful The CEO must be a part of new employee orientations Educate, Educate, Educate

13 Member Services: Its everyone's job, not a job title Member Services cannot be delegated Employees on the front line are your best member service advisors Communicate, Communicate, Communicate Push Services to the Member We have always had a presence in the districts, since the late 1980 s s most services have been moved to the district offices Construction, meter services, administrative service, conflict resolution need to be in district offices As we have grown larger, we have maintained that home town feel Concentrate on the basics, everything else will follow A ice storm devastated the Cooperative s s system. However, the membership gave the Cooperative high marks and we gained a new stature in the community for restoring service in a timely manner Employees gained a quiet confidence from that catastrophe This event was used to propel us into a new century, and we rededicated the Cooperative to become first in class in basic utility functions

14 Improve productivity and you will control costs Productivity is not a bad word Supervisors and managers are the key to improved productivity Find the right blend for contract labor Believe in the 7 Cooperative principles and follow your own set of fundamental beliefs The 7 cooperative principles make you consumer friendly. Your fundamental beliefs push you to never be satisfied with member services. Instead it pushes you to always get better. These beliefs should permeate the entire organization. Summary Never be satisfied The CEO must set the tone and agenda The 7 Cooperative principles will make you consumer friendly You fundamental beliefs drive the organization towards improved service

15 A Key Accounts Perspective Mr. Albert Murphy Superintendent Genoa Central School District Southwest Arkansas Electric A continued supporter of Genoa Central We have grown in programs and facilities. REA has helped meet those energy needs during these growing times. Whether it was extracurricular activities like the athletic fields or classroom expansion, they have helped in the planning and designing to make sure we had adequate resources to meet our needs.

16 Our largest need in the construction and building process is when we built the new High School buildings in 2006 and REA was in the planning and designing of this project from the beginning to meet our energy needs. The pictures below shows the two new transformers that are located on the High School campus that carry the load of all the buildings. We currently have about 64,200 square feet of facilities on the High School Campus with a multitude of HVAC units cooling and heating the buildings 24 hours a day, seven days a week. REA has always been quick to get the school up and going anytime there was an outage that affected the school, in fact there were some switches put in on both sides of the campuses to help reroute the energy to get us up and going faster. Now that is service to the customer. REA has helped keep our campuses secured with security lights in the dark areas. They are very quick to replace any lights that have quit working when called upon. REA was a big help when these classrooms were added in the Summer of We had to move a transformer that was located right behind the elementary building, because that area was going to be part of the new construction. We had to move the transformer to its current location and also get a larger one as well, shown in the picture above. All of this was completed on time without any delay in the construction of the building.

17 Key points for Summary The COOP was/is very helpful: after the ice storm to make sure school started as soon as possible. in planning and designing our educational energy needs during our construction times. to make sure we had service as fast as possible when storms and other outages did occur. to install switches on both sides of our campuses to make sure our school district had as little down time as possible in order to reroute when an outage does occur. customer friendly and cooperative in every way in order to meet the consumer s s needs Cooperative Survey Results Tim Sullivan Director of Commercial and Industrial Business Development Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Brand Tools for Key Accounts Cooperative Difference Survey Business section of the Best Practices Knowledgebase Net Conference Key Accounts Events Key Accounts Training Key Accounts Web Resources National Energy Customer Outreach Key Accounts Support

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19 Average Helps me manage energy Talks about rising cost Keeps me informed Good value for money Looking out for you Goal of low cost Doing more on costs Gives money back Name you can trust Delivers on promises Always fair Committed to renewables Economic development Restores power quickly Prompt issue resolution Reliable service 8- Southwest Arkansas EC

20 NET Conference will be held in early 2011 Recommended by the Cooperative Business Forum Target: late January, early February. Likely location: New Orleans, LA Key reasons: budget, travel restrictions Already notified the network, customers, exhibitors. Hold Business Advisory Council Session in Concert with 2011 NET Conference Develop Key Accounts and Energy Managers Summits as part of at NET 2011 Virtual Key Accounts Day Program Will be offered on August 31 and repeated on September 30, 2010 using a web portal. Once taped, could be accessed any time Will include a line-up of national speakers on: State of the energy industry Public policy, legislative, regulatory update Emerging technologies Big picture economic trends/economic outlook Live Q&A session with speakers at the end Encourage local/regional key accounts events to be scheduled in concert.

21 Key Accounts Technical Training Offer classes in: Commercial Energy Auditing Lighting Includes 2.5 and 1.5 day classes, scheduled in conjunction with a statewide, G&T or other co-op groups Instructor Jim Herritage Average evaluation score is 4.8 out of 5 40 classes held in scheduled so far in 2010 Organize your class now! Key Accounts Summit and New Schools Program New program will debut as part of the Key Accounts Summit at the Connect Conference Includes walk-thru audits, benchmarking, tools & resources Launch website with supporting resources Provide on-site training and staff support Summit program will also include an energy industry update, technology, and peer-to-peer sessions Register Now on Cooperative.com!

22 Polling Question Based on what you ve heard today, will you make greater use of: Touchstone Energy s Best Practices Knowledgebase Yes No The Cooperative Difference Research for Small and Medium Businesses Yes No How to Submit Your Questions Step 1: Type your question here. Step 2: Click on the Send button. Links Box

23 Thank You!