Close to the customer
We carry out an annual online survey to gauge what our customers feel about the different aspects of our service provision. In comparison with other firms in the energy industry in Belgium and abroad, our general satisfaction scores were at the upper end of the list.
Customer satisfaction: keeping our finger on the pulse
‘Metering’ (meter readings) scored best, with 95% of customers satisfied, closely followed by ‘premium applications’ and ‘fault management’ (both 92%).
Customers were less satisfied with ‘local generation’ (73%) and ‘budget meter management’ (78%). For ‘local generation’, our service ran behind schedule due to the sudden, exponential rise in the number of solar panel registrations. In 2020, many customers were still having solar panels installed in order to benefit from the ‘reversing counter’ principle. After the Constitutional Court’s ruling that the principle was unlawful and the resulting dissatisfaction of many prosumers, we are also expecting extra customer complaints in 2021.
Under ‘budget meter management’ we track customers with payment difficulties, installing a smart meter at their property that requires energy to be prepaid. This helps customers to avoid getting further into debt and to keep control over their energy spending. Given the issue involved, however, this topic usually scores lower
General customer satisfaction: annual result
| Service type | 2019 |
2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Metering | 93% |
95% |
| Survey & installation | 82% |
92% |
| Premium applications | 92% |
92% |
| Connections | 89% |
86% |
| Fault management | 86% |
86% |
| Budget meter | 74% |
78% |
| Local generation | 84% |
73% |
| Total | 85,7 |
85,9% |
Dealing with complaints
In 2020 Fluvius received 18,940 complaints, compared with 17,583 the previous year. This is a small increase of 8%. The increase was mainly seen in the ‘Connections’, ‘Faults and defects’, ‘Local generation’ and ‘Meter reading and consumption’ activities. For most other products and services, we saw a downward trend in the number of complaints.
In 2020 we also recorded 1,522 second-line complaints, compared with 1,178 in 2019. A second-line complaint is when a customer tells us they are not satisfied with how their original complaint was handled.
| Number/Year | 2019 |
2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Complaints | 17 583 |
18 940 |
| Second-line complaints | 1 178 |
1 522 |
| Total | 18 761 |
20 462 |
Even more customer dialogue
We attach great importance to customer feedback and carried out further actions in 2020 to obtain information systematically from our customers. This involves actively requesting their views and involving them in the development of services. We also analyse existing data such as queries, complaints, website use etc. and take the results into account when we improve particular services or carry out new projects.
In 2020 we developed a few new, quick methods to ask for customers’ opinions:
- online compliments and suggestions box
Since October 2020, customers can easily send us a compliment or suggestion via the website. - one-click surveys
We use one-click-surveys to ask our customers about their satisfaction 24 hours after an intervention. The results are followed up directly by the relevant departments and enable them to make rapid adjustments where necessary.
Examples of responses received via the online compliments box:
Terrific work by the intervention team who fixed the big power cut in Wijnegem on Sunday 4 October! The power was back on in less than 90 minutes.
We are very happy with the telephone operators, the on-call staff and the team that carried out the repair. Very quick, professional and competent approach.
Superb!!
I got help on the phone from customer service. Aline explained to me in detail how I have to register my solar panels. The explanation about the premium for super-insulating glass was superb!
Customer-focused communication
In 2020 we took further steps towards even more customer-focused communication, working on pro-activity, relevance and accessibility.
Smart meter persuasion unit
We found that where customers refuse to have a smart meter installed, this is often due to inaccurate information or a lack of understanding. We therefore set up a ‘persuasion unit’, which contacts these customers, finds out why they said no and answers their questions.
In 2020, the unit contacted around 900 customers. Around 40% of them were persuaded after the first call. Of the remainder, around 30% contacted us within 30 days to arrange an appointment to have a smart meter installed.
Customer channels
We follow an ‘omnichannel’ policy and make our information and services available via several different channels. Self-service and digitisation are central, as a large number of our customers expect to be able to call on us 24/7. At the same time, we continue to provide maximum support to non-digital customers
- Mijn Fluvius officially went live at the end of June 2020. This online app enables customers to track their own usage (via their smart meter), open and close their smart meter data ports, and apply for premiums.
- In 2020, we expanded our digital channels to include Messenger and WhatsApp for queries about green electricity, energy supplies, premiums and smart meters. In total, around 30,000 customer conversations were recorded on these apps.
- - A trial is under way with the virtual chatbot Finn, which helps customers on our website and provides answers to the most frequently asked questions.
