This document summarizes preliminary results from E Source's 2011 review of 96 electric and gas utility interactive voice response (IVR) systems in North America. It finds that while most utilities allow customers to check their account balance via IVR, fewer offer options for payment arrangements, histories, and locations. It provides examples of IVRs that handled the task of setting up a payment arrangement well and poorly. The best examples had clear menus, logical paths to the option, and useful follow-up choices, while the poor example had confusing navigation and hid the option in a "secret menu". The review finds opportunities for Canadian utilities especially to improve customer experiences for payment-related IVR tasks.
Advanced Machine Learning for Business Professionals
Results from the E Source 2011 IVR Benchmark Review
1. www.esource.com
Results from the E Source 2011
IVR Benchmark Review
Preliminary Results for Payment Tasks
Sarah Fiebiger
Senior Analyst, Market Research Services
@ESourceSarah
March 14, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
Ideas for bullet points to enter:
Implement EE & DSM programs effectively
Validate technical information
Use effective messaging
Improving understanding of business customers
Benchmark program results
Stay ahead of the curve Keep the portfolio fresh
Network with your peers
Meet aggressive DSM goals
Modify existing programs for greater impact Track program savings & cost-effectiveness
Plan for EM&V
Understand what other utilities are doing (and not doing) Compare your results Save time & $
Provide examples for regulators
Train new staff
Names not final
Mention given scenarios, not names
Based on experience with all IVRs
Canada has the same average rating for Payment Arrangement as the North America average rating
Canada has the same average rating for Payment Arrangement as the North America average rating
How this example could be improved even further:
--Same voice throughout
--Consistent volume
--Doesn’t need secondary authentication of building number; reserve secondary authentication for when primary authentication is last 4 digits of SSN
Include path as a back-up
Include path as a back-up
How this example could be improved even further:
--Same voice throughout
--Consistent volume
--Doesn’t need secondary authentication of building number; reserve secondary authentication for when primary authentication is last 4 digits of SSN
Include path as a back-up
How this example could be improved even further:
--Same voice throughout
--Consistent volume
--Doesn’t need secondary authentication of building number; reserve secondary authentication for when primary authentication is last 4 digits of SSN
Include path as a back-up
A redeeming quality was the call back option at the end