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Customer service set to be a bottom line issue for the water sector Water companies will have to improve the quality of their customer interactions from next April, under proposals put forward by Ofwat changing the way water company performance is assessed. The Service Incentive Mechanism (Sim) is set to replace the current Overall Performance Assessment (OPA) in April. Over the past decade, the OPA has assessed companies on a number of customer service indicators, such as low water pressure and response times. The Sim will assess companies against customer expectation and experience through both a quantitative and a qualitative measure. The quantitative measure will assess the negative contacts a company caused. This will be weighted at 1 for a phone call from a customer with a problem through to 1,000 for a Consumer Council for Water (CCWater) investigation into a complaint. The qualitative measure will be a survey of a random selection of customers who have had direct contact with their water company. They will rate these interactions. Companies will be given a numerical score from which the best performers will be rewarded (by up to +0.5 per cent of 2015-20 price limits) and poor performers punished (by up to -1 per cent). CCWater chief executive Tony Smith said the survey should also include customers who had not made direct contact with the company. He said too that the financial adjustments were not large enough: "If it was to mimic a competitive environment, it would have a bigger impact." Ofwat said: "This will help further drive improvements in the quality of service companies deliver to consumers." Source: Utility Week © Faversham House Group Ltd 2009. News articles may be copied or forwarded
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