Why is customer orientation needed for water utilities?Two guidelines, Customer Survey and Complaint Management, have been made by COP-members (Community Of Practice) of WaterWorX and are based on many experiences in different countries. The guidelines lay out many important steps utilities can take for designing and implementing a customer survey and complaint management.
The guidelines were launched during the 4th Global WOP Congress (October 2021) in a session that highlighted the importance of customer orientation:
‘Most of the water utilities act in a non competitive market so why should they be customer oriented?’ you might probably think. Customers should be satisfied, with the product quality, the water supply and the service. This will attract potential customers, stimulate the payment behavior of existing customers and reduce NRW. And if customers are satisfied, with the product quality, the water supply and the service it will have a positive effect on the reputation of the utility.
These are some of the reasons why it is important to gather customer feedback and make action plans to improve customer satisfaction.
