After participating recently in a
renowned national customer service survey, Mecklenburg Electric
Cooperative’s (MEC) scores surpassed an elite group of acclaimed
consumer friendly corporations that included, among others,
Nike, Outback Steakhouse, Dell, Hyatt, Nordstrom, Starbucks and
Philip Morris. MEC posted an American Customer Satisfaction
Index (ACSI) score of 84, which compares to an average index
score of 75 for the energy utility industry including both
investor-owned electric and gas utilities. The score also places
MEC well above the average electric cooperative score of 81 and
above many other national customer service leaders across all
industries.
The highly regarded American Customer Satisfaction Index
provides a ranking score for each participant that is computed
based upon the answers provided from each participant’s
consumers, as polled and compiled by an objective third party,
to four key survey elements, (1) overall satisfaction, (2)
performance relative to expectations, (3) comparison to an ideal
utility and (4) the likelihood of choosing the utility again.
The ACSI score provides a uniform and independent measure of
consumer experience with 225 of the leading corporations in
America, representing 45 different industries including electric
utilities from across the nation. The ACSI tracks trends in
customer satisfaction and has proven to be a powerful economic
indicator for companies, industry trade associations, and
government agencies.
According to MEC President and CEO John Lee, “Our employees take
tremendous pride in the service we offer to our members, and I
would like to commend all of them for their commitment to
customer service excellence. They are a very special group that
really does care about those we serve. And customer service,
next to safety, is our highest priority. For example, we
continue to maintain three full service district offices and a
strong physical presence in the communities we serve because
it’s very important to our members. And if it’s important to our
members, it is a priority for our cooperative.”
On a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the most desirable
rating, MEC received an 8.89 in overall satisfaction, 8.33 in
exceeding expectations, 8.59 in comparison to an ideal utility,
and 8.83 in being the utility of choice. These individual scores
generated an overall 2010 ACSI ranking of 84. MEC scored an
impressive 83 in 2008, and an 82 in 2006. As a point of
reference, the national average for all participating companies,
in all industries, was 75.7 in 2010, 75.25 in 2008 and 74.45 in
2006.
“We are very pleased with our ACSI score and, as indicated by
our steady increase over the past three surveys, are not content
to rest on our past laurels,” states Lee, adding, “We are always
looking for ways to improve our customer service, and we
especially appreciate it when our members provide us with
feedback on how well we are--or are not--meeting their
expectations. This input provides us with excellent
opportunities to get even better at taking care of our members
and bringing you value for your membership in MEC.
We would also like to thank
our members for they confidence you place in
us, and for their support which we are so privileged to have.
Recognizing that it takes years to earn that
kind of trust, but mere moments to lose it,
we’ll continue to work hard and focus on
making sure our members are pleased with the
service they receive from their cooperative.”
Along with measuring MEC’s customer service quality, the survey
also allowed us to learn more about our members’ opinions toward
environmentalism, political activism, green power, energy
efficiency, and affordability.
A list of the top participating companies by industry can be
found at www.theacsi.org.
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