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CHASE CITY – Touchstone Energy, a national
service and brand performance organization,
recently recognized Mecklenburg Electric
Cooperative in their national publication
Brand Performance, and featured
the local cooperative’s customer service
efforts in their Best Practices
Knowledgebase. Touchstone Energy provides
resources to a national alliance of 700 plus
consumer-owned electric cooperatives in 46
states that deliver energy and energy
solutions to more than 27 million customers
every day.
The Best Practices Knowledgebase provides
electric utilities across the nation access
to information on culture building,
processes, and projects that have resulted
in successful customer relations programs.
Utilizing proven programs allows
cooperatives to save dollars and increase
their chances of receiving the desired
result in their efforts to establish strong,
positive relationships with their members.
Only a handful of electric cooperatives have
been honored in this section which
represents the best of the best. The local
cooperative was selected for assessment, and
ultimately recognition, after independent
survey results showed that Mecklenburg
Electric performed exceptionally well across
the board relative to national customer
service rankings; and, in fact, Mecklenburg
Electric’s scores exceeded the national
benchmark in every single category by a
statistically significant margin. The
categories covered by the survey and
evaluated included Reliable Service, Handles
Complaints, Treats Fairly, Restores Power,
Always Trust, Delivers On Promises, Good
Value, Looks Out For You, Communicates
Rising Costs, Inspires Me, Goal Low Cost,
Gives Money Back, Doing More on Cost, Keeps
Me Informed, Manages Energy Use, and
Committed to Renewables.
An excerpt from Touchstone Energy’s
assessment of the local cooperative’s
customer service culture says: “Mecklenburg
Electric has made energy efficiency a
cornerstone of their member service effort .
. . Mecklenburg Electric attends community
events to get the word out about energy
efficiency . . . Communicating with members
is a high priority for this organization,
and they make every effort to be as
proactive, forthcoming and transparent as
possible in all matters that impact the
members.”
According to Brand Performance,
Touchstone’s quarterly newsletter to utility
CEOs and brand leaders, “Mecklenburg
Electric ranked well above average by
members in every one of 16 cooperative
service attributes as measured in the 2010
Cooperative Difference research. In
addition, Mecklenburg Electric, which serves
31,000 members in southern Virginia, was
ranked the best in the nation in an area
where cooperatives typically falter:
helping consumers manage their energy
costs.”
Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative’s President
and CEO John Lee states, “We serve only one
master here at Mecklenburg Electric, the
member at the end of the line. Our
recognition by Touchstone Energy is an honor
and a result of the culture of service that
pervades our organization. Our employees
listen to our members, we proactively
communicate both good news and bad, we make
every effort to do what we tell them we are
going to do and when, and then we follow up
to make sure we have met their expectations.
Our members’ satisfaction with our service
is job one behind working safely.”
Organized in 1938, Mecklenburg Electric
Cooperative provides electric service to
homes, farms and businesses in the counties
of Brunswick, Charlotte, Greensville,
Halifax, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg,
Pittsylvania, Southampton, and Sussex. It
is headquartered in Chase City and has
district offices in Chase City, Emporia, and
Gretna.
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