Vattenfall, Eneco and Essent are bracing themselves for the coming months. During that period, customers will receive their annual statement, with the expectation that many customers will have to pay a substantial extra because the current advance amount is not high enough, according to OUR. As a result, the energy companies expect more demand than normal and fear that they will suffer from understaffing in the same period due to absenteeism due to illness and persistent shortages in the labor market.

Price increases

At Vattenfall, one in ten customers pays 200 euros a month too little. The company said already at the beginning of July that customers get financial problems because of the price increases. Eneco expects that one in ten customers will currently have to pay an additional amount of three installments in the annual statement. Essent also recognizes this picture, but makes no statements about the scope of the problem. In the coming winter months, consumption will increase sharply among many consumers. The average rate for an annual contract has become almost three times as expensive this year due to increased prices for gas and electricity.

Half of the people in the Netherlands have a permanent contract, according to figures from regulator ACM. But when those contracts expire, the disaster is incalculable for many, says Koen Kuijper of energiecompare.nl in the FD. According to Member of Parliament Pieter Omtzigt, approximately 1,2 million households will soon no longer be able to pay their expenses; the average household will soon pay 4.000 euros more per year.

Self-service and accessibility

The energy companies do not want to block the self-service facilities, where customers have the option to adjust their installment amount themselves, for the time being. At Eneco, the possibility to adjust downwards is limited to 20%; in other cases the customer must contact us. This also applies to Vandebron, for example.

Customer service departments of energy companies have already faced challenges in the past two years. Due to peaks in traffic as a result of corona, the historical data on call volumes hardly provide any guidance. The pressure on the labor market will increase further in the coming months, partly because, in addition to energy companies, health insurers and e-commerce companies will also be busier and will want to increase their occupancy. In addition, it is expected that the GGDs will scale up the various corona lines again.

Measures

In addition to scaling up, which is becoming increasingly difficult, companies are also considering other measures, as shown by various meetings SUSA organized in recent months. This could include closing off certain canals, which could lead to a waterbed effect: other canals will overflow. Contact centers therefore prefer to focus on cross-training employees, so that they become multiskilled. In addition, it is increasingly being considered to temporarily let go of service levels and settle for longer waiting times. Outsourcing to offshore locations is also seen as part of the solution. Another solution is to organize the call flows differently, so that customers with urgent financial questions are given priority. And finally, the energy companies expect that they will have to work with payment arrangements at an early stage and that leniency is a key to success. (Ziptone/Erik Bouwer)

Customer Experience, Featured