Illinois American Water Ranks Highest in the Midwest in J.D. Power 2016 Water Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study
June 14 2016 - 10:30AM
Business Wire
Illinois American Water received the J.D. Power award for
ranking highest in customer satisfaction among water utilities in
the Midwest according to J.D. Power’s 2016 Water Utility
Residential Customer Satisfaction StudySM. The utility also
achieved the highest score in the region for price and
communications.
This first-time, national study was based on more than 20,000
responses, representing more than 83 million residential customers
of the 84 largest water utilities across the United States.
Residential customers were surveyed in March 2016 and had
experiences with their utility within the past six months. The
Overall Water Utility Satisfaction Index measures key performance
indicators in six areas: delivery (including quality), price,
billing and payment, conservation, communications, and customer
service.
“We are honored to receive this award from J.D. Power because
it’s a direct reflection of what Illinois American Water’s
customers experience with us,” said Illinois American Water
President Bruce Hauk. “We know how critical water service is and
how personal a service we provide. We thank our customers for their
vote of confidence in our employees, who strive every day to
provide safe drinking water at a good value.”
This is the first year J.D. Power has conducted a customer
satisfaction study for water utilities. The study ranked U.S. water
utilities serving a population of at least 400,000 residents.
Utilities were categorized into the Northeast, Midwest, South, and
West geographic regions.
According to J.D. Power, the study found that when critical
water infrastructure is not maintained, it can cause residential
delivery interruptions or create water quality problems such as bad
taste and bad smell, the two issues that impact satisfaction the
most. The American Society of Civil Engineers says that an
estimated $1 trillion in capital spending will be needed across the
nation over the next 25 years to replace thousands of miles of
pipe, upgrade treatment plants and comply with stricter water
quality standards.
Illinois American Water invests approximately $70 - $100 million
a year on average to ensure high-quality, reliable water and/or
wastewater service. According to Hauk, approximately $130 million
will be invested across the state in 2016. He said, “The
communities we serve rely on us to not only provide water service
that supports public health, fire protection and the local economy,
but to make needed investment to ensure reliable service today and
in the future.”
According to J.D. Power’s press release on the study,
“Delivering water that is safe to use and drink is the top priority
for water utilities. However, many utilities are facing the decay
of century-old infrastructures with insufficient funds necessary to
make improvements. When facing the need for multi-billion dollar
investments, it’s no longer good enough to just focus on the water
system; it is imperative that water utilities also focus on
understanding their customers, who can often be their most
effective advocates when it comes to building up support for
necessary improvements.”
Following are additional findings of the J.D. Power study.
- Price by Region: One-fourth
(25%) of customers are not aware of the cost of their monthly water
utility service. The customer-reported average monthly cost by
region is $79—West; $75—Northeast; $63—South; and $60—Midwest.
- E-Bill Satisfaction Higher than
Paper Bill: Billing and payment satisfaction among the 31% of
customers who receive their bill electronically is much higher than
among those who receive a paper bill (792 vs. 746,
respectively).
- Communication Recall Builds
Satisfying Relationships: Water utilities that communicate with
their customers are more likely to build a satisfying customer
relationship. Overall satisfaction is higher when a customer
recalls a communication in the last 6 months from their water
utility than when they don’t recall a communication (737 vs. 675,
respectively).
- Awareness of Infrastructure
Investment Increases Satisfaction: When customers are aware of
their utility’s efforts to improve or replace the old
infrastructure, conservation satisfaction is 734, compared with 650
when they are not aware. The same holds true when customers are
familiar with their utility’s efforts to improve water quality (749
vs. 599, respectively).
- Answering Customers’ Questions on
First Contact: One key to achieving high customer service
satisfaction is answering a customer’s question the first time they
make contact, compared with making two or more contacts. Among
those contacting by phone, satisfaction is 134 points higher when
the customer’s question is answered on the first contact, compared
to when two or more calls are required for an answer (831 vs. 697,
respectively). Similarly, when contacts are made online,
satisfaction is 91 points higher when questions are answered on the
first contact, compared to when two or more contacts are required
(827 vs. 736, respectively).
For information about the J.D. Power 2016 Water Utility
Residential Customer Satisfaction StudySM visit
www.jdpower.com/resource/us-water-utility-residential-customer-satisfaction-study.
For more information about Illinois American Water visit
www.illinoisamwater.com.
About Illinois American Water
Illinois American Water, a subsidiary of American Water (NYSE:
AWK), is the largest investor-owned water utility in the state,
providing high-quality and reliable water and/or wastewater
services to approximately 1.2 million people. American Water also
operates a customer service center in Alton and a quality control
and research laboratory in Belleville.
American Water is the largest and most geographically diverse
publicly traded U.S. water and wastewater utility company. Marking
its 130th anniversary this year, the company employs 6,700
dedicated professionals who provide regulated and market-based
drinking water, wastewater and other related services to an
estimated 15 million people in 47 states and Ontario, Canada. More
information can be found by visiting www.amwater.com.
View source
version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160614005393/en/
Illinois American WaterKaren Cotton,
309-566-4126karen.cotton@amwater.com
American Water Works (NYSE:AWK)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
American Water Works (NYSE:AWK)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024