Communicate with customers in the utilities sector 

Overview

This Standard is about giving information or advice to customers, including internal or external stakeholders, and responding to their queries or complaints in a positive way. It includes communicating effectively, dealing with 
both co-operative and uncooperative customers, agreeing action to resolve any issues and referring matters outside of your area of responsibility to appropriate people.   

This Standard is for anyone in the utilities sector who comes into contact with customers including internal or external  stakeholders.

Performance criteria 

You must be able to:  

1. determine the details of customer enquiries or complaints in line with organisational 
   procedures 
2. respond to customer enquiries or complaints in line with organisational procedures 
   for customer contact 
3. provide information or advice to customers that is accurate, within your area of 
   responsibility and in line with organisational procedures 
4. ensure dealings with customers are timed to take account of the needs of other 
   customers and operational requirements 
5. make sure any actions agreed with customers are in line with both legal and 
   organisational responsibilities and procedures 
6. explain organisational constraints in a clear manner to customers at appropriate 
   times in line with organisational procedures 
7. confirm that customers understand any actions that you or they are required to carry out
8. use appropriate approaches to deal with co-operative and unco-operative customers 
   in line with organisational procedures 
9. pass the details to relevant people without delay where limits of responsibility are 
   exceeded 
10. carry out agreed activities according to organisational customer service guidelines 
    maintain a detailed record of interaction with customers in line with organisational 
    procedures

Knowledge and understanding 

You need to know and understand: 

1. organisational customer service standards and customer contact procedures  
2. communication techniques including how to maintain a courteous, helpful and tactful 
   manner in situations of conflict or non-cooperation 
3. the legal obligations and requirements of the utilities you are working with within the 
   remit of your role 
4. types of advice you may be able to provide and the enquiries you would normally be 
   expected to deal with 
5. how to manage customer expectations and balance customer and organisational needs 
6. personal and organisational limits of authority for dealing with customers, internal and 
   external stakeholders 
7. how to communicate with customers including the language to use when speaking, 
   listening and questioning 
8. techniques to confirm other's understanding of information 
9. the importance of understanding the customers' points of view 
10. how customers are involved with, or affected by, your work 
11.  how to handle disagreement and conflict 
12. how to access essential information and how to summarise it for customers without 
    using technical language or acronyms 
13. the limits of your authority and who to refer to when enquiries and complaints are outside 
    of it including dealing with media enquiries organisational  
14. organisational procedures for recording interactions with customers