We published the results of our annual energy satisfaction survey today – and the smaller companies have yet again topped the charts for customer service. Are you with one of the best or worst energy suppliers?
Good Energy and Ecotricity topped the charts, each with an 82% satisfaction score, when we asked more than 8,500 members of the public to rate their energy supplier. With the average customer score for energy companies to a new low of just 41%, from last year’s 49%, we were keen to hear how you’d respond to this news. The good news is, there’s overwhelming praise for those topping the charts. NotInventedHere told us:
@WhichHome Completely unsurprised. @ecotricity is the best customer service experience I have ever had from any company, not just utilities.
— NotInventedHere (@NotInventedHere) January 20, 2014
There are lots of things people look out for in a good energy company, with Jeff tweeting:
Value of ethics + customer service can beat price: @Good_Energy & @ecotricity top @WhichUK #energy survey http://t.co/e91hKHq2gD
— Jeff Melnyk (@jeffwithin) January 20, 2014
And Sarah said:
@mrianthomas @Good_Energy and mine – have been with them for 3 years. Great service, wouldn’t switch to anyone else!
— Sarah Conway (@dothesethings) January 20, 2014
Of course, it wasn’t good news for all the energy suppliers today – particularly for the big players known affectionately (or not) as the Big Six. The Twitter-sphere is a little quieter for those who appeared at the bottom of our tables – British Gas and Npower – but Richard Baker wasn’t surprised by Npower’s satisfaction rating of just 31%:
@npowerhq bottom of the energy company customer satisfaction survey…what a surprise. Awful customer service.
— Richard Baker (@richarddbaker) January 20, 2014
Our executive director Richard Lloyd said of our survey results:
‘Once again the biggest energy companies have been beaten by the smaller suppliers but there are no winners in a broken market that consistently fails consumers. Our findings highlight why it’s vital that Ofgem’s first Annual Review of competition clearly identifies why the market is failing and what needs to change. We want to see radical solutions to improve competition and keep prices in check, like the biggest energy companies being forced to separate wholesale generation from the retail arms of their business.’
Are you with one of the best or worst energy suppliers – how do your experiences compare?