Your journey as a Peer-to-Peer energy exchange customer
As an energy market disruptor lowering power bills for consumers while increasing margins for generators, UrbanChain prides itself on seamless customer service excellence. Operations Manager Gareth Richards and Service Manager PJ MacDonald explain how customers who are empowered to build their own green energy markets are looked after by our experts.
What happens when I sign up as an UrbanChain customer?
PJ: From point of sale, once the contract is created, we will get countersign copies over to the customer. Once a customer’s go live date hits they'll get a welcome pack sent out.
Customers will also get an onboarding call with myself or with one of the account managers to go through what their needs are and to ensure those are then met.
Getting it right from the start, and not after the first monthly bill is issued, is of the utmost importance.
When you take a supply on to take over from another supplier there is a process where objections can be made to the supply being switched. If and when this does happen our sales and accounts team contact the customer to notify them and help them through the process should there be any issues so it is as smooth as possible.
Once a customer is onboarded into the Peer-to-Peer energy exchange what then happens?
Gareth: Getting the customer in a position where they are ‘fit to bill’ is the priority and the whole purpose. Accuracy is critical, it’s what we strive ourselves on through the leading technology we have, so we start to quickly paint a full picture of what’s happening by sharing the data with the customer straight away. The customer then has no interaction with us which is good as they receive accurate lower green energy bills.
PJ: If there does happen to be any issue whatsoever in this stage then myself or one of the account managers will be in contact to explain what the issue is before fixing it. There are no surprises. And any issues will be dealt with in a very short period of time. The energy industry is renowned for customer debts as people do things wrong in billing and don’t then make the customer aware of it. We hold weekly meetings to ensure we are on top of any such issues should they arise, particularly when customers have a third party intermediary (TPIs) in place, so we can work with them transparently and resolve any issues.
Put simply, what is your role as operations manager at an energy innovator and disruptor?
Gareth: Ensuring the life meter of any customer is streamlined and any problems are as minimal as possible.
How important is the merge between customer service and operations?
PJ: UrbanChain has grown exponentially in the past 12 months, receiving investments from multiple organisations, both public and private. To keep up with the growth we have seen from new customer acquisitions our team has grown and continues to. It has enabled us to build a seamless link between sales, operations and customer service. It’s important that there is not a heavier stress on one particular team and we have been able to manage that very well which results in our customers having the best possible experience, which equals minimal touchpoints from all of us and lower green energy bills from month to month.
How do you simplify such a technical and legislative industry?
PJ: Everything we do has to be compliant of course, like any company or body that works in the energy sector. It is a complex industry but UrbanChain is the one company simplifying the complexities that have existed for a long time. What’s important, given we have the best technology that allows us to do what we do for our customers so well, is also to have in place great talent and expertise. We do and I’m sure more people with the right credentials will come in as our growth continues as we are at the cutting edge of where the market is clearly heading.
Gareth: We’re proud of the technological infrastructure we have built and have in place. But we’re always looking to improve. The systems that we hope to have in place over the coming weeks and months will enable us to create even more seamless operations and efficiencies that will have a greater impact on the customer experience, journey and overall satisfaction levels.
How will UrbanChain continue to differentiate itself from other energy market operators?
Gareth: It’s about making the energy journey of any customer more transparent and personable. The energy industry hasn’t excelled in this on too many occasions over a long period. We have account managers that pride themselves on having a personal touch and deep understanding of any given customers they work with. Our job in operations is to be as invisible as possible as the best operations in the best companies in any industry achieves this.
PJ: A lot of the bigger energy companies will pass you from pillar to post. If it’s a technical enquiry for instance the lead time before they get back to you can be days if not weeks. Our 360 account management model breaks this down. We are all in one place and we don’t pass from pillar to post. It really is a case of genuinely listening to what any issue might be and not passing it over to another team such as technical and operations. A lot of the time that isn’t necessary and can be sorted there and then. Having that collaborative approach with our TPIs and brokers all the way through from point of sale, to matching them with an account manager straight away is important to their journey.
Ultimately we think about doing what's right for the customer and ‘if this was my invoice or bill, what would I want to happen?’. And that falls in line with the ethos that UrbanChain’s founder Somayeh Taheri has around energy poverty, which is critical to what we do. We're different, because we care and we actually want to create a difference in the energy market. Otherwise, we might as well have just gone and got an investor to send us a load of brown energy, and just gone with that.
