GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- We’ve had a lot of feedback on our Problem Solvers investigation into high estimated billing from Consumers Energy. It’s a story FOX 17 first reported last August, and it sparked a probe by the state into the complaints.
On Thursday, Consumers opened its doors, giving FOX 17’s Cassandra Arsenault full access to its Customer Service Center to show us the progress it has made. Consumers also let us go into its business center, storm trucks, storerooms and transmission service center.
“The true piece about quality is never settling. We want to be the best of the best. We are being honest and saying we aren’t the best of the best,” said Windy McClure, director of customer experience delivery with Consumers.
FOX 17 has done numerous stories on customers getting high estimated readings and bills, then becoming upset that they are not getting the assistance they believe they deserve. The list goes from long wait times, to little to no explanation on their bill problems, or just unsatisfied with the reaction they received from the customer service representative.
So Consumers has decided to make a few changes. One is that it will monitor, record and then transcribe customer calls so the employee and management can see how they are doing with servicing customers.
“In the past we have had them (customer service representatives) monitored 3 to 4 times a month. Now we are monitoring them 14 times a month,” said McClure.
The other change is in Consumers' hiring process.
“Making sure we are recruiting people who are excited and who want to show up every day and deliver stellar service to our customers and not see this as a stepping stone position," said McClure.
Consumers has a whole department dedicated to its business accounts. It has 14 people dedicated to the 550 business calls it receives each day. Also, it has a storm center where it is operating 24/7 to make sure all their customers are safe, and servicing their needs.
Consumers said it is still in the process of switching out the old analog meters for the new smart meters. It has more than a million left, which is about halfway done. It still has about 335 meter readers for the whole state providing services to get accurate reads. Until all the old analog meters are switched out Consumers is trying to lower the number of consecutive estimated reads to avoid high bills.
The full access Consumers gave FOX 17 News comes before the state will evaluate the internal investigation Consumers conducted on itself after the state found a huge spike in high estimated reads. That will happen on May 18.
