Business Stream launches charter to exceed customer expectations

Business Stream has launched what it described as an industry-first Customer Care Charter, setting out 12 commitments that it will strive to attain to meet — and exceed — its customers’ needs.

The Charter focuses on four key areas, with a set of commitments in each:

Simple and easy 

• A wide choice of contact channels including 24/7 access to online service portal My Business Stream, extended customer service opening hours (8:30am - 5:30pm) with water experts, access to live webchat, and an out-of-hours emergency contact support service.

• 95% of calls will be answered within 80 seconds or less. If this is not possible, customers will have the option to request a same day call back.

• The aim to resolve enquiries at first point of contact; for complex queries, customers will be kept abreast of what's happening and given an expected timeline for resolution.

  
  

Experience and expertise

• A team of friendly UK-based water experts will be available, who understand local water needs and the UK water market.

• Continued investment in water efficiency services, solutions and data analytics to deliver savings and provide every customer with access to reports and insights to help track water consumption and carbon use.

• Continued advocacy for UK water market improvements that deliver benefits to customers through strong representation on industry forums and boards.

Trust

• Provision of an enhanced customer experience, consistently achieving more than a 90% customer satisfaction score, and an excellent Trustpilot rating.

• Proactive help for customers experiencing financial difficulty, including supporting 90% of customers who fall into debt back into credit within 18 months.

• Active listening and engagement with customers, through regular customer surveys, focus groups and real-time feedback, to understand how to help and to continuously improve services and solutions.

Care

• Be well placed to help any customer requiring additional support or in a vulnerable situation, including through investment in people, processes and partnerships and tracking progress against externally verified best practice standards.

• Take the time to understand customers' needs, ensuring service, propositions and communications are inclusive and accessible for all. This will include providing Braille bills and communications, a fully accessible website, and customer service in at least five different languages.

• Continue to reduce emissions to meet its 2030 net zero target, and provide over 1,000 volunteering hours per year to support community-led projects across the UK.

  
  

The charter has been crafted based on customer and colleague input. Delivery will be reported on annually.