Utility customer satisfaction fall outstrips the rest of the economy, poll shows

Average satisfaction with water companies fell by 3.5 points to 72.6 points (out of 100), in the July 2023 UK Customer Satisfaction Index, compared with July 2022.

The number of customer experiences rated as being right first time in water slipped by 2.7 points to 73%. Average satisfaction with speed of resolving a complaint in water dropped by 1 point to 6.4 (out of 10), though this is 0.6 points above the UK all-sector average.

Utilities’ scores declined more than any other sector, the UKCSI found, from 74.1 in July 2022 to 69.5 in July 23 (and down 2.2 points from January 2023’s score of 71.7).

The only utility to make the top 50 companies was UK Power Networks, which came 11th with a score of 84.1, down 2.4 points. No utilities were in the 20 most improved list.

The gloom was, however, widespread. The sector wide UKCSI score for July was 76.6, a drop of 1.8 points compared to July 2022 and the lowest score for eight years (76.2 in July 2015). The UKCSI found:

• the adverse impact on customer satisfaction of problems and bad experiences had increased compared to a year ago;

• organisations have taken longer to resolve complaints and more problems remain unresolved;

• Just 15 organisations (5% of those receiving a UKCSI score) have improved by at least 2 points compared to July 2022; and

• 18% of customers feel their financial well-being is poor or very poor, up from 12% in July 2022. Moreover, the impact of bad customer experiences is often most acute for customers with low levels of financial well-being.