| Customer Services
The Customer Services business area provides solutions to water companies to improve the quality of customer contact whilst increasing the operational efficiency of their customer services. We offer research to utilities, government and regulators to provide advice on formulating and communicating messages to customers. We also assist manufacturers in managing and providing product testing and technology proving.
WRc's capabilities in the area of customer services include all aspects of: water use in the home, water efficiency, water conservation, tariff studies, water charging and affordability, domestic metering, customer side leakage management and research services.
WRc has extensive technical expertise in the following areas:
- Water use in the home including energy and carbon impacts.
- Water audits.
- Product water efficiency.
- Supply pipe leakage.
- Customer (revenue) metering.
- Tariffs.
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- Debt and affordability.
- Willingness to pay (WTP) and customer surveys.
- Levels of service.
- Decision support tools.
- Water quality.
- Consumer goods testing.
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 Benefits from improved customer service
The benefits that companies will accrue from being smarter at customer services include:
- Better understanding of customers needs.
- Increased cooperation from consumers.
- Reduced carbon footprint from efficient water use.
- Improved OPA scores.
- Engagement and support from customers during times of crisis or emergency e.g. during hosepipe bans.
- Increased revenue from value added services provided to customers.
- Improved customer service perception.
- Reduced opex costs – better processes for dealing with or mitigating customer contact.
- Improved debt recovery.
- Improved customer side leak information leading to customer cooperation in reporting and fixing leaks.
WRc provides a range of services in the following specific areas:
- Measurement and analysis of micro-components of domestic water use with the Identiflow® system.
- Per capita consumption (pcc) measurement, analysis and forecasting.
- Tariff structures and modelling of resultant impact on demand studies.
- Demand, water use and water efficiency research.
- Quantification of impacts of water efficiency on water saving and costs.
- Water efficiency scenario modelling and forecasting.
- Advice on water efficiency measures.
- Assessment of water using products.
- Regulatory impact assessments.
- Policy development and Market Transformation Programmes.
- Data analysis and visualisation.
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- Micro-component measurement of the impact of water efficiency on household water use.
- Cost benefit analysis (including externalities and carbon impacts).
- Provision of expertise on meter technologies.
- Research on tariffs, impacts and costs/benefits of meter policies (free meter option, change of occupancy & compulsory metering policies).
- Quantification of customer side leakage.
- Investigation of levels of service.
- Analysis of levels of customer contact relating to water quality and DG measures.
- Provision of Self Service Web Interfaces and Portals.
- Improving databases to support the customer services process.
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WRc Contact
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