Careers in Energy Week: Customer Service In A Time Of Need
Though COVID-19 has unexpectedly disrupted our lives, FirstEnergy continues to deliver the power our customers rely on to keep going. In these dark times, a kind tone, a helpful hand or a compassionate ear can be the difference that brightens someone’s day. That’s why for Careers in Energy Week, we are highlighting the portion of our critical workforce that does this for our customers the most: Customer Service.
Whether it’s billing, contact center support, quality assurance, or online support, more than 1,000 Customer Service employees are dedicated to meeting the various needs of customers from our 10 electric utility companies in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, West Virginia and New York.
While it varies day-to-day and team-by-team, Customer Service representatives in our contact centers act as the first line of interaction with customers by taking a collective average of more than 30,000 inbound calls on a variety of issues each day.
Due to the pandemic, many customers are worried about how they are going to pay their bill, but our representatives are happy to assist customers with manageable payment arrangements and can provide customers with information on needs-based assistance programs. Empathy, active listening and adaptability are essential qualities we instill in our representatives to help customers who are experiencing financial difficulties and in need.
This is something Customer Service representatives like Scott Kaczor say is one of the most rewarding aspects of the position.
“You can always tell how grateful customers are when you’re able to help them and make a difference in their life,” said Kaczor.
As representatives like Kaczor act as the face and voice of the company for customers they interact with, our Quality Assurance Department reinforces those efforts by making sure we did what we said we were going to do in our customer interactions.
“Good customer service is about providing consistent and positive experiences,” Said Amanda Helinski, manager for Customer Service Performance. “Quality’s job is to ensure customers get the quality of service that they expect.”
Quality Assurance does this by reviewing and providing feedback on interactions that involve customers and their accounts. These interactions include calls to our contact center, online customer inquiries, field visits, and billing.
By reviewing these interactions, they can proactively identify opportunities for improvement in our training and processes to ensure customers are getting the best experience possible.
Quality Assurance has identified 240,000 COVID-19 related calls and thoroughly analyzed and provided feedback on about 5000 of those calls. This work helps us preemptively identify ways to improve how we are assisting customers impacted by the pandemic.
“Our employees are definitely passionate about coming together and helping the customer and each other,” Said Helinski. “The team has done such an amazing job in continuing to bring new ideas and support, not only to each other, but to customers.”
Those interested in applying as a customer service assistant should email resumes to CSAJobs@FirstEnergyCorp.com
Visit www.firstenergycorp.com/careers to view and apply for other job openings at FirstEnergy.
CONTACT: Josh Duke, 330-374-6544