KINGSTON, Jamaica— The Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) says customer satisfaction standards for the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) and the National Water Commission (NWC) have been standardised.

In a statement today, the OUR said it recognised that call centres play an integral part of customer service delivered by utility providers, as they are one of the main channels through which customers interact with these utility companies.

“Based on the OUR’s review of the call centre standards currently being measured by JPS and NWC, neither entity currently measures all the established standards or Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that assess customer satisfaction,” the statement said.

The agency said in an effort to ensure that the JPS and NWC provide and maintain an acceptable level of service through their call centres, it has standardised the parameters that must be measured, which by extension will improve customer satisfaction.

The quality of service parameters and decisions relating to their implementation were arrived at following a consultation process and are contained in a Determination Notice entitled, “Enhancing Customer Satisfaction through Customer Contact Centre Standards for the Jamaica Public Service Company Limited and the National Water Commission,” which took effect October 1, 2020.

The decisions include the following:

– JPS shall, within four  months of the effective date of the Determination Notice, include performance on Average Talk Time in its quarterly Call Centre report submissions to the OUR.

– NWC shall continue to include Speed of Answer, Call Abandonment Rate and Percentage Service Level in their quarterly call centre report submission.

– JPS and NWC shall, within four months of the date of the Determination Notice, commence measuring and reporting on Average Talk Time and Call Handing Time respectively, and the NWC shall reduce its Speed of Answer performance target 20 seconds.

– The OUR has defined First Call Resolution Rate as being “a customer’s complaint or issue being resolved/solved at the first point of contact with the call centre.”

JPS and NWC are to fully implement the agreed measurement and reporting of First Call Resolution Rate within 12 months of the Determination Notice.

–       In addition to the regular submission of their analyses of Call Centre reports, JPS and NWC should now also submit to the OUR, the full reports from their call centres.