Last week, it emerged that the Spanish government has approved a draft bill to transform customer service standards for companies. The legislation would set a three-minute limit for companies to attend to customers’ phone calls, and give consumers the right to speak with a person, not a chatbot. The bill would particularly impact utilities providers, who will have to respond to all client complaints within two hours. 

While UK companies might be inclined to think the new legislation isn’t relevant to them, this is far from the case, according to customer communications expert Quadient. Andrew Stevens, Industry Principal at Quadient, argues, “Spain’s move to dramatically improve customer services and experience is rightly generating international headlines. Even if the UK Government doesn’t follow suit, utilities companies need to take note.”

As Stevens identifies, customer experience is more important now than ever. “In the midst of the cost of living crisis, consumers will be desperate to get hold of their suppliers to query or lower bills. Companies need to step up to the plate and give customers the information they need in prompt fashion.”

Quadient’s recent Freedom of Information request to the Information Commissioner’s Office highlights that utilities companies are doing worse than ever when it comes to customer service. The data shows that the utilities sector was one of the worst offenders for spam calls and texts last year, with complaints more than doubling.

Stevens describes, “Calls, texts and chatbots all have their place in customer experience management, but the Spanish proposal drills home the importance of thinking about which channel will be the most useful in which situation, and how to make the chosen channel accessible.” 

Stevens continues, “With so many people struggling right now, the last thing consumers want is to have their time wasted, or to be bombarded with irrelevant questions. Instead, companies should be prioritising getting answers to questions as quickly as possible.”