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��i <br />Elk River <br />Municipal Utilities UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING <br />TO: <br />FROM: <br />ERMU Commission <br />Tony Mauren — Governance & Communications Manager <br />MEETING DATE: <br />AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: <br />November 14, 2023 <br />5.09 <br />SUBJECT: <br />Customer Satisfaction Survey <br />ACTION REQUESTED: <br />Receive the Customer Satisfaction Survey Report — Q3 — 2023 <br />BACKGROUND: <br />Q Market Research was initially contracted to distribute two rounds of 1,000 customer <br />satisfaction surveys in 2022, each consisting of 500 emails and 500 letters. With a goal of <br />reaching as many residential customers as possible prior to the implementation of Advanced <br />Metering Infrastructure, distribution was expanded to two rounds of 2,500 surveys in 2023, <br />again evenly divided between emails and letters, and two more rounds in 2024. This is the last <br />report of the year with Q1 having been presented in May. <br />DISCUSSION: <br />Surveys were sent on September 15 to residential customers east of Highway 169 and north of <br />Main Street, north of Highway 10 on the west side of Elk River, and in Big Lake Township. A <br />total of 296 responses were received for a response rate of 12.2%. <br />The representative for Q Market Research shared some additional notes on the results: <br />• 296 responses is phenomenal and shows a committed customer base. <br />• It was nice to see a little jump in the Net Promoter Score (NPS). Most other utilities in <br />Minnesota are seeing drops due to rate increases and inflation. <br />• It seems like the biggest issue that can be addressed is your rebate program. Most utility <br />customers at other utilities like their rebate programs, but yours find the ERMU rebates <br />difficult to access, persnickety, and not necessarily covering enough or the right things. <br />• ERMU's visibility in the community is in SLOW decline. <br />Staff has already begun multiple initiatives to increase customer awareness of rebates. A <br />Conservation Improvement Program communications campaign has been running throughout <br />the year, a residential rebates slider was added to our website homepage which gets around <br />3,000 views a month, we will be placing a standing reminder about rebates on our quarterly <br />newsletter (as the survey shows it's a preferred method of communication), and we will be <br />creating a simplified flyer that lists all available rebates. Staff has received feedback from <br />Page 1 of 2 <br />104 <br />