Australian Energy Retailers Q2 2024 Call Centre Rankings
Introduction
In August 2023, we commenced mystery shopping calls to random Australian Energy Retailers to assess the performance of their call centre.
Using trained mystery shoppers based in Australia, we pose as real customers to rank the ACCESS (how easy it was to connect to a live agent) and the customer service/quality of the interaction using over 80 different performance metrics as defined in the Australian Contact Centre Quality Standards.
This provides real Voice of Customer (VoC) insights into the performance of the call centre channel for consumers based on live interactions, as opposed to self-reported or survey-based data.
To maintain our anonymity, we use a range of different scenarios when contacting the Energy Retailers regarding new business opportunities such as customers seeking a new energy plan or looking to transition from an existing supplier.
Customers with billing enquiries, connection issues, faults, etc may have different experiences as they are often treated with a different priority and handled by completely different teams.
Every quarter, we publish a public report like this that contains summary data from just some of the over 80 metrics we assess across Australian energy retailers, and ACXPA Members have access to additional energy sector information and individual performance insights for three random energy retailers every month and quarter.
Table of Contents:
Highest/Lowest Rankings (ACXPA Subscribers & Members Only)
The Australian Australian Energy Retailers are assessed using the Australian Contact Centre Quality Standards that have been developed and refined over 30 years to assess the moments that matter to customers.
When businesses consistently achieve high ratings in these core competencies, there is a direct correlation to improved business metrics however you measure them, such as improved Sales Conversions, NPS, Customer Effort Score, efficiency, reduced AHT, etc.
The standards apply to all contact centres and are adapted to customer service or sales calls.
- Customer Service is assessed across five core competencies and 18 call-handling behaviours that directly correlate to better customer and business outcomes: Engage, Discover, Educate, Close, Energy.
- Access is assessed using over 40 metrics, from average wait times, hold times, number of IVR options (press 1 for this, 2 for that), the time forced to listen to recording messages and so on.
- The Customer Experience score is a measure of performance on the competencies that most influence the customer experience and it’s this score used to determine the overall ranking results.
As Australia’s #1 industry resource for contact centres, we provide insights, resources, and training to help Australian energy retailers improve the customer experience they provide, which in turn delivers improved efficiencies and cost savings for their stakeholders.
Australian Call Centre Quality Rankings:
POOR
(<45%)
BELOW STANDARD
(45% to 60%)
MEETS STANDARDS
(61% to 75%)
EXCEEDS STANDARD
(76% to 90%)
OUTSTANDING
(>91%)
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE RANKINGS Q2 2024 (Australian Energy Retailers)
Customer Experience Rankings
(Energy Retailers)
Q2 2024
Q1 2024
Trend
The Customer Experience Rankings reflect how easy it is to connect and communicate with a live customer service agent at an Australian Energy Retailer via their contact centre.
The rankings are determined by the ACCESS rankings (how easy it was to connect) and CUSTOMER SERVICE rankings (the interaction with the live agent) with weightings applied to the key drivers of customer satisfaction.
Of the six business sectors we assessed in Q2 2024 (banks, car insurance, Energy Retailers, energy retailers, internet retailers, and education), Australian Energy Retailers were ranked fourth-best overall for customer experience.
- The Q2 2024 Customer Experience score of 55.2% was the lowest quarterly score ever recorded for Energy Retailers, down slightly from 56.9% in Q1 2024 (-1.7%).
- The Customer Experience ranking scores for individual contact centres ranged from 40.8% (Alinta Energy) to 70.1% (Red Energy).
- Whilst accessibility rankings increased from Q1 2024 (+8.7%), meaning it was easier to connect to a live customer service agent in Q2 2024, the lowest customer experience quarterly rankings on record was primarily attributed to a decline in the quality of customer service (-7.7%) compared to Q1 2024 results.
- The most accessible call centre in Q2 2024 was Red Energy (91.4%), and the most difficult to access was Alinta Energy (34.8%), which was the most difficult Energy Retailer to access in May 2024 and June 2024, respectively.
- The average call centre wait time for energy retailers in Q2 2024 was 01:02 minutes (-01:17 minutes), the best quarterly result on record, ranging from 00:13 minutes (Engie) to 02:29 (Energy Australia).
- The quality of Customer Service decreased from 60.0% in Q1 2024 to 52.3% in Q2 2024 (-7.7%), the lowest recorded quarterly result for the Energy Retail sector.
- Talk times averaged 06:23 minutes across all Australian Energy Retailers in Q2 2024, down from 07:09 minutes in Q1 2024, ranging from 03:32 minutes (Origin Energy) to 10:24 minutes (Engie).
ACCESS Rankings Q2 2024 (Australian Energy Retailers)
Access Rankings
(Energy Retailers)
Q2 2024
Q1 2024
Trend
The Call Centre Access Rankings reflect how easy it was for customers to speak with a live person with their Energy Retail enquiry.
59 individual elements are assessed, capturing the entire experience before interacting with a live agent, including queue wait times, how easy it was to find the phone number, the number of menu options (e.g., press 1 for this, 2 for that), messaging times, hold music, audio quality, and lots more.
Mystery Shopping calls to Australian Energy Retailers are terminated if wait times exceed 10:00 minutes.
Access rankings across the Australian Energy Retailer sector were rated as ‘Meets Standard’ and the Q2 2024 ranking of 67.7% is the highest ranking recorded for any quarter since records commenced.
- Red Energy was the easiest energy retailer to connect to a live customer service agent in Q2 204, with a ranking of 91.4%, the third highest ranking of all contact centres nationally.
- For Q2 2024, the Alinta Energy was ranked the lowest and, therefore, the most difficult energy retailer to connect to a live customer service agent, with a ranking score of 34.8% and the lowest-ranked energy retailer in May 2024 and June 2024.
- Across the energy retail sector, 5.6% of calls were not answered within a 10-minute threshold, which is the best result recorded quarterly result to date. 50% of energy retailers answered 100% of all calls we made within the threshold.
- Australian energy retailers averaged 2.5 layers of IVR options in Q2 2024 (press one for this, two for that), ranging from 2.0 layers to 3.6 (AGL).
- Total Message Time (the recorded messages customers have to listen to) decreased across the sector from an average of 00:49 minutes to 00:44 minutes (-00:05 minutes) ranging from 00:10 minutes (Red Energy) to 01:36 minutes (Energy Australia).
- Total Access Time, which captures the entire time from dialling until connecting to a live agent, ranged from 01:04 minutes (ENGIE) through to 04:23 minutes (Energy Australia).
- Talk times averaged 06:23 minutes across all Australian energy retailers in Q2 2024, down from 07:09 minutes in Q1 2024 (-00:46 minutes), ranging from 03:32 minutes (Origin Energy) to 10:24 minutes (Engie).
AVERAGE WAIT TIMES Q2 2024
- The average wait times across the Energy Retailer sector decreased by 01:17 minutes (-55%) from 02:19 minutes to 01:02 minutes (-58.2%) with all Energy Retailers registering improved wait times.
- Average wait times in Q2 2024 ranged from 00:13 minutes (ENGIE) to 02:29 minutes (Energy Australia).
- ENGIE had the largest percentage decrease in average wait times, from 01:58 minutes in Q1 2024 to 00:13 minutes in Q2 2024 (-89%).
Customer Service Rankings Q2 2024 (Australian Energy Retailers)
Customer Service Rankings
(Energy Retailers)
Q2 2024
Q1 2024
Trend
Customer Service is assessed across five core competencies (Engage, Discover, Educate, Close, Energy) and 18 individual call-handling behaviours directly correlating to better customer and business outcomes.
Whilst trying to access a live customer service agent can often be challenging due to complicated IVRs, wait times, etc., what happens during the call can still have a large influence on customer satisfaction.
Recent CX Statistics continue to highlight the importance of interacting live with a customer service employee and the preference to speak to a live agent rather than an automated chatbot/AI, etc.
The Quality of customer service across the Energy Retailer sector in Q2 2024 was rated ‘Below Standard’ with a ranking score of 52.3%, down from 60.0% in Q1 2024 (-7.7%).
- All Energy Retailers decreased their Customer Service rankings in Q2 2024 (-7.7% across the sector), ranging from Alinta Energy (-1.5%) to Origin Energy (-12.0%).
- The Customer Service scores ranged from 36.5% (Origin Energy) to 66.6% (Energy Australia).
- Of the five Quality Competencies we assessed using the Australian Contact Centre Quality Standards, the ‘Discover’ competency was rated lowest at just 38.6%, down from 52.2% in Q1 2024 (-13.6%), their lowest-ranked quarter on record, and the lowest of all industry sectors in Q2 2024.
- The ‘Discover’ competency is used to assess whether the conversation explores and confirms both what the customers need from the call and what they wish to achieve through the company’s products and services. Scores ranged from 27.8% (Origin Energy) to 48.1% (ENGIE).
- The ‘Educate’ competency was the highest Customer Service competency in Q2 2024, with a score of 72.5% with scores ranging from 61.1% (AGL) to 88.9% (Red Energy).
- Using the customer’s name during the conversation, one of the four ‘Engage’ behaviours was ranked at 33.3% in Q2 2024 (-5.6% from Q1 2024), ranging from 0% (Origin Energy) to 83.3% (Energy Australia)
- ‘Empathy’, one of the four ‘Energy’ behaviours we assess, decreased across the Energy Retailer sector to their lowest-ever quarterly result of 58.3%, a significant decline from 92.6% in Q1 2024 (-34.3%), with Energy Australia the most notable decline (-61.1%). AGL was the lowest ranked for Empathy (33.3%) and Red Energy and ENGIE were the sector leaders (77.8%).
- The ‘Check’ results, one of the four ‘Educate’ behaviours, assesses whether the customer service agent consistently checks in with the customer for understanding, comfort, and suitability whenever key details are provided. The Energy Retailer sector ranking was 23.1% in Q2 2024, up from 21.3% in Q1 2024, with Red Enegy the sector leader at 55.6%.
