In today’s highly competitive world, an increasing number of organizations have realized the importance of becoming more customer-centric. They therefore invest a large amount of time and resources in a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system with the aim of better managing their customers.
To the Eko Electricity Distribution Company, under the leadership of Dr. Tinuade Sanda, this has yielded positive results in managing the expectations of their teeming customers within Lagos metropolis.
While many companies are not so eager to build relationships with their customers, Eko DisCo is making efforts to see that customers perceive themselves as having a relationship with it through different efforts.
The aims of Eko Electricity Distribution Company’s customer-friendliness are to satisfy, retain, and create repurchase intention and loyalty to the customers on the services they offer them.
Researches have confirmed that tech factors such as trust, reliability, functionality and security influence customers’ relationship management performance.
Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) in recent times has held town hall meetings with customers under its business districts. A very recent meeting was held in Igbo Elerin area of Iba Town, and that was a continuation of the strategic plan by the Company to engage the electricity consumers across its franchise area for improved service delivery based on feedback.
The company also partook in a 3-day customer engagement forum organised by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) for electricity consumers in Lagos at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Festac from May 11- 13, 2022.
Dr. Tinuade Sanda and her Management team often visit Ojo, Agbara and Festac districts in continuation of her districts and stakeholder engagement to get on the spot feedback and review for possible solution challenges in the areas of power supply, vandalism and other factors mitigating against service delivery to customers. This is a laudable business strategy that has helped the Disco understand and anticipate the needs of its potential and current customers.
An amiable, humble and quite intriguing-person, Dr. Sanda would join each district management at their town hall meeting to engage with the customers of the district areas. This helps her and her team engage the customers; to listen to their issues and challenges with a bid to proffer speedy resolutions.
Dr. Sanda and her team also use the opportunity to address the issues raised by customers and promise to get them resolved and subsequently improve DisCo’s customer satisfaction index.
The exercise is also part of the state-wide engagement by the Disco to enlighten the public about electricity consumers’ rights and obligations, as well as create more awareness about it to customers across the State.
In addition to enlightening the customers about their rights and obligations, Eko Electricity Distribution Company also uses the forum to address issues such as estimated billing (capping order), metering and electricity tariffs.
No doubt, Eko Electricity Distribution Company is making several efforts to resolve issues. Though they persist, Eko DisCo has not relented in engaging its customers.
At each opportunity, Dr. Tinuade Sanda assures customers that the Company has already embarked on many projects to improve power supply and prompt resolutions to complaints. In her gentle manner, she encourages them to embrace the metering scheme (MAP) to put the issue of estimated billing to rest.
She advises customers against patronising unauthorised entities to get meters and report any case of unscrupulous elements to the Company’s whistleblowing channels.
It is pertinent to equally advise customers to desist from illegal activities such as meter bypass, meter tampering, vandalism, and assault of staff, which do not only affect the DisCo but the entire power industry.
There are approved penalties for these criminal offences and Eko Electricity Distribution Company will stop at nothing to ensure that offenders face the wrath of the law for any of these crimes. Every customer has a responsibility to protect the industry.
Dr. Tinuade Sanda, during a customer forum held in Ajah and Ibeju, assured customers that the management was aware of the issues affecting power supply in the areas and has thus organised the platform to address the situation.
“We have come here today to listen to your challenges, resolve them as our customer service team is on the ground, and the one we cannot resolve here today will be surely addressed by our management team at your districts or the head office”, she said.
Some of the customers and the representatives of various Community Development Associations (CDAs) in Ajah and Ibeju explained the challenges affecting the electricity supply in their respective communities. Most complaints were about the inadequate power supply, while others were about metering, estimated billing, and safety issues within the company’s network.
There are, however, ongoing efforts to resolve the situations affecting short electricity supply in these axises. In fact, Eko Electricity Distribution Company has commenced mobile metering within the company’s network. This is an assurance to customers that Eko DisCo is ready to serve them at all cost.
At this juncture, Eko Electricity needs the continued support from its customers, especially in the area of curbing energy theft, which contributes to high billings the customers are experiencing.
Furthermore, it is pertinent for community leaders to duly inform their respective communities about Eko Electricity Distribution Company’s activities and engage their local security networks to stop the perpetrators who mostly carry out the heinous act at night.
Essentially, a public Enterprise like Eko DisCo wants its customers to see it as a friendly, corporate face, as opposed to a disconnection between it and customers. Ideally, an effective Customer friendly strategy that EKEDC has put in place will enable it to utilize all of its resources when interfacing with customers, including marketing, sales, finance, as well as post-sales services.
Olamide Adeniji is a member of the editorial team of TheScript Newspaper
