Anglian Water builds a dedicated voice for their customers

Few organisations face more challenging times than when they turn from a public utility to a private company. Demands are made that they provide higher levels of service for their customers.

Anglian Water not only manages water supplies in some of the most densely populated parts of the UK, they also supply water and environmental services to New Zealand, China and the Czech Republic.

Privatisation in the UK has increased competition for utility services. It is now essential to offer improved services that attract and retain more customers.

To manage customers more effectively, Anglian Water introduced an automated response system within its call centre so that customers could obtain the latest information about their water supply - especially when exceptional circumstances prevailed.

The system currently manages between 1,000 and 1,500 calls a day. When the caller dials the system it identifies which of the sub-regions of Anglian Water the caller belongs to and automatically routes them to the information they need.

One of the strengths of the voice driven business solution we've provided, is the ability to record and playback special localised messages when circumstances demand. For instance, a region may be experiencing a supply shortage due to exceptional weather conditions or damage to mains water pipes. The result can be a sudden surge in call traffic from the usual 10 calls an hour to over 200 callers.

The dependability of this voice-managed solution is vital to relieving call centre pressures. Also, it offers the flexibility for Anglian Water to provide a range of customer services simultaneously.