Customer Satisfaction Measurement
We monitor customer satisfaction through regular formal meetings and informal contacts with them, and we measure their satisfaction through reputation studies and customer-satisfaction surveys conducted by third-party providers.
| Customer Satisfaction Measurement | ||
| Engagement Tactics Used | Customer Satisfaction | |
|---|---|---|
| Liquids Pipelines | > 500 meetings with its top ranked customers. Holds annual customer conference and quarterly shipper meetings |
Received positive feedback on LP’s approach and ability to resolve issues collaboratively. Based on that feedback, LP believes that its customer satisfaction has improved and, going forward, it intends to continue its efforts to meet and exceed its customers’ expectations. |
| Gas Transmission & Midstream | Holds regular, informal conversations with its customers, annual Marketing / Business Development customer meetings, as well as an annual Customer Service Users Group meeting with interested LINK® Customer Interface System (“LINK® system”) users. | Customers indicate an appreciation for GT’s responsiveness to their changing needs and its customer-focused approach. Specifically, Offshore customers indicated an appreciation for its fairness in dealing with issues that occur. GT has a track record of continuous innovative improvement of its LINK® system, having implemented more than 100 customer-requested enhancements over the last 10 years. In several instances, new functionality implemented in GT’s LINK® system has been the first of its kind in the industry. |
| Gas Midstream | Has regular, informal conversations with many of its customers. | Received positive feedback. |
| Utilities | ||
| Enbridge Gas Distribution | Responded to ~2.4 million customer inquiries, and ~6,600 issues through EGD’s Office of the Ombudsman. EGD conducts an annual reputation study with its residential customers. | EGD's Reputation Index score with its residential customers in 2017 was 76, which was an increase from our score of 74 in 2016.The 2017 study determined that EGD led in the areas of familiarity, service quality, trust and advocacy. |
| Union Gas | Measures customer satisfaction across a number of touchpoints and transactions through ongoing quantitative research studies. Union also engages contract customers (large commercial and industrial, storage and transportation and energy marketers) through the online Unionline survey. As well, Union participates in the third-party Mastio customer value and loyalty survey of natural gas shippers – Annual Mastio Natural Gas Pipeline Transportation Customer Value & Loyal Study. |
In 2017, overall customer satisfaction in the residential market was strong and stable relative to the previous year across all touchpoints and transactions tracked, including service visits, the uniongas.com website, Union Gas’s online account management tool, and customer calls. Scores are up significantly relative to 2015 in several categories. The Unionline survey resulted in a 93% overall satisfaction score in 2017. In the 2016 Mastio survey, Union Gas ranked as the #1 Canadian natural gas pipeline and the 7th out of 57 pipelines overall. |
Utilities Initiatives
In 2017, EGD embarked on a Customer Experience Transformation program to overhaul the way it serves customers and simplify how it interacts with them. The main goal of the program is to deliver service in the communication channel of each customer’s choice. This will result in web-based self-service being available in addition to traditional call-center-based inquiries.
Other recent EGD initiatives to enhance its customers’ experience include: an overhaul of EGD’s enbridgegas.com website, which is going live in 2018, and will be a fully responsive website with more self-service options; and provision of energy efficiency information that allows customers to compare their energy use to similar homes and lower their energy use.
For its part in 2017, Union Gas continued to promote customer self-serve features for specific customer segments, including landlords and agencies that assist with low-income programs. Union Gas customers logged on to its online portal more than three million times and completed more than 2.4 million transactions, compared to one million calls into its contact centre.
Both EGD and Union Gas also engage with their customers through their wide range of demand-side management (DSM) offers. From homeowners to large industrial facilities, EGD and Union Gas provide incentives to customers to encourage them to adopt energy-saving equipment and operating practices that reduce natural gas consumption. DSM also provides EGD and Union Gas with a regular, positive touchpoint with customers.
For more information on our DSM programs, please see the Climate Change section of this report, the Energy Efficiency Tips section of EGD’s website or the Conservation First section of Union Gas’s website.
Safeguarding Customer Privacy and Data
At all levels of our company, we have robust systems and thorough processes in place to help ensure that our customers’ privacy and data are protected. In 2017, neither LP, GTM, EGD nor Union Gas received any significant substantiated complaints regarding breaches of customer privacy or losses of customer data.
Cyber security has been identified as a top risk for the company. Therefore, Enbridge has developed and implemented a risk-based cyber security control framework to manage its cyber security risks and measure the effectiveness of controls. It addresses cyber security threats unique to Enbridge and in keeping with best practice. Specific areas of focus in 2017 included: