Blue Ridge Electric Scores Among Top in the USA On Customer Service Ratings
For Immediate Release
Contact: Renee Whitener, Director of Corporate Communications, Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation, (828) 758-2383 ext. 3213; Pager:1-800-471-1323; or E-mail: Renee Whitener
LENOIR, NORTH CAROLINA (May 30, 2003) — According to a recent national survey, Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation is one of the top scoring electric utilities in the country in the area of customer satisfaction.
Results from the most recent American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), which is one of the most recognized customer satisfaction indices in the United States, Blue Ridge Electric and other Touchstone Energy electric cooperatives continue to set the benchmark for energy industry service.
In a first quarter 2003 survey by ACSI, Touchstone Energy cooperatives obtained a high score of 82 for customer satisfaction. Blue Ridge Electric was rated among the very highest in the nation with a score of 86.
“Our employees strive every day to give our members exceptional customer service, so this rating is especially gratifying and our employees deserve the credit,” said Doug Johnson, chief executive officer of Blue Ridge Electric. “When you’re a part of a member-owned electric cooperative, you serve the owners of the utility every day. That makes it easy to know the right things to do yet we don’t rest on the ratings of one quarter. We keep going forward, continuously trying to find new and improved ways to meet the needs of our member-owners,” he said.
Touchstone Energy Chief Operating Officer Jim Bausell adds: “The fact that we're locally owned, responsive to our member-owners and committed to providing quality service continues to pay off in customer satisfaction.”
Touchstone Energy’s score of 82 is nine points higher than the electric utility industry average of 73, with only one other utility scoring as high as Touchstone Energy co-ops.
ACSI is one of the most recognized customer satisfaction indices in the United States. It's managed by the University of Michigan Business School and sponsored by the American Society for Quality. It measures customers' satisfaction in 16 major industries and 190 leading corporations. The index is a weighted average of three questions on a 0 to 100 scale.
The results of the recent ACSI survey confirm that Touchstone Energy co-ops consistently provide superior service in the electricity market. This is the second time in less than a year Touchstone Energy cooperatives have outdone their industry counterparts. The co-ops also received a high score of 82 in a second quarter 2002 survey. In this latest ACSI survey, a number of Touchstone Energy co-ops outclassed the rest of the industry with exceptionally high scores. Several of those co-ops include:
| Touchstone Energy Co-op | ACSI Score |
90 |
|
| Tri-County Electric Cop-op, Rushford, MN |
89 |
| Four County EMC, Burgaw, NC | 88 |
| Meade County, Brandenburg, KY | 87 |
| Allamakee-Clayton Elec. Co-op Potsville, IW |
87 |
| Palmetto Electric Co-op Inc., Hardeeville, SC | 86 |
| Blue Ridge Electric, Lenoir, NC |
86 |
| Jones-Onslow EMC, Jacksonville, NC |
Blue Ridge Electric serves more than 65,000 members in Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe, Alleghany, Wilkes and Alexander counties. Blue Ridge Electric is a member of Touchstone Energy, a national alliance of more than 600 local, member-owned electric cooperatives in 44 states providing high standards of service to approximately 17 million residential, business, commercial and industrial consumers. Touchstone Energy cooperatives serve their members with integrity, accountability, innovation and a longstanding commitment to communities
