Utilities Struggle to Deliver Customer Service via Mobile Websites
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., March 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — While the number of utilities deploying a mobile-enabled website or app continues to increase, customers who access their utility’s website via mobile have more difficulty than those using desktop, according to the J.D. Power 2015 Utility Website Evaluation StudySM (UWES) released today.
The study, now in its fourth year, has been redesigned and now combines mobile enabled/app and desktop/laptop/tablet (desktop) into one index. The study explores the usability of utility websites by examining 12 tasks based on the type of utility: set up an online account; account log in; view consumption history; review account information; make a payment; research energy saving information; update service; report outages; view outages; locate contact information; perform account and profile maintenance; and locate gas leak information. The study provides utility companies with an objective assessment of the usability of their website; establishes performance benchmarks; provides improvement recommendations; and identifies best practices across the industry. Ease of use is calculated on a 500-point scale.
