2023 Michael Mulcahy Award for Excellence and Innovation in Customer Care and Service

The Mulcahy Award was created in memory of Michael Mulcahy, former President and CEO of FortisBC and former Chair of the Canadian Gas Association. It recognizes significant achievement (over and above everyday activities) by members of the natural gas delivery industry in the area of innovation and service to natural gas users/customers. The award also serves to help guide other CGA member utilities on their journey to excellent and innovative customer service. Through participation in the Mulcahy Award process, all will benefit from exposure to the efforts of others in the industry, thereby raising its overall standard of customer care – a huge priority for Mike Mulcahy in his many years of service to customers in the industry.

Recipients:

ATCO – Leah McDonald, Director, Customer Experience

Improving Customer Satisfaction in Operations while Reducing Opex, Reducing GHG, and Improving Safety

ATCO Gas began exploring and testing an innovative approach to improve response times and service efficiency, by introducing AI-assisted video solutions in their Contact Center. Advanced video features, augmented reality, and AI allowed technicians to offer live video support via smartphone, guiding customers through HVAC equipment troubleshooting.

The service allowed customers to self-schedule non-urgent HVAC appliance requests, freeing up the 1-800 call center line. This inclusive approach allowed all ATCO technicians, whether on modified work duties or working in the field, to participate in remote video support. In the majority of cases, calls were resolved remotely and on first contact, with outcomes varying from education opportunities, deflections to third party service providers, or home advice given for non-gas related issues.

ATCO’s approach has yielded significant results, including the completion of over 7,000 visual-assisted calls, solving problems in less than 9 minutes, and achieving a first contact resolution rate of 60%.

Notable nominee:

SaskEnergy – Grant Garner, Director, Customer Experience
Customer Appointment Enhancements