Overhauling customer service for British Gas and saving £30 million
16 March 2022
What if you could give your customers better experiences and cut operating costs?
Big ships turn slowly. But slowly wasn’t an option when we worked with British Gas, the UK’s biggest energy supplier.
New competitors circled the waters. Tight margins in the energy sector – plus mounting customer expectations around digital – meant some changes simply couldn’t wait.
We had to make fast and slow changes at the same time
We helped British Gas pick the right technology to install a new, voice-based system to replace the frustration of “press 1 for this, press 2 for that”. This gave customers more digital ways to communicate (why should webchat have the same opening hours as a telephone call centre?). With new technology, things like getting an account balance became easier.
Along with the quick wins, we did the deep, strategic thinking. British Gas built a stronger knowledge hub to turn daily experiences into better customer service. Sitting around a table, we offered advice, even if it was painful. Together, we figured out where future investment should go.
As a team, we were clear about our twin-track approach to change both fast and slow. We connected with the right British Gas teams (from Finance to IT) and the best external partners, not just preferred suppliers.
Thousands more satisfied customers and slimmed down operating costs
With strong support across the business, the customer service function brought down operating costs by 17% - around £30mn. Success took a joint effort and an open-minded approach to change.
"What if you could give your customers better experiences and cut operating costs?"
Vanessa Clark, Baringa’s customer and digital team lead
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