Page 21 - Sphere No.6 (Jun 2002)

S PHERE
129
A T MIDNIGHT ON JUNE 30 1997, MILLIONS OF
people across the world watched the Handover cere-
mony at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition
Centre, which was attended by thousands of guests, including
China’s President Jiang Zemin and Britain’s Prince Charles.
While the world’s attention was focused on the historic
event inWanchai, a special Hongkong Electric task force, head-
ed by the Group Managing Director K.S. Tso himself, was
working behind the scenes to ensure there would not be the
slightest disturbance or flickering in the supply network.
For six months, the task force had been implementing a
meticulous plan to meet the unique challenges posed by the
Handover. In all, the task force worked 1,500 man-days, and
more than 130 staff were on standby on the big night.
Unsurprisingly, the company’s efforts went virtually unno-
ticed, which translates to a high level of customer satisfaction.
“We aim to give whatever we can for the convenience of our
customers,” says Mr Tso. “Our staff take it as a personal chal-
lenge to meet the customer service standards.We use a char-
ter of 18 service standards to ensure that all customer services
are first-rate. Standards in 2001, for example, set the average
time for supply restoration after interruption at within two
hours; the average waiting time for counter services at the
Customer Centre at less than three-and-a-half minutes; and the
average waiting time for telephone calls to the Customer
Emergency Services Centre at less than 10 seconds.”
All 18 pledges were comfortably met and exceeded last
year, as they are every year.
Mr H.K. Lung, one of the most experienced members of
the Emergency Services Unit, believes that the number of
commendations the company receives each year provides
ample proof of its dedication to customer service.
In 2000 and 2001, the company received 1,730 commenda-
tions from satisfied customers.
Mr Lung personally receives 30-40 thank-you letters from
happy customers each year, and has been the recipient of sev-
eral company service awards.
“The intention to help is the most important element in
customer service,” says Mr Lung. “People should feel it really
comes from the heart.”
Hongkong Electric was first to introduce concessionary
tariffs, in January 1994. Today such tariffs apply to various
underprivileged groups, including the elderly, the disabled,
single parent families and the unemployed who are on or
have qualified for public assistance.
The company was also among the first of its kind to imple-
ment a Braille billing service, which came into operation in
June 1993.
For the majority, these personalised services go unnoticed,
but they make a huge difference to those affected. It is pre-
cisely this kind of approach that has led to such a high degree
of satisfaction among Hongkong Electric’s customers.
POWERFUL SERVICE
HONG KONGTOURISM BOARD (3)
HONGKONG ELECTRIC (2). MARK CALDWELL (1)