Energy Customer Bill of Rights

OK. I know i’m developing a reputation as a curmudgeon, a crank, a whiner, a crab, a bellyacher, a griper. In short, a sourpuss. And that’s without consulting the Thesaurus. I could add grumbler, bear, malcontent, moaner, kvetch. You get the idea.

And why have I earned these pleasant monikers? Because I seem to take pleasure in recounting a never-ending parade of consumer nightmares – my own. Nothing makes one more sensitive to consumer rights than being in a consumer service business. Knowing how hard we work to help customers get good service at fair prices – and receive accurate bills to boot – it boggles my mind how oblivious most companies are to the most basic principles.

In this blog I have recounted my unsuccessful effort to snag an extra bag of peanuts on Delta. Of getting documents copied at FedEx/Kinko’s. I’ve even told of one of our Georgia customer’s sad experience of having their gas turned out because they claimed that their MXenergy bill – yes, we drop the ball too sometimes! -- looked like junk mail.

Recently I have added another one to my litany of woe: Showing up at the City Transit terminal in Chicago’s O’Hare Airport.

Here’s my tale. If you’re a cheapskate like I am, and don’t want to take the train from O’Hare to downtown, it will cost you $2 on the train…that is, if you have exact change. You see, the automatic ticket machines at City Transit only take exact change. If you have a $10 bill you must spend it all…or you can walk. Arriving at the turnstile – with my train idling on the platform below -- I asked an attendant at the ticket booth – who does not sell tickets, of course – how to get change. “Walk down the hallway,” he pointed, “and you can get change.”

I sighed. I mumbled. While my train departed on the platform below, I proceeded to drag my luggage in the direction he indicated. About 50 yards away I came to a stop in front of a large picture window with this sign: “Checks cashed here” and then below another sign: “We charge for making change.”

“What?!” I exclaimed. “You charge for changing a $10 bill?“

Being true to form, I could not bring myself to pay a dollar to make change. So I asked where I could buy some breath mints. “In the Hilton Gift Shop,” came the helpful reply. I continued along the hallway – another 200 years with my heavy suitcases – and finally arrived in the gift shop.

Ten minutes later – still dragging my luggage --- I returned to the train platform in time to see the next train leave the station without me.

“Excuse me,” I asked the station attendant. “Why don’t you have a change machine?”

“Oh,” he replied, “They took that out of here seven years ago.”

“And why don’t ‘they' replace it?” I asked.

He shrugged his shoulders.

“I hope you have complained to your manager about this,” I said, “because I am your customer and I am sure I am not the first person to ask you for change over the past seven years!”

At MXenergy we talk incessantly about the “customer golden rule: do unto our customers what we would have them do unto us.” But the rule is about as common as finding $1000 bills lying face up in the gutter. Recently, our marketing team had an inspiration: Why don’t we adopt an Energy Customer Bill of Rights, just like the rights that airline passengers are trying to achieve.

So here it is: MXenergy’s equivalent of the Declaration of Independence, a clear statement of what our customers can expect when they do business with us… or else!

MXenergy Customer Bill of Rights
ΠYou have the right to be treated as if you are our most valued customer. Because,
frankly, you are.
 You have the right to speak with a real person, quickly.
Ž You have the right to fully understand your bill. If you don’t, we’ll work with you to make sure that you do.
 You have the right to privacy – we will not share your personal information with anyone outside the company.
 You have the right to switch your service at any time, and we’ll ensure the process goes smoothly.
‘ You have the right to have us listen and work with you to resolve any problem.
’ You have the right to uninterrupted service. And if your service is interrupted, we’d better have a good reason for it.
“ You have the right to not be surprised. The rates we quote are the rates we charge.
” You have the right to have us help you find the best rate plan – for you, not us.
• You have the right to deal with a company that prides itself on ethics, customer service and environmental stewardship.