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5.3a ERMUSR 05-09-2023Elk River Municipal Utilities Customer Satisfaction Survey Quarter 1 - 2023 Prepared for: Quarter 1, 2023 April 14, 2023 Prepared by: Q MARKET RESEARCH www.gmarketresearch.com 91 Elk River Municipal Utilities Customer Satisfaction Survey — Quarter 1, 2023 Background Elk River Municipal Utilities (ERMU) is seeking to obtain feedback from their residential customers to measure overall levels of satisfaction with services and programs provided, as well as capture needs and perceptions regarding communication satisfaction and community involvement. As part of this study, Elk River Municipal Utilities will focus on these key areas: 1. Net Promoter Score (likely to recommend) 2. ERMU as a utility provider overall 3. Reliability of the utility services received from ERMU 4. Ease of doing business with ERMU 5. ERMU's efforts to be environmentally friendly 6. ERMU's efficiency rebate programs 7. ERMU's ability to handle customer requests 8. ERMU's efforts to be involved in the community 9. Overall satisfaction with ERMU staff 10. Overall value for the money with ERMU 11. Preferred contact methods with ERMU 12. Customer demographics Survey Methodology The survey was sent to a total of 2,500 ERMU customers. Of them, 1,250 ERMU customers received a mail survey. This list of randomly selected customers was provided by ERMU. The mailed survey provided a postage -paid, return envelope addressed to Q Market Research. The survey also contained a web link and QR code to allow the respondent to complete the survey on a computer or mobile device. An email invite was also sent to 1,250 ERMU customers to complete the same survey from their computer or mobile device. No incentives were offered for participation. Pi Data Collection The Q1 2023 survey included 1,250 mailed surveys to ERMU customers and 1,250 emailed surveys to ERMU customers. Both mail and email surveys were sent on March 10, 2023, and data collection was closed on April 10, 2023. 94 mail responses were received, and 188 email responses were received. In total, 282 responses were received (mail and email), at an overall 11.3% response rate (and are statistically valid at a 95% confidence level to within +/- 5.8%). This is considered a slightly above average response rate for this type of survey. Data collection is summarized below: Medium Sent Returned Response rate Email 1250 188 15.0% Mail 1250 94 7.5% Total 2500 282 11.3% 3 93 Executive Summary Key Finding 1: Overall satisfaction with ERMU is generally high. ERMU gets a 6.2 for overall satisfaction out of 7 by customers, largely based on high scores for reliability and ease of doing business. The lowest score among the satisfaction ratings is 5.3 for the efficiency rebate programs. These ratings are similar to past quarters. Key Finding 2: The Net Promoter Score in Q3 2022 for ERMU is 39.0, which is in the "good" range, down from Q3 2022, which was in the "excellent" range. ERMU's Q1 2023 NIPS score dropped to 39.0 from 52 at the end of 2022. NIPS is a broadly recognized measure of overall customer satisfaction. Based on customer comments in this report, the Q1 2023 score was lower because of the twin pressures on families of inflation and higher utility rates. The ERMU NIPS could also have decreased due to numerous complaints about the trash service. Details in the report. Key Finding 3: ERMU gets medium -strong grades for involvement in the community. Respondents rated ERMU 7.5 in Q1 2023 for efforts to be involved in the community, out of a 1-10 rating choice. The rating is similar to the rating in Q3, 2022. Key Finding 4: The communications experience with ERMU is positive, but not perfect. Overall, customers rated communications with ERMU through customer service staff at 8.3 out of 10, which very similar to past quarters. While customer service staff were characterized as prompt and helpful in 31 written comments, 16 respondents mentioned that some staff were not friendly. (Enough mentions of staff being rude or not helpful suggests some concern.) Overall, satisfaction with all staff is rated at 8.6 out of 10. The customer newsletter, followed by the ERMU website, is highly relied on by customers for information about ERMU. Key Finding 5: Value for the money was lower than other scores, but still high on an absolute basis. Overall, customers rated ERMU's value for the money at 7.4. This is similar to Q3 2022. It is still high on a 1 to 10 rating scale in absolute terms. There were many complaints about high costs, rates and fees, so this high value rating on suggests that respondents recognize that inflation, rather than management mistakes, are the culprit. Demographics are included at the end of the report. All verbatims are included at the end of the report, organized by question. A list of customers who want to be contacted by ERMU is provided separately. rd 9 , Detailed Findings Satisfaction Indicators "Reliability of ERMU's Service" (6.6) and "Ease of doing business with ERMU" (6.3) were the highest scoring satisfaction measures, out of a possible 1 to 7 score, where 7 is completely satisfied. A close third was satisfaction with ERMU overall, at 6.2. These are high scores. The lowest satisfaction measure was ERMU's efficiency rebate programs at 5.3. The factors measured were: 1. Ease of doing business with ERMU 2. Reliability of the power, water and other services you receive from ERMU 3. ERMU's efforts to be environmentally friendly 4. ERMU's efficiency rebate programs 5. ERMU as my utility provider overall The graph below compares the values for Q1 2022, Q3 2022 and Q1 2023. The reliability rating gained in each of the three quarters. Satisfaction with ERMU (1 is completely dissatisfied; 7 is completely satisfied) Q1, 2022 vs. Q3, 2022 vs. Q12023 6.3 The ease of doing business with ERMU 6.4 6.0 The reliability of the power, water and other services ERMU's efforts to be environmentally friendly ERMU's efficiency rebate programs ERMU as my utility provider overall 5.3 5.3 5.4 E Q1, 2023 ■ Q3, 2022 ■ Q1, 2022 6.6 6.5 5.9 6.0 i.7 6.2 6.2 .9 95 Verbatims on Overall Satisfaction/Dissatisfaction Respondents were then asked, "Why did you give us these satisfaction ratings." Respondents answered with both positive and negative comments but note that a large number of responses were about being satisfied (95). Some Q1 2023 common responses include: NumberPositive or TypicalResponse Negative Responsesof 95 Satisfied with Positive --Called about water leak and crew came out customer service, immediately utility services --Power outage repaired in timely manner --Sewer problem help --Rebates good 30 Expensive, fees too Negative --Bill increases too high high --Lack of competition --Fees, costs and taxes high --Costs of environmental programs too high --Bill doubled since we moved here 4 years ago 9 Trash service Negative --Don't like Republic and merging trash and utility services --Too infrequent recycling service --Dirty can --Miss the trash burner ERMU had that generated electricity i Not aware of rebate Negative --What efficiency rebate program? programs --Better communicate about rebate programs ? Green programs are Negative --No green plan for home energy conservation or needed generation --No super saver switch --No way to stop fees when gone in winter as snowbird --Want off-peak rates Other: --(3) Want discounts for seniors --(3) Customer service bad --Anti wind and solar --Want nuclear energy --Want itemized bill --Website easy to navigate --Budget billing problem --Want service deposit back --Tree trimmers broke off part of driveway All responses recorded at the end of the report. 9, Net Promoter Score: "Good" Respondents were asked: 'How likely is it that you would recommend ERMU as a utility provider, even though we are the only local electric and water utility?' Using the results from the question, the Net Promoter Score was calculated. Scores can range from -100 to +100. A score of 0 to 49.9 is considered good and a score of 50 or above is considered excellent. In Q1, 2023, the NPS for ERMU was 39.0, down from previous quarters. The NPS for ERMU for three quarters is shown in the table below. ERMU NPS SCORES Q1 2022, Q3 2022, Q1 2023 60.0 52.0 50.0 42.5 39.0 40.0 30.0 20.0 10.0 0.0 Q1, 2022 Q3, 2022 Q1, 2023 Net Promoter Score Poor Good Excellent -50 to O 0 to 49 50 to 100 ERMU 39.0 The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is calculated by taking the percent of those who respond that are the most satisfied (rated a 9 or 10, or promoters) and subtracting the percent of those who are the least satisfied (rated a 0 to 6, or detractors). Those scoring a 7 or 8 are considered "neutral." The NPS is a widely used benchmark. 7 97 Verbatims on Why NPS Score is Given Respondents were asked why they gave ERMU a particular NPS score (promoter or detractor). A significant 48 respondents wrote positive comments. Their full responses for Q1 2023 are at the end of the report, but common responses were: NumberP.Response Negative Responsesof 48 No problems, Positive --Like service satisfied --Rates are reasonable --We've never had a problem 19 Expensive Negative --High cost of rates, fees 19 Only choice, Negative or --No other choice monopoly Neutral All verbatims for this question are at the end of the report. Efforts to be involved in the community Respondents to the survey were asked: "Please rate ERMU's efforts to be involved in the community" where 1 is low involvement and 10 is high involvement. The number of customers giving each score is shown in the chart below. The average score for this measure was 7.6 in Q3 2022 and is 7.5 in Q1 2023. ■ Q1, 2022 ■ Q3, 2022 ■ Q1, 2023 Rating ERMU's Efforts to Be Involved in Community Q1, 2022 vs. Q3, 2022 1 is low involvement and 10 is high involvement (Number of responses) 10 202 111 1 2 3 54 50 37 35 27 28 2 3 13 1 10 1 7 5 J6669 0� 0M 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 9 Communication Experience with ERMU Past 12 Months The communications experience has been rated high for past year. In Q1, 2023, 102 respondents say they have communicated with ERMU in the past 12 months. If customers had interacted, they were asked to rate their satisfaction with the interaction on a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is satisfied and 1 is dissatisfied. Their responses are shown in the chart below. In Q1 2023, the average interaction score was 8.3 out of 10. This compares to the average interaction score in Q1 2022 of 8.2 and in Q3 2022 of 8.5. Rating of Satisfaction with ERMU Communications 1 = Dissatisfied and 10 = Satisfied Q1 2023 % of total per number 60.0% 51.0% 50.0% 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 13.7% 13.7% 10.0% 4.9% 2.9% 2.9% 0.0/o 0 5 9 1.0% 3.9 , , 0.0% 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ■ Q1, 2023 Verbatims on Interaction with ERMU Respondents were asked to describe their interaction with ERMU. About 2/3 of verbatim comments were positive and 1/3 were negative. P*Serviceprompt and Positive --Super nice helpful --Helpful --Great customer service 16 Not satisfied with Negative --Poor customer service service --Garbage pickup unreliable --Garbage can too small --Billing confusion or unresolved issue --Rude --Rising cost of energy 10 100 --DSL complaint 4 OK but not great Neutral --Person did not know the area --Communication fine, just not outcome I wanted 11 101 ERMU customer newsletter is the most preferred method of communication Respondents were asked: "How would you like ERMU to communicate with you? Check your top I" Shown in the chart below, the customer newsletter is the most preferred way, and the ERMU website comes in second. 'Text" and "Local newspaper" are tied as the third preferred way. These preferences are consistent across three surveys. Preferred Method of Communication from ERMU Q1, 2022, Q3, 2022, Q1 2023 % of total response Customer newsletter % 62.0% ERMU website Local newspaper a .5% ° 25.0/ ° Text (not currently available) 2 X0 % Social media � T44&/00 Live chat (not currently available) NKMU�-11.0% ■ Q1, 2023 ■ Q3, 2022 ■ Q1, 2022 Social media mentions Q1, 2023 Facebook, 16 mentions Instagram, 2 mentions Other mentions Q1, 2023: Email, 29 mentions Phone call if needed, 13 mentions Mail, 2 mentions Texting, 1 mention Mailings, 1 mention 12 102 Level of Satisfaction with ERMU Staff Customers were asked to rate their level of satisfaction with ERMU's staff, on a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is high satisfaction and 1 is low satisfaction. Their responses are shown in the chart below. The average staff satisfaction score in Q1 2023 was 8.6. This compares to an average staff satisfaction score in Q3 2022 of 8.9. Rating of Satisfaction with ERMU's Staff 1 = low satisfaction and 10 = high satisfaction Q1, 2022, Q3, 2022, Q1 2023 (number giving each score) 140 116 120 100 80 60 52 40 40 26 26 32 20 101 121 002 001 77 128 3215 58 1114 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ■ Q1, 2022 ■ Q3, 2022 ■ Q1, 2023 Verbatims on "Satisfaction with ERMU Staff" Respondents were asked why they gave this staff satisfaction rating in Q1, 2023. The majority of comments about staff (but not all) were positive! W1--FCiendly AOL 31 Staff were helpful and positive --Helpful --Polite 10 1 have had minimal Neutral --Little contact recently contact with staff --No recent contact 5 Poor service Negative --Can't get answers --Some are rude, some are nice --Short, unfriendly Other comments: --"I have received great service when I call. Not great advice when they've been to my home." 13 103 Rating of ERMU's Value for the Money Customers were asked to rate ERMU's value for the money on a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is high value and 1 is low value. Their responses are shown in the chart below. The average value score in Q1 2022 was 7.7. The average score for Q3 2022 was 7.4. The average score for Q1 2023 was 7.4. Rating of ERMU's Value for the Money 1 = low value and 10 = high value 30.0% 24.2°% 25.0% 20.0% 18.8% 15.0% 12.5% 11.7/ ° 13.8% 10.0% 7.5% 4.2% 5.0% 2.1% 2.9% 2.5% M ■ , 0.0% 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 10 ■ Q1, 2023 Verbatims on "Value for the Money" Respondents were asked why they gave this rating for value for the money. A majority of written responses for Q1 2023 were customers complaining about high costs, but many other respondents said they thought the rates were fair. ®Ratesigh 23 Negative --Rates expensive --Energy bills steadily increasing --Very high electrical bills 11 Rates are reasonable Positive --Seems competitive --Reasonable --Not the cheapest, but OK 7 Not sure how to assess Neutal --Not sure what constitutes good value value --Can't compare --It's not a competitive service Other responses: --Poor water quality --Want a monthly budget program 14 104 --ERMU is not helping me conserve and save --Website usage data is hard to find and understand --ERMU is a monopoly 15 105 Demographics Age: High participation in 50-64 year old age grouping; and 65+ age grouping The chart below breaks down the percentages of respondents to the survey by age in Q1 2023. The high response rate of customers ages 50 and older is typical for utility respondents, with lower responses among younger customers. 65+, 44% RESPONDENT'S AGES E RM U Q1 2023 18-34, 5% 16 0-49, 20% 31% 106 ERMU Q1 2023 Actual Survey MEW River Munklpal WWes(ERMUI, a kq priority Is the satlafi kn& our elec4lc and water customers Vou have been ,-Manly selxtetl to give feedback. Vour response is important antl helps us pov�tle exceptional service and vaWe to you. You caned Rcodereari sreenfine!Gomht[p://wrveys.9merkeneseanh.mns/s3/ERMUQ123 as[an tltis 4R rode witlr you smartpfane- 0 , Please return this survey by Monday, April to, in the postage paid envelope. L First, please rate your Level of w0sfaaied with ERMU in the following areas tcheck the appvptate eat wise Cmpl�r kbsal Su+MN[ Se�etl m, �Nl hkstly SisfiN 5ffisfirD Sbsfiei Gssisfiei CisffisfiM Crs;afisfi� Ca�d°�' Ois;fi� Theease of cbvg busirress with ERMU ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ Tte reliability a( the power. water. aM other zervlces �rou ve f— ERMU ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ERMU'se8artstoba enviran,eapa8y mendy ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ CRMUseflyd cyrebate programs ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ERMU as a utility provider overall ❑ ❑ f] ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ Why did you give these mengs? a How Likely is It that you would recommend ERMU as an skwtrk and water utility provider? Pkase wcle: (rwtaldl likdy) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (mdenely l9ody) Why did you gve this rating? Please see other side! END OF Q1 2023 REPORT 32 3. please rate ERMU's efforts to be involved In the community: Paaseckcleanumber. (band—) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (hgh invalvertanQ ¢ Have you tanmNtaled with ERMU In the past = months? ❑Yes ❑w If yes, hawsaWfiad was tau with le on1 Pleasecirclearupt— OyNydcsarded) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (hightysathfied) Why did you give 8Ys rating? 6 How woud you Uka ERMU to communicate with you? (check lop 3) ❑ ERMU—bete ❑ 5odalrtieKv'Iwhich do you useir ❑ Onstama newsletter ❑ t«y aw ❑ Texl(reto—a Hya Yahtel ❑ live chat Not corranfNa✓a3adel ❑ 6 Please rateyour Wal of satisfaction with ERMU staff: Please ckdea numbs. (besets( d.) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (highsatisf time) Why tlitl you give Ors rating? 7. Please rate ERMU's value for the moray: Please ck Yea number. (leave.) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 fthvaba) Why tlitl you give rating 8. Please tall us a l8tia about yourself: Agc: ❑ 1&34 ❑ 35-49 ❑ 50-64 ❑ 65t 9. Would you Uke ERMU to contact you regarding yore tomnards In the survey? Yes ❑ Np ❑ Hves, please provide your name. em'ii4 antl phone number. 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