The vast majority (98.5 percent) of current Vermont Gas customers feel that it is easy to do business with Vermont’s natural gas utility. The results are from the Vermont Gas Quality of Service Survey, which the company has commissioned annually for the past 20 years. The study was conducted by James M Sinkula, PhD, principal of Market Research and Consulting Services in Hinesburg, Vt.
The expectations of Vermont Gas customers are remarkably consistent with the attributes in which Vermont Gas ranks highest. Of those surveyed, 93% said that, if they had to do it again, it is ‘likely to extremely likely’that they would choose natural gas as their heating source. 86% of Vermont Gas business and residential customers rate the overall quality of service as ‘very good to excellent.’
Other key findings from the survey of Vermont Gas customers include:
· Customers feel that the most important service aspects of a natural gas utility include that they ‘ensure customer safety,’’perform their job safely,’and ‘be dependable.’
· Three of the five areas in which Vermont Gas rates highest among its customers are:
à ‘(Vermont Gas) employs technicians who perform their job safely.’
à ‘(Vermont Gas) does all it can to ensure customer safety.’
à ‘(Vermont Gas) is dependable.’
‘Vermont Gas has provided Vermonters with safe, affordable and dependable natural gas service for almost 50 years,’said Don Gilbert, president and CEO of Vermont Gas. ‘We’re extremely proud that our 20th annual survey once again confirms that our customers recognize and appreciate not only the economic and environmental benefits of natural gas, but also the outstanding service that our employees provide.’
390 Vermont Gas customers from Chittenden and Franklin counties, equally divided between males and females, responded to the survey. The majority (85.3%) of those taking the survey were residential customers. Overall, the customers were well educated, with 63.9% of the residential and commercial respondents reporting that they had achieved a college or graduate degree.
Vermont Gas serves 45,000 customers in Franklin and Chittenden counties and is currently working to expand service into Addison and Rutland counties through the Addison Natural Gas Project. The company’s long heritage for safe and reliable operations includes its award-winning energy-efficiency programs, which reduce energy use while saving $13 million annually for homes and businesses. For more information about the Addison Natural Gas Project, visit www.addisonnaturalgas.com.
VGS 8.1.2013