2024 Customer Experience & External Affairs Highlights
Overview
Customer Experience and External Affairs (CXEA) at Tacoma Public Utilities is a dynamic, customer-centered organization dedicated to making utility services more accessible, equitable, and responsive. The department includes:
- Customer Services: Manages frontline contact centers, lobby services, field operations (meter inspections, reconnects/disconnects), mail services, business systems (SAP, Service Cloud), and administrative support.
- Communications: Leads employee and public communications, creative services, digital engagement, and strategic campaigns.
- Market Strategy & Analytics: Focuses on customer experience strategy, customer and employee data analytics, business customer services, and training.
- Community & Government Relations: Builds relationships with policymakers, federal, state, and local governments, leads community outreach efforts, and advances social responsibility initiatives.
Together, these teams serve tens of thousands of customers monthly, support internal partners, and drive innovation in customer experience and engagement.
Living Our Values
Safety, Belonging, Customer Focus, Integrity, and Respect help us achieve our Customer Experience North Star: “Our Customer and communities experience compassion and equity in action so they are understood, valued, and empowered.”
In 2024, CXEA demonstrated our TPU core values through these impactful initiatives:
- Expanded the Bill Credit Assistance Plan (BCAP) from 781 to over 10,000 participants, distributing $7.2 million in state funding assistance to income-eligible households.
- Led employee community giving and volunteering resulting in over $276,000 for local health and human service nonprofit community organizations.
- Engaged and educated over 3,000 youth and their adults in 55 youth programs and events.
- Improved first call resolution to 77.1%, reducing 11,000 repeat calls and ensuring faster, more accurate support.
- Enhanced post-call survey participation from 1.8% to 13.1%, with over 18,000 responses, and customer satisfaction rising from 3.9 to 4.3 out of 5.
- Connected with over 350,000 customers through impactful social media education efforts.
- Delivered CX North Star training to over 500 employees, launched a related training video for ongoing use, and supported internal events like TPU Connects and TPU Night at the Rainiers.
Key Metrics, Milestones, and Strategic Activities
Customer Services
- Customer Satisfaction: 4.35 (↑ from 3.9)
- Survey Participation: 13.1% (↑ from 1.8%)
- First Call Resolution: 77.1% (↓ 11,000 repeat calls)
- BCAP Enrollment: Over 10,000 (↑ from 781)
- Customers Served In-Person: 35,433
- Customer Calls Taken: 267,614
- Assistance Distributed: $7.2M in state funds
- Process Improvements: 28 core business processes documented for CRM launch
Communications
- Graphic Design, Editing, and Content Support Requests Completed: 812
- Cost Savings: $360,000 from U* – Utilities & You newsletter redesign
- Social Media Reach: Over 5M impressions (↑ 32%)
- MyTPU.org Site Traffic: Nearly 6M visits
- Climate Commitment Act Campaign: Over 120,000 webpage visits, 1,000 social media shares
Market Strategy & Analytics
- Reorganized Teams Formed: Customer Data & Analytics, Customer Strategy & Programs
- CX North Star Training: Over 500 employees trained
- MyAccount Platform: Final release launched, boosting digital engagement
- Nearly 80% of customers are now registered, adding 70,000 new registrations since the original launch in April 2022.
- Climate Commitment Act Grant: $7.3M secured and distributed for customer assistance
- Business Solutions Office: Centralized support for small to industrial business customers
Community & Government Relations
- Youth Outreach: Expanded classroom visits and education programs
- Policy Advocacy: Advanced clean energy, infrastructure, and affordability priorities
- Community Investment: over $276,000 raised through employee volunteer events and contributions
Safety
Safety is a foundational value that supports CXEA’s ability to serve customers and our community effectively. We prioritized the health, safety, and well-being of our employees. In 2024, CXEA continued to strengthen its safety practices through ergonomic awareness and participation in citywide initiatives aimed at reducing workplace injuries and promoting a culture of care.
Overall Safety Stats
(2024 compared to 2023)
- Corrective Actions: 0 (↓ from 2)
- Leadership Site Visits: 0
- Total Recordable Injury Rates: 5.73 (↓ from 6.67)
- DART (Days Away, Restricted, or Transferred) Rate: 4.09 (↑ from 3.70)
Safety is integrated into all CXEA operations, from office ergonomics to field outreach, ensuring staff can serve the public safely and effectively. These efforts reflect a deep commitment to equity, compassion, and continuous improvement.
Note: Corrective Actions and Leadership site visits were not standard operational expectations for all divisions, and the data may reflect this inconsistency. Additionally, due to limitations with the existing data platform, some divisions tracked their own data independently, some of which may or may not be fully represented here.
Financials
CXEA is a service division funded by Tacoma Power, Tacoma Water, Tacoma Rail, and the Environmental Services department of the City of Tacoma General Government through assessments. As such, its financials are included within those divisions’ reports and are not presented here.
Conclusion
CXEA is proud to stay focused on delivering excellent service and an outstanding customer experience. In 2024, we deepened community connections, improved access, and built greater trust through teamwork, innovation, compassion, and listening to our customers. As we move forward, we remain committed to putting people first, having a data-driven approach to finding solutions, using customer and employee feedback, and strong partnerships to make every interaction better and more meaningful.