Matt Houdyk | UX Designer | Melbourne, Victoria | 0401 260 685
The problem
As the project leader, I identified a critical gap in our customer service: the Western Water website lacked a mechanism for customers to self-diagnose and report faults, such as burst water mains. Consequently, customers were turning to third-party services like Snap, Send, Solve instead of contacting us directly.
Moreover, our online reports were only monitored during business hours, while emergency calls were managed by a third-party. This arrangement failed to account for online reports after hours. In additon, we were receiving an increasing number of reports for issues outside our responsibility, leading to inefficiencies and poor customer experiences.
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Self-help customer journey
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Full site design
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Mapping & forms
Client
Western Water
Project type
Portal
Research and insights
To address these challenges, I spearheaded a comprehensive research initiative that included data analysis, desktop reviews of third-party apps
and interviews with staff and customers.
Our research revealed that third-party apps lacked diagnostic tools, resulting in numerous outbound calls during business hours to diagnose issues and determine repair responsibilities.
Qualitative and quantitative research highlighted customer dissatisfaction, particularly when they discovered their reported issues were their responsibility to fix, primarily due to prolonged diagnosis times.
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Desktop research
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User interviews
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Quantitative research
The solution
Customers expected 24/7 online services comparable to traditional phone support. We also needed a way for customers to self-diagnose issues before submitting reports.
Leading the project, I developed and tested multiple journey maps, user flows, and wireframes with customers and operational staff. The solution we implemented replicates the over-the-phone experience online, enabling customers to:
- View known network issues
- Follow step-by-step self-diagnosis processes
- Report issues that fall under our responsibility.
Outcomes
By leading this project, I was able to transform our fault reporting process, resulting in a more efficient and customer-friendly system. The project led to significant improvements:
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Increased customer satisfaction due to visibility of live network issues
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Decreased reliance on third-party applications, reducing organisational risk
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Reduced number of outbound diagnostic calls, as users could self-diagnose issues
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Enhanced customer satisfaction, with the ability to resolve common issues any time of day.