The Karachi-Electric (KE) has introduced a new Universal Customer Care model whereby customers can visit any KE centre of their choice, regardless of their power connection’s location in Karachi, for billing information, new connection and other services. A ceremony in this regard was organised at the power utility’s customer care center in Gulshan-e-Iqbal on Tuesday. The ceremony was attended by members of KE’s leadership, including Chief Strategy Officer Eram Hasan, Chief Operating Officer (Distribution) Asif Saad and others. To further facilitate customers, the power utility has also expanded the services offered by its contact centre 118 thereby reducing the need for customers to physically visit KE centres. Customers can now access their billing and new connection-related details, in addition to lodging technical complaints and queries. Speaking on the occasion, KE Chief Strategy Officer Eram Hasan said, “Customers are at the heart of our operations and we are constantly striving to make our processes and systems simpler, more accessible and efficient. Our state-of-the-art contact centre, social media unit and now the Universal Customer Care model are all testaments to KE’s transformation into a forward-looking organisation with a strong customer-centric ethos. By optimising our customer care operations through technological upgradation and resource development as per the global best practices, we are well-positioned to serve the ever-evolving customer expectations and preferences. We will continue to explore initiatives to achieve greater operational efficiency and subsequently provide more value to consumers going forward as well.” The KE has implemented several customer-centric technologies and solutions. In 2015, KE became the first-ever power utility in Pakistan to integrate its digital platforms with SAP thereby increasing company’s already wide range of customer care touch points. The KE is also one of the first utilities to implement SAP IS-U, a state-of-the-art customer relation and billing management system. Last year, KE won the ‘Best Use of Technology’ award in the ‘Best Customer Innovation’ category at the Genesys G-Summit Middle East 2017 held in Dubai. It is pertinent to note that KE offers a wide range of customer care touch points, including one of the largest corporate call centres in Pakistan, centralised handling of complaints via web and 29 dedicated customer care centres. In addition, the KE offers live chat service via SMS and 24/7 complaint resolution via email and social media platforms. The power utility also operates mobile vans across the city to facilitate customers at their doorstep. Published in Daily Times, August 8th 2018.