Businesses rate Wiregrass Electric Cooperative service highly in recent survey
Businesses love Wiregrass Electric Cooperative’s (WEC's) service, a recent commercial satisfaction survey discovered.
About 90% of respondents rated WEC the three highest scores, on a scale of 1 to 10, when considering overall satisfaction. Roughly 80% of the commercial account respondents also praised WEC’s reliability, outage response, and value.
WEC Chief Operating Officer Brad Kimbro says the results showcase the cooperative’s holistic commitment to serving both new and existing businesses. About 56% of the survey respondents have received WEC’s service for more than 11 years, while 34% have had service for five years or fewer.
“Our economic development and recruitment efforts, like the speculative manufacturing facility in Hartford, are well-documented,” Kimbro says. “It’s not enough just to recruit new businesses to the area, though. We must give companies reasons and the resources to stay. Providing quality utility service and sustainability programs encourages the development of existing businesses.”
WEC’s business support efforts complement its quality electric service and friendly member relationships. For example, the revolving loan fund program provides low-interest loans to help businesses expand, relocate, improve facilities, or complete other related efforts.
“While providing consistent and strong utility service gives businesses confidence to operate effectively, sometimes they need something more to grow their operations,” Kimbro says. “The RLF — paired with other funding sources — allows entrepreneurs to attain their next aspirations. These efforts often result in more or higher-quality jobs. WEC is glad to invest our available resources into these efforts that grow the Wiregrass.”
The 90% overall approval rate from commercial accounts mirrors the results of several residential member satisfaction surveys, the latest completed in 2020. WEC has consistently registered a 9 out of 10 rating in trustworthiness, overall management, and level of care in previous surveys.
“For several years, our employees have championed the mantra ‘Just Enough Isn’t Enough,’ and that has produced the results we see in these surveys,” Kimbro says. “Our employees go the extra mile to ensure our members — both residential and commercial — receive the service they need. While we’re proud of these results, we’ll always work to make them even better.”
To learn more about WEC’s Revolving Loan Fund program, visit our Revolving Loan Fund page.
Key Survey Results
Overall satisfaction: 89% of respondents rated Wiregrass Electric Cooperative in the top three scores (on a scale of 1 to 10); 53% awarded a perfect 10.
- Reliability: More than 80% rated WEC in the highly satisfied category.
- 56% of responding businesses had WEC service for more than 11 years.
- 35% of responding businesses were in service industry; 18% were in retail and 12% in agriculture.
- 53% of respondents were locally owned corporations.
