Northumbrian Water achieves world first for customer service excellence

Northumbrian Water has become the first water company in the world to achieve a prestigious certification for its outstanding service to customers across the North East. 

The company has been officially awarded the Service Excellence Kitemark™ by the British Standards Institution (BSI), which recognises organisations that consistently put customers at the heart of everything they do. 

The independent assessment looked at how the company listens to customers, resolves problems and continually improves its services based on customer feedback.  

It also considered the support it has available to customers who may need extra help, including through the company’s Priority Services Register and affordability schemes. 

The achievement builds on Northumbrian Water’s existing BSI Kitemark™ for Inclusive Service, which it received in 2023 for its efforts supporting vulnerable customers across the region.  

Northumbrian Water is now the first water company globally to hold both the Service Excellence and Inclusive Service Kitemarks™ together, and sees these external benchmarks as strong evidence of its ambition to provide world-class services to customers across the North East. 

Together with its recently achieved Innovation Management Kitemark™, which measures practices for using innovation to deliver results for customers, communities, and environment, the latest certification means Northumbrian Water has become the first organisation in the world, across any industry, to hold these three BSI Kitemarks™ at the same time.  

The accreditations follow a strong track record in customer service, with Northumbrian Water ranking as the top performing water company in Ofwat's Customer Measure of Experience (C-MeX) for the past two years and recently being again named the most trusted water company in England and Wales. 

Dawn Creighton, Head of Customer Strategy and Experience at Northumbrian Water, said: “Our customers are at the heart of everything we do, and we aim to deliver an unrivalled customer experience every single day, so this certification is something we're incredibly proud of. 

"But it all starts with our people. We live and work in the communities we serve, and we all care about the services we provide because our customers are our friends, neighbours and family members too. 

"We’re genuinely passionate about listening to our customers, understanding what's important to them and making sure it's as easy as possible for them to get the help and support they need. 

"This achievement reflects the hard work and dedication of colleagues right across our business who go above and beyond every day to do the right thing for our customers." 

The certifications recognise the company's commitment to delivering great customer service, making support accessible to all and continually improving the services it provides. 

Shahm Barhom, Managing Director, Product Certification, BSI, said: "Putting customers first is more important than ever, and the Service Excellence Kitemark is a rigorous, independent benchmark for organisations that do this consistently well. 

"Northumbrian Water's achievement in becoming the first water company in the world to gain this certification, and the first organization globally to hold the Service Excellence, Inclusive Service and Innovation Management Kitemarks together, shows a genuine commitment to its customers and sets a strong example for the water sector."