Authority earns nearly 90 percent overall satisfaction rating

Contact: Jeff Brown, OCWA Public Affairs Officer, (315) 455-7061 ext. 3115 (work); (315) 727-6881 (cell)

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – December 9, 2015 – The Onondaga County Water Authority (OCWA) achieved an overall customer satisfaction rating of 89 percent in the company’s first comprehensive Customer Satisfaction and Perception Survey. Conducted from September to October 2015 by independent research firm Research & Marketing Strategies, Inc. based in Baldwinsville, the random phone survey of 616 OCWA customers across its five-county service area measured customer satisfaction in the areas of office and field customer service, water quality/safety/reliability, communication, billing, cost and expectations.

Michael Hooker, OCWA’s executive director said, “We are extremely proud of our employees and their efforts to serve our customers each and every day. It is to their credit the survey results show strong customer satisfaction with OCWA, which demonstrates the continued commitment of our employees to deliver world-class customer service.”

Among the survey findings:

  • 99% rated OCWA water reliable, 93% rated it high quality and 91% rated it safe
  • 97% favorably rated both OCWA’s in-house customer service staff and employees in the field
  • Water was considered the most critical utility service (vs. gas, electric, phone, etc.)
  • Only 4% of respondents did not have a favorable opinion of OCWA and only 3% thought the cost of OCWA water is not a good deal

“We are grateful so many of our customers are satisfied with our performance and have confidence in our water system. We will use the customer satisfaction survey results to help us reinforce our strengths as well as identify areas where we can make further improvements to earn our customer’s trust and loyalty,” said Hooker.

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The Onondaga County Water Authority was established by act of the New York State Legislature in 1951 and currently serves over 350,000 residents in Onondaga, Oswego, Madison, Oneida and Cayuga Counties. The Authority is one of the 100 largest water systems in the country, operating over 2,000 miles of water main, 54 storage facilities and 42 pump stations.