Utilities don’t exactly have the best reputation when it comes to customer service. Long waits, outdated phone systems, and stressed-out agents have left many customers with low expectations. But the story isn’t all bad. Across Europe, forward-thinking utilities are proving that better service is possible – and profitable.
This post takes a closer look at three transformation stories: EnBW, Stadtwerke Hamm, and OOWV. Each shows how good call center software for utilities can turn service from a bottleneck into a differentiator.
EnBW: Automating Voice at Scale
EnBW, one of Germany’s largest energy providers, handles around 150,000 calls every month. Their challenge was simple but daunting: too many repetitive queries, too few ways to scale without overloading staff.
By introducing VoiceBot automation, EnBW automated 80% of their calls in some way. Around 5% are fully automated, 20% are partially automated within the call, and 55% benefit from automated intent capture before the agent steps in.
The result? More than €500,000 in annual savings and 35 seconds cut from average handling times. The big win wasn’t just efficiency – it was proving that automating utility customer service doesn’t mean replacing humans. It means letting agents focus on the complex, high-value cases where empathy matters.
Stadtwerke Hamm: From Basic Phones to Full Transparency
Stadtwerke Hamm, a regional utility provider, had been running on a bare-bones telephony setup. No call data, no routing, no visibility into why customers were calling. The system was frustrating customers and leaving agents blind.
With babelforce, they made the leap to a modern phone system for utilities that combined no-code workflows, automation, and transparency. By introducing automated intent capture, they could finally see why customers were calling and direct them to the right team. Customers were able to update monthly payments or request information without speaking to an agent, while staff gained actionable data for continuous improvement.
As Julie Pradler, Digital Platform Advisor at Stadtwerke Hamm, put it:
“All these insights we get from babelforce – it’s a really good benefit for us.”
The transformation shows how even smaller, municipal providers can modernise without massive IT overhead.
OOWV: Handling Call Surges With Ease
For OOWV, one of Germany’s largest water utilities, the crunch point came during meter reading season. Regulations meant customers had to submit readings within a 10-day window – tens of thousands of calls in a matter of days.
With a babelforce VoiceBot powered by deepassist AI, OOWV automated over 15,000 readings in just one week. The automation integrated with their existing telephony, so no costly rip-and-replace was required.
The outcome was a 40% efficiency boost during peak demand, 24/7 availability for customers, and agents freed up to handle urgent or complex cases. This is where contact center as a service for utilities shows its true value: scalability on demand, without sacrificing service quality.
Lessons From the Leaders
What unites EnBW, Stadtwerke Hamm, and OOWV isn’t size or market. It’s the recognition that legacy tools can’t keep pace with modern expectations. Automating meter readings, capturing intent, or scaling during surges isn’t optional anymore – it’s table stakes for utilities that want to avoid headlines about “customer service crises.”
As we noted in our post on the ROI of CCaaS in utilities, the return isn’t just financial. It’s about resilience, customer trust, and positioning service as a growth driver instead of a cost centre.
babelforce is the phone platform of choice for utilities
At babelforce, we’re proud to power these transformations. Our platform helps national and regional utilities:
- Automate up to 90% of routine tasks without coding.
- Reduce average handling time by 35+ seconds per call.
- Scale instantly during outages, price changes, or seasonal surges.
- Integrate seamlessly with Zendesk and other systems for joined-up service.
For utilities ready to move past firefighting, babelforce is the flexible CCaaS partner that makes customer service both efficient and future-proof.
