Customer
Spotlight
Customer
Spotlight
 EL PASO NATURAL GAS CO. El Paso, Texas |
| El Paso Natural Gas
Company operates one of the largest interstate pipeline
networks in the United States -- over 22,000 miles. With
the advent of open access to natural gas in 1986, El Paso
found itself no longer a merchant of bundled services but
a transporter in a highly competitive marketplace. Once
favored as a supplier, contractual problems with
producers, plus downsizing, soon contributed to a
reputation of being out of touch with customers.
Internally, the old structure of vertical management was
preventing progress in the new market.Senior
management set out to redesign the company and a new
mission statement emerged: to become the Pipeline of
Choice Serving the Southwest. Next, management sought the
support and confidence of the employees. "We needed
to convince everyone that they had entered a new era
where customer service comes first," says president
Bill Wise. "We had to blast through the walls that
divided us within -- and blocked us from those outside
.... To that end, we looked for a program that laid out
the changes that must come to El Paso: a program that
could be presented to all employees -- from top to
bottom. We selected Putting People First
created by TMI North America Inc. Offering it to all of
our employees turned out to be the smartest decision we
made as we struggled to reorient the corporation. The
program provided the common call to hundreds of people
who had never been called before." RESULTS: "Our employees recognized the program as a significant commitment on our part to give them the tools to advance our mission statement .... Greater emphasis is being placed on providing quality service to all customers, internal and external," says Wise. Key customers are talking about the difference in the level of service they are now receiving and El Paso is earning the reputation as the pipeline of choice. |
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