Reasoning with a Hurricane; Setting Expectations in the Aftermath of Disaster

Once a hurricane makes landfall all the coverage focused on tracks, models and the cone of doom fades away and all attention to turns to rescues, recovery and a return to normalcy.   As Jacksonville emerges from the wrath of Hurricane Irma, there is a tale of two utilities in North Florida – one with a remarkable track record and one with a not-so illustrious record.  When it comes to customer service and recovery times, Beaches Energy has proved to be extremely reliable and the Jacksonville Electric Authority (JEA) has been less than stellar in performance and communicating with their clients.

As Irma approached the First Coast, both utilities were optimistic for speedy recoveries.  During, and just after the storm, the recovery phase started. Beaches Energy had restored power to nearly 90% of its customers within 24 hours of the storm’s passing, but JEA on the other hand had restored far fewer customers.  The contrast between the two companies performance was highlighted when JEA’s CEO couldn’t clearly articulate when power would be restored and failed to meet timelines he previously published.

Across the Intracoastal it was another story for the leaders of Beaches Energy.  For the second year in a row they beat their published timeframes for power restoration after a hurricane hit the Jacksonville Beach communities.  Their communication routines were consistent, frequent and accurate that set a high bar for customer satisfaction and expectation.  In times of crisis CEO’s and leaders need to manage customer expectation and establish realistic promises for performance; otherwise the old adage that “expectations are resentments under construction” can ring very true.