Acadiana’s Slemco Gets High National Marks

Congratulations are in order for SLEMCO as they have earned a top-ten rating from J.D. Powers and Associates. The South Louisiana Electric Membership Corporation is based in Lafayette and serves 108,000 member-customers in several parishes.

In a time in Louisiana when so many stories focus on the negative, this story focuses on the success of a member-owned organization. The National Customer Satisfaction Study has SLEMCO earning the 7th ranking out of 145 large electric companies across our country.

So, what is the company's secret?

Chief Executive officer and General Manager of SLEMCO Glenn Tamporello says the employees of the company work hard to make sure they have an exemplary company culture that focuses on their own families, customers as family, and coworkers as family.

He adds,

From the crews in the field to office personnel who help our customers with billing issues, SLEMCO is and always has been woven into the fabric of Southwest Louisiana. Not one of us considers those we serve to be 'just customers.' They're friends, neighbors, and even family. Almost everyone who lives around here knows someone who works for SLEMCO which is one reason we take so much pride in what we do.

Who decides how the rankings fall?

According to SLEMCO, residential customers are the ones who fill out the performance surveys. These surveys are taken all across the country, so this go-round over 101 million households rated their power provides. SLEMCO had a ranking of 808 while the national average was 748.

What kind of criteria are customers asked about? They rank a company based on their performant in the following areas:

Price
Billing and payment
Communications
Power quality and reliability
Customer care
Corporate citizenship

The ranking comes as no surprise to Tamporello or company spokeswoman Mary Laurent. She says,

The culture here is deeply rooted in a strong sense of dedication to our customers. We never lose sight of the fact that day or night, we are counted on to provide the most reliable power possible at the best possible price. When you work at SLEMCO, you don't have a job, you have a calling.

Members of SLEMCO are from several parishes including the following: