Assessing, understanding and influencing customer perceptions of water quality

Although a cluster of customer complaints can identify specific water quality issues such as a dirty water event, it is more difficult to understand the extent of general customer satisfaction with water quality and taste. The Final Report for this project includes four printable water quality Factsheets for the general public which explain tastes and odours, fluoridation, and disinfection. The Report also includes the protocols and texts for two customer engagement techniques: Blind Taste Testing and Systematic Taste Testing; as well as a comprehensive customer survey instrument to assess perceptions of drinking water quality. These can be downloaded to electronic mobile devices and used to direct face to face customer engagement with the tastes and odours of different types of potable water. The scoresheet links to a rating spreadsheet that collates results and generates graphical representations of customer acceptance of water sample taste. These tools have been used to assess customer satisfaction with water quality at large events including National Water Quality week or Utility information days.