The prestigious “Customer Service of the Year” label honors companies each year that place customer relationship quality at the heart of their priorities.
TotalEnergies’ Consumer Service has stood out for the 15th consecutive year in the “Automotive Services” category, winning the 2024 Best Customer Service award. This 15th title highlights the ongoing commitment of the group and all its employees to consumers and clients.
Since their partnership began in 2005, TotalEnergies and Armatis have shared the ambition to provide the best possible service to TotalEnergies’ clients and partners.
In this article, Anthony Humbert, Head of Communication and Customer Service at TotalEnergies, and Catherine Hill, Head of Consumer Service at TotalEnergies, reflect on the keys to TotalEnergies’ customer relationship success.
[Anthony Humbert] 15 Years as Customer Service of the Year! What’s the secret to TotalEnergies’ customer relations success?
Customer satisfaction is in our company’s DNA: listening, caring, and problem-solving are extremely effective tools for building loyalty.
Every interaction with a client, especially when it comes to complaints or complex requests, is an opportunity to demonstrate our responsiveness and commitment to users of our services.
At TotalEnergies, our customer-centric ambition is built on three pillars:
- Strong leadership and direction from the highest levels
- Ambitious human and financial resources
- Company-wide ownership and integration of these priorities at every level
To measure our customer satisfaction performance, we track several indicators. For example, we’ve integrated “Google My Business” ratings as a KPI in each employee’s annual evaluation.
In this customer-focused ecosystem, it’s essential to have a Consumer Service team that’s aligned and representative of this commitment to implement our customer-centric strategy.
Consumer Service is a key part of this virtuous system, as it also identifies and reports customer pain points. These issues are then analyzed in business unit director committees, resulting in concrete action plans to continuously improve our products and services.
And what better way to test our innovations and improvements than through competition! That’s why we compete for the Customer Service of the Year award.
We’ve won this trophy every year for 15 years, and we’re always delighted to share these victories with Armatis.
These awards make us extremely proud, as they embody our daily commitment to customer satisfaction.
[Anthony Humbert] Beyond the award, what are the benefits for TotalEnergies customers?
We take care of our customers and are committed to earning and keeping their trust.
“You’ll never come to us by chance again!”
With this in mind, we invest across the entire value chain: from the quality of the energy we provide to the associated services.
We strive to be accessible, helpful, and competitive, offering a wide range of quality services to our customers at the right time and place.
Moreover, whenever there’s an issue, our customers can count on our Consumer Service to resolve it fairly and efficiently.
[Catherine Hill] How do you prepare for the Customer Service of the Year (ESCDA) competition?
Beyond ESCDA, our daily efforts are for our clients, as we constantly seek customer excellence.
To achieve this, we surround ourselves with talented employees and provide them with the tools and resources they need to succeed.
And, we train like professional athletes!
Preparation is essential to win the trophy. It’s a daily effort that involves all teams.
We review last year’s ESCDA evaluations, analyze our areas for improvement and strengths, and strive to get better. We’ve also developed a specific educational program for ESCDA, based on FAQs used by our mystery shoppers—a real asset.
Then, we create a roadmap of actions to take on the big day to meet all the requirements of the Customer Service of the Year competition. At the same time, we rely on our supervisors, who know the rules inside out and guide advisors to success.
When a new advisor joins our Consumer Service, they’re immediately made aware of ESCDA, and all election criteria are integrated into our monitoring grid. These are quality indicators that help us prepare for the competition and validate our approach and attitude towards clients for a smooth, supportive relationship.
In 2024, we’re setting the bar very high—we aim to be in the top 15 across all categories, or even in the top 5! It’s a real challenge, but we know how to prepare for it. 😊
[Catherine Hill] How do you unite your advisors around this event?
We believe advisors are at the heart of our commitments to clients—they drive process improvement.
I regularly visit the teams because I love being with them, at the heart of everything, listening to the customer’s voice. The greatest pleasure is talking to the advisors, sitting beside them, doing double listening sessions, asking questions, and mutual coaching—they learn from me, and I learn from them.
Experts often join me to meet the teams and give meaning to our work. This generates interest, motivation, and engagement.
The Level 2 Consumer Service team—Laetitia, Agnès, Karine, Tiffany, Sahyrha, and Noa—also visit to meet the teams. As subject matter experts, they bring their expertise to handling requests. These workshops are invaluable for sharing our end-to-end process vision and ensuring customer satisfaction.
We’re very committed to the well-being and retention of our advisors. Their experience with our business and brand helps them develop their skills and, ultimately, move beyond training to speak naturally and enjoy their service roles.
Let’s not forget that uniting and motivating teams is also about fun and atmosphere!
With this in mind, we set up challenges and try to be creative to surprise and reward them.
We’ve also created a brand-themed workspace, which we decorate in ESCDA colors during evaluation periods. In 2024, we’ll set up a cozy lounge for sharing ideas and conversations!
Finally, celebrating success is essential. Beyond the year-round challenges, we celebrate our victories together. We truly are “one team”!
Our team’s commitment is reflected in impressive social indicators: we have an absenteeism rate close to zero and turnover below 3%. These outstanding results show our advisors are happy!
Our advisors become our ambassadors, always giving their best—we’re very proud of them!
Testimonial: Souzie, Armatis Advisor for TotalEnergies Consumer Service since March 1, 2022
I’m very happy to work in this environment, where mutual support, kindness, and team spirit reign. It pushes me to give my best.
What matters most to me is customer satisfaction. To achieve this, you have to listen, understand, help, and find solutions for customers.
During ESCDA evaluations, there’s a positive pressure that helps us stay focused on our approach and attitude to win the award.
I’m very proud that we’ve been recognized again this year—it proves we’re a determined, effective, and professional team.
We’re ready to take on new challenges and ambitious projects with TotalEnergies!
[Catherine Hill] What does your partnership with Armatis bring?
Armatis is an integral part of our team—it is the TotalEnergies Consumer Service: “one team.” We share the same goals and the same drive to excel.
Every day, I’m fortunate to be supported by an amazing team: Fatima Chaouki, Account Manager, and Béatrice Boutin, Production Manager. Together, we have many projects and new activities launching.
For example, in 2023, we integrated the management of Google reviews, handled complex Level 2 topics, added Wash activities, and managed the TotalEnergies Services app.
In 2024, we’re launching WhatsApp as a new channel to meet our consumers’ needs.
To implement action plans and support advisors, we’re surrounded by a highly professional team of supervisors: Laetitia, Aude, and Malika, as well as Elodie for training. I thank them for their work, dedication, and enthusiasm.
In short, this partnership is a win-win relationship, built on transparency. Together, we advise, innovate, and challenge each other—all for the benefit of our customers!
[Anthony Humbert] After 19 years of partnership, you’re renewing your trust in Armatis once again. What’s the secret to this longevity?
We need a trusted partner who shares our passion for customers, who listens, is agile, and has committed, enthusiastic teams.
Armatis is a partner who shares our values and is committed to meeting our challenges. We’ve worked together for many years, know each other well, and are united by an exceptional mission: to serve, care for, and be there for our customers.
Moreover, we have a top-level Consumer Service based in France, which understands and embodies the tone and values we want to convey to our customers. A high-level Consumer Service is essential, but it must also carry the TotalEnergies culture—and that’s what we’re building together.
All these reasons support renewing this partnership, especially given the major challenges ahead: we must transform, evolve our ways of working, stay close to our customers, support them, build loyalty, and make them happy.
[Anthony Humbert] What do you envision for the future of TotalEnergies Consumer Service?
I believe the Consumer Service of tomorrow will be the result of a skillful blend of cutting-edge technology and relational excellence.
Technology will allow us to unify all contact channels—voice, video, document sharing, etc.—into a single entry point, making interactions instant, accessible, and simple for customers in any situation, at any time.
This technology must be completely seamless for the customer.
Relational excellence will remain the key factor in building customer loyalty. Consumer Service must preserve a strong human and emotional element in client interactions.
Ultimately, tomorrow’s Consumer Service won’t just be ultra-efficient—it will be unique. To achieve this, we’ll rely on technological power (scale, accuracy, immediacy) while maintaining the right relational tone that reflects our brand values.
That way, Consumer Service will always carry the brand’s colors—a familiar touchpoint for customers from their very first contact with us.
