At the end of each quarter, we randomly draw 10 panel members to receive a $200 gift card.  We select eight winners from everyone who completed at least one survey in the quarter, and two more winners from the smaller group who completed the majority of the surveys they were invited to in the quarter.  In this last quarter, we had just one survey, so all 10 winners were drawn from members who completed the Website Navigation survey.

 Here are our 10 winners and their comments:

“I’ve enjoyed being part of the panel. I’ve learned so much. Thanks.” Cynthia W., Kansas City, Missouri

“I appreciate being asked for my opinion and being able to communicate directly with Evergy.” Darin C., Derby, KS

“I enjoy being able to contribute to overall customer experience measurement. Will use card for motorcycle boots.” David S., Kansas City, Missouri

“Nice to have a utility company showing interest in their customers. You don't find that very often if at all.” Deane P., Olathe ,KS

“Thank you so much! I am going to use this to purchase comfort items for my husband who is going through cancer treatments.” Donna E., Arkansas City, KS

“I like being part of the advisory panel and hopefully my inputs is beneficial and helpful. I will use the gift card towards my monthly bill.” Elmer C., Leavenworth, KS

“Haven't thought about the gift card use but the surveys have allowed me to think in others’ shoes who don't have an electrical background.” Jachob S., Parkville, MO

“I have enjoyed learning about Evergy thru being part of the panel and feel that our feedback is valued.  I will likely utilize the gift card towards an Amazon gift card & donate it to the school.” James M., Shawnee, KS

“I really enjoy providing feedback and my opinions to help better Evergy. I plan on using the gift card to support my wife's classroom as she is a special education teacher.” Shawn B., Parker, KS

“Experience on the panel has broadened my knowledge of all Evergy does and its community impact.  Plan on spending the gift card on something fun. Hurry up SPRING! Thank you!” Timothy B., Lees Summit, MO

Congratulations, Customer Advisory Panel members!  And thank you!

Why can’t we get rewarded for each survey we complete?
For two reasons. First and most important, Evergy is not allowed to provide any sort of direct financial benefit to any specific group of customers. Also, there are concerns that Evergy would be influencing positive responses to surveys if we were to essentially pay you for your answers.

Why don’t you answer individual questions we ask you in the surveys?
We would love to be able to respond to each of you, but we researchers often lack the expertise to answer ourselves, and lack the time to track down the experts at Evergy, interview them, and write a response to you.

Does our input have any effect?
Yes! People at Evergy see the results of every survey and results are taken into consideration. But customer input is only one of many data points needed to make a decision, which, depending on the scope, may include cost, impact across Evergy, regulatory considerations, other priorities, employee constraints, and timing. You may remember the Payment Preferences survey, where we asked about being able to set your own due date. We actually presented these survey results six times to different teams involved in different aspects of making this happen. Directly because of our survey results, it was to be “moved up on the roadmap”, but then more immediate priorities emerged and teams are busy with other issues, so this is pushed back.

The sweepstakes aren’t real and no one wins.
I can assure you that the sweepstakes are real, and people do win. Yes, people in Kansas win, people in rural communities win, people who rate Evergy poorly win. Winners’ comments are posted as written (only edited to correct spelling errors). If you see relatively few winners in rural areas or small towns, it is because we have relatively few panel members in rural communities and small towns. The majority of Evergy customers reside in larger cities, so the majority of panel members reside in larger cities, so the majority of our survey winners reside in larger cities.

Add responses for “don’t know” and “not applicable” and add a back button!
Will do.

Why aren’t we able to have a dialog or more interaction between Customer Advisory Panel members?
This would be fun, but our systems are not set up to allow this.

I never receive the email newsletters and did not know about the Member Hub.
The quarterly newsletters are sent to the same email address as the survey invitations, so if you get survey invitations, you should get the newsletters. You are redirected to the Member Hub at the end of each survey, and clicking on any article referenced in the newsletter will take you to the Member Hub.

How many Customer Advisory Panel members are there?
We usually have around 2,000 active Customer Advisory Panel members. Usually, 30-40% of panel members respond to any one survey. Some members have been active on the panel since it started in 2014!