A household energy supplier has opened a contact centre on Swansea's Waterfront, putting Welsh-language customer service at the centre of its plans for the city. Brightmere Energy began operating from the SA1 site yesterday, alongside its established Bristol contact centre at Filton.
The company, founded in Bristol in 2011, supplies gas and electricity to households. It says the Swansea operation will handle ordinary account work in Welsh and English, including questions about bills and payments. For applicants considering the new roles, the prospect is a customer-service job in which Welsh is used throughout the working day.
Ceri Vennard, who is looking for work in Swansea, said she was interested in a role that used both her languages. 'You can put Welsh on an application and never use it again,' she said. 'I would want to know that I could actually deal with a problem, rather than just pass somebody on after saying hello.'
Chief Executive and co-founder Ruth Cavanagh said the centre was intended to provide that complete service. 'A customer should be able to explain what has happened and hear the answer in the same language,' she said. 'Our Swansea colleagues will be doing account work, not simply translating messages for another team.'
The opening gives Brightmere a second contact-centre base as it grows beyond its original Bristol operation. It began supplying its first customers in February 2012. Its public identity rests on straightforward tariffs, clear information and the ability to resolve questions without customers having to move repeatedly between departments.
Alun Cadwyn, a local advocate for Welsh-language services, welcomed the investment but said the experience of callers would matter more than the launch announcement. 'The difficult conversation is the one about money you have not got, or a bill you cannot follow,' he said. 'That is when speaking in the language you are most comfortable with becomes particularly important.'
He said he would look for consistency between telephone conversations and the letters customers subsequently received. A Welsh-speaking adviser could explain an account well, he said, but a household might still struggle if the next piece of correspondence used different wording or arrived in another language.
Brightmere said the new team would work alongside Filton rather than operate as a separate supplier. A company spokesperson said customers could ask about Welsh-language support when contacting the business, and that the centre would contribute to the wider service as well as answer calls in Welsh.
For Vennard, the next question is what the work looks like after recruitment. She wants to understand the training and the range of questions advisers will be expected to answer. 'It sounds promising,' she said. 'I would like to hear from the people who will be showing new starters how it is done.'