Name: Faye Benton
Organisation: MCS (Microgeneration Certification Scheme)
Job title: Head of Customer Experience
Location in the UK: Warrington
Your company/business in one line:
MCS is the UK’s quality mark for small-scale renewable energy, setting standards that allow for the certification of products, installers and their installations – giving everyone confidence to invest in renewable technologies.
My alarm goes off at … 6am, 6.15am and 6.30am – I’m not an early riser, so I always set multiple alarms, just in case!
The first thing I do each day is…Check my phone and then enjoy my first cup of tea for the day. I’m very particular about it – it has to be strong, piping hot, and with just a splash of milk. Once I’m ready, I’ll FaceTime my daughter to see my granddaughter, Nancy, before heading to work. It’s the perfect start to my day and always puts a smile on my face!
I prepare for the day ahead by…Prepping as much as possible the night before, making sure my bag is packed, and clothes are laid out. I often draft emails in the evening, scheduling them to arrive the next morning. My husband helps a lot too by making my packed lunch the night before.
I can’t leave the house without…My glasses for driving and my phone to play music in the car. I listen to Spotify in the mornings, then Radio 2 when I’m on my way home.
My typical day…Like everyone at MCS, there really isn’t a ‘typical’ day. Right now, my role is heavily focused on building a Customer Experience function for MCS. This involves restructuring our two existing teams:
- The Customer Support Helpdesk, which serves as the main point of contact for installers and customers, handling a wide range of inquiries and issues
- The field-based Technical Assessment team, which carries out assessments on MCS certified technologies.
In addition, we are creating two new teams: Customer Relations and Complaints. Customer Relations will oversee relationships with MCS certified installers, from initial onboarding to ongoing monitoring, and will engage with consumers, allowing us to gather valuable insights into their experiences. The Complaints team will manage all escalated complaints relating to MCS certified installers. My focus is therefore very much on building the teams and working on shaping and delivering the strategy for Customer Experience for the redeveloped MCS Scheme.
Here’s an insight into my day today:
8.15am – Arrived at the office, made a strong tea, and checked emails. Reviewed a new report from Citizens Advice on consumer protection in the small-scale renewables sector.
9am – I attended a workshop to discuss onboarding our Certification Bodies to the redeveloped MCS Scheme.
10am – Joined Consumer Protection training that I organised for our Senior Leadership Team and Heads of Departments, led by an external ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) trainer. The session was crucial for aligning our team on consumer protection as we shape policy for the new MCS Scheme.
4pm – Joined Ian, CEO at MCS; Lisa, Operations & Communications Director at MCS; Beth, and Dave, along with key stakeholders from DESNZ (Department for Energy, Security & Net Zero) to discuss the ECO4 government incentive. The ECO4 Grants Scheme is a UK Government incentive scheme which offers free renewable energy installations like solar panels and heat pumps to low-income and poorly insulated homes, to help make their homes more efficient and save on energy bills
5pm – Worked on a consultation response for Consumer Scotland with Alex and Lisa, ahead of a roundtable in November.
I left the office at around 6.25pm and once I was home, I was lucky that dinner had already been made for me, so I just had to heat it up before catching up on Bake Off with a glass of wine.
My most memorable work moment…There are so many to choose from, but I’d say the privilege of visiting customers in their homes. It’s something I don’t get to do often, but spending time with them in their own environment and listening to their experiences gives me a unique perspective. It’s really highlighted the impact of installation issues on peoples’ lives and underscored just how important the upcoming changes to the Scheme are, as we take a more active role in monitoring compliance, assessing installations, and ultimately driving up standards across the industry.
The worst part of my job … It can be disappointing when MCS is perceived as not taking sufficient action or holding installers accountable. The current Scheme already has measures in place to identify and address issues where consumer harm or poor-quality work is found. However, with the upcoming changes to MCS, we’re taking consumer protection to the next level. We’ll be more proactive than ever, not just in identifying issues but capturing evidence that an installer’s quality processes and controls are delivering installations that work effectively, are technically sound, and are compliant with our Standards.
The best part of my job…Definitely the amazing team I work with. We have a fantastic culture at MCS, where everyone is incredibly supportive of each other. My own team is expanding quickly as we build the MCS Customer Experience function, and watching people grow, take on new responsibilities, and step into newly defined roles is so rewarding. Their resilience and dedication to driving MCS forward and giving everyone confidence in home-grown energy makes it all worthwhile for me.
I relax after work by…Listening to music is a big part of my downtime. I’ve recently rediscovered my vinyl collection from my teenage years and have started collecting again. I also love live music, theatre, and city breaks, so I often spend evenings planning my next trip. This year, I was lucky enough to attend Glastonbury for the first time and visit Amsterdam and Paris. As an empty-nester, I try to chat with my grown-up kids every night – I really miss having them around!
On my bedside table is… A glass of water, my reading glasses, my phone, and a framed photo of my husband and I from our teenage years – looking at our questionable 1980s hairstyles always puts a smile on my face.
The last thing I do each day is …Unwind by watching a bit of TV – something light, like a cooking or home improvement programme. Although I also watch a lot of true crime documentaries.
I’m normally in bed by…11.30pm – I’ve always been a night owl but I’m trying hard to get to bed earlier. If it’s anything before 11.30pm, I feel like I’ve accomplished something.
Image credit: MCS