Business & Tech

Help TECO Choose Voice of New Automated Voice System

Voting is conducted on Facebook.

The companies of TECO Energy are offering customers a unique opportunity – to choose the voice persona of the new automated phone system scheduled to launch early next year.

Customers are encouraged to visit Tampa Electric and Peoples Gas on Facebook this week and “Like” their favorite voice. The voice with the most “Likes” will be the persona of the new Tampa Electric and Peoples Gas interactive voice response systems.

“We average more than 10,000 calls a day from Tampa Electric and Peoples Gas customers, and the automated phone systems help us manage that volume,” said Bruce Narzissenfeld, vice president of customer service. “They are the backbone of our Customer Care department.”

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By asking customers to help choose the voice persona, TECO hopes to show that customer opinion matters. “No one likes talking to a machine or being on hold when they have an issue they need to resolve. We are working hard to make this a better point of contact for our customers,” said Narzissenfeld. “Customer Service is one of our corporate values and we take it seriously.”

Tampa Electric and Peoples Gas have been working all year on the phone system upgrades. In addition to the customer-selected voice, the phone systems will feature enhancements such as voice recognition and easier navigation. 

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Customers will be able to handle the most common requests through easy, self-service options or will be routed to a representative for personalized service. The new system is planned to be in service in the first quarter of 2014.

Customers can vote for the voice persona at facebook.com/tampaelectric and facebook.com/peoplesgas through noon on Friday.

-Courtesy of Sylvia Vega


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