Live call recorded 16 October 2013 ("Park Power" Alternative PECO Energy Supplier
Caller ID: "New Hope, PA"

Called recently from: (215) 589-6785

These alternative electric power suppliers have been calling off and on for years. Always annoying, their predictive dialers rarely put a live agent on the phone when I answer. This time it did, so I decided to have fun at their expense.

I played along when agent Yvonne Taylor asked questions about my most recent electric bill with PECO. Of course, I didn't tell her I moved a year ago and am no longer living in the area serviced by PECO. She said I was currently paying "9.35" and claimed Park Power could guarantee me a rate of "9.19 for 18 months".

Thanks to Google Voice, here is a transcript of the call. Note that throughout the call, the supervisor's voice can be heard in the background, prompting the agent:

[me:] Hello? (kitchen noises from my end, it was the dinner hour)
[they:] Hello? Hello?

[me:] Hello? (we got off to a very slow start)
[they:] Hello? Is this John?

[me:]  Yes it is.
[they:]  Hello? How are you today, sir?

[me:]  I was fine (before you called, yuk yuk)
[they:]  Ok, well, my name is Yvonne Taylor. I'm a senior consultant at Park Power. I hope to find you well today. Just to let you know your call is being monitored for quality assurance purposes. My [notice how high pitched her voice gets here] reason for calling you today is to advise you your rate with PECO is increased to 9.35 and we're trying to offer you a rate of 9.19 and that's at a fixed rate for 18 months. [pause] Basically, what it means is, that you do qualify for a discount on your PECO electricity bill and as of your next meter reading bill, you can start receiving your new electric choice rate. What, what I'm going to do for you today is lower your rate at 9.19 for 18 months and again this discounted rate is good for 18 months. There's no cost to enroll and of course uh PECO will still be your utility company. They'll still continue to deliver your [unintelligible] and still bill you the same way. Now I can get you started today with your savings today, I just need to verify some information and give you some of my information as well, such as my name and phone number and uh I do need to verify your tin digit uh number from your bill. Your account number from your bill. Do you have time to grab your bill, sir?

[me:]  I don't have it right in front of me at the moment. Uh...
[they:]  [unintelligible] Hello?

[me:]  I didn't hear you. You said how many digits of a number? [I distinctly heard her say TIN]
[they:]  Uh, it's the tin digit on your bill.

[me:]  I don't have it, I don't know it offhand.
[they:]  Ok, let's see if I can, maybe, uh, help you with that. Can you hold one second?

[me:]  I can hold, yes.
[they:]  Ok. {I can hear her talking to her supervisor who asks her "but he wants it?"] Ok sir. Sir? Hello?

[me:]  Yes.
[they:]  Ok, it's ok if you don't have your bill right now, I just need you to grab a pin and a piece of paper if that's ok.

[me:]  Ok.
[they:]  I'm going to give you your account number, ok? It's going to be 123456789.

[me:]  Now, what account number is that?
[they:]  That's your account number on your bill.

[me:]  Oh.
[they:]  123456789.

[me:]  What does that represent?
[they:]  That's your account number on your bill uh since you weren't able to uh find your bill I was able to pull it up for you. And...

[me:]  How did you do that?
[they:]  Well, I have the information off of your bill, so that's how I was able to pull it up. I needed you to look at your bill because I wanted you to look at your rate as I spoke with you so you could see the difference in the savings.

[me:]  Uh, now, where would I find my rate?
[they:]  Your rate would be [supervisor in background is heard saying 'under the message center'] under where it says, uh, Your Message Center, it's sort of like in the middle of your bill [supervisor is again heard in the background] and it's on page 1. It's going to say is 'your electric price to compare is' and it will have the number right there per kilowatt.

[me:]  So your offering a discount from .3 to .19?
[they:]  Yours says 1.3?

[me:]  No, I'm going on what you told me at the beginning of this call, you said it was 9.3 and you're offering 9.19?
[they:]  You're at 9.35, we're offering 9.19 [supervisor in background dictates]

[me:]  So you're offering a discount
[they:]  Right, a discount of...9.19 is what we're offering and that's a locked rate for 18 months. [long pause] Sir?

[me:]  That's hardly a substantial discount.
[they:]  Well, um, it's um, I mean, it maintains that it's not really essential right at this time but you know that your bill fluctuates up and down, uh you may not have noticed you may not uh look at your bill like that, but what we're trying to do is offer you a fixed rate of uh for 18 months. Now if you are...

[me:]  But what if it fluctuates up?
[they:]  If it fluctuates up? No, ours, no, ours is not going to go up, it's going to remain at 9.19 for the first of 18 months...

[me:]  What if my rate actually goes down?
[they:]  If your, your rate [supervisor dictates in background] your rate is currently 9.35 and it continuously fluctuates. Now you're saying if it goes down...

[me:]  The price of oil has been going down the past few weeks and I could very well see a reduction in my electric bill from that, so I don't want to lock in with you if the rate is higher...
[they:]  Ok well sir, um, I'm sure that you would not be making a bad decision by going ahead and locking this in for 18 months because I know that this is going to be a big savings for you.

[me:]  Are you calling me from New Hope, Pennsylvania?
[they:]  I'm calling you from Park Power.

[me:]  I looked at the phone number as you called and I looked at the Area Code and found women who call from that Area Code are usually prostitutes or lesbians...
[they:]  Oh no sir, we're not, no anything affiliated with anything like that, no.

[me:]  You're telling me that you're neither a lesbian nor a prostitute?
[they:]  Oh no sir, nothing like that, I do apologize if you've gotten a misunderstanding. I do apologize if you've been getting calls like that. What we are is, we're a supplier for PECO so that means that you'll still have the same utility company, but PECO would be, I mean, I'm sorry, Park Power would be your supplier, for PECO.

[me:]  I don't know Park Power. {the Internet shows they incorporated in January 2013, they're new]
[they:]  Well, Park Power is a part of PECO, uh it's uh the supplier for PECO, so you would still be under PECO.

[me:]  Well, if I would still be under PECO, then I guess there's no reason to change.
[they:]  Well sir, what it is is that you would be getting a cheaper rate. You would honestly be getting a cheaper rate. That's what I'm trying to give you right now. I can go ahead and maybe get you started and I do want you to completely understand it is not a gimick, just trying to get you some savings. Are you enrolled in any other low uh income program such as CAP or PIP or anything?

[me:]  No, I'm not.
[they:]  No? Ok. Is this your residential account? Is this correct?

[me:]  Uh no.
[they:]  Ok. Um, you are the person who's authorized to make decisions on this bill. Correct?

[me:]  What bill is that?
[they:]  On your PECO bill, you are the person who's authorized, correct?

[me:]  Uh, I have not been on PECO for about one year.
[they:]  You haven't been on PECO for one year? [supervisor prompting again in background]

[me:] That's correct.
[they:] So you don't have a supplier?

[me:] Not PECO, no.
[they:] Would you like for us to go ahead and maybe get you signed up today sir? um...

[me:] But PECO is in Pennsylvania.
[they:] Right. This...

[me:] And I am not in Pennsylvania.
[they:] You're not not in Pennsylvania?

[me:] That is correct.
[they:] Are you [supervisor asking the agent if I bill with PECO at all]

[me:] I'm sorry, the phone made a strange noise...
[they:] Oh I apologize. Are you billed with PECO at all at this time?

[me:] At this time, no.
[they:] No? [supervisor prompts agent: if PECO is not your utility company, you do not qualify...]  Ok sir, if PECO is not your utility company you don't qualify for our service, so PECO is not your utility service?

[me:] That is correct, I'm wondering then why you're even talking to me?
[they:] So you are looking at the top of your bill? One second.

[me:] No, I don't have my bill in front of me. I can't get it right now, we're eating dinner.
[they:] Hello sir, my name is Nakesha Barnes and I'm also a senior consultant with Park Power sir and what we are is authorized suppliers for PECO sir and I'm not understanding what, what you're misunderstanding as far as the uh electric choice program goes sir. Are you telling the agent that you're not billed with PECO at all, sir?

[me:] That is correct.
[they:] Ok so you no longer have any services with PECO as your utility company, are you saying you have already chosen a supplier, alternative supplier sir?

[me:] I'm no longer with PECO.
[they:] Ok, ok, well, with that being said sir, I must terminate the call, and I do apologize for any inconvenience sir, and you do have a great night, ok?

[me:] Thank you, you too.
[they:] Ok, bye-bye.

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