City of Philadelphia Improves Customer Service for its Residents with NEC`s IVR Application

Communications Integration Improves Public Access to Tax Services and Lowers
Department Operating Costs
IRVING, Texas--(Business Wire)--
NEC Unified Solutions, Inc. (NEC), a leading communications solutions
integrator, today announced that the City of Philadelphia is using two
customized NEC Interactive Voice Response (IVR) applications to help improve
customer service and reduce call center costs.

The City of Philadelphia, which uses NEC communications solutions throughout
various city departments, needed to streamline the City`s tax collection
processes and property assessment call center. NEC`s Advanced Applications Group
was called in to customize two IVR systems and provide the necessary integration
services.

"NEC`s IVR not only alleviates strain on our call center agents, but we believe
it also satisfies our city residents because the system is user-friendly and
callers can now access their tax and property information 24 hours a day," said
Pam Scott, information management analyst, City of Philadelphia. "The custom IVR
applications provide meaningful business metric reports such as the number of
callers who input their account number into the system and how many transfer to
reach an attendant. At least 13 percent of all our Revenue Department calls now
go to the IVR systems, which has enabled the City to improve our agent
performance levels and provide the best customer service possible."

The first system was designed for the Revenue Department to help with
information associated with real estate taxes for residents. The second was
designed for The Board of Revision of Taxes, the agency that establishes
property values which serve as the basis for real estate taxes levied by the
City.

Residents can access the IVR systems to check their tax balance, lien
information, request receipt copies and gather information needed to complete
tax appeals applications. Using the IVR system, callers can confirm their
information and then begin the process for filing an appeal and addressing tax
issues. Additional information such as current market value and assessed value
of their homes, as well as the last recorded title date and sales price, is also
available.

"The City of Philadelphia`s deployment of the IVR systems, sold by NEC
Associates, lets its employees focus on customer service, which is the
cornerstone of NEC`s UNIVERGE360," said Larry Levenberg, vice president and
general manager, National Channel for NEC Unified Solutions. "These customized
NEC applications are designed to allow City residents to access necessary
information via telephone, regardless of the time of day, and enable call center
employees to work more efficiently."

More information on NEC can be found at:

www.necunified.com

www.UNIVERGE360.com

www.NECToday.com

Twitter at www.twitter.com/NEC and @NEC

Facebook: NEC Unified Solutions

NEC and UNIVERGE are registered trademarks of NEC Corporation.

For information about the City of Philadelphia, visit www.phila.gov.

NEC Unified Solutions
Kris Kozamchak, 214-262-6528
Director, Corporate Communications
kkozamchak@necunified.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009