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First Choice Power to Open Third Storefront Office, Working on Fourth
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March 17, 2011
First Choice Power will open a third storefront office, this one in Mission, Texas, this spring, it said yesterday in announcing a sponsorship associated with a new arts center in the City of Lewisville, which is where First Choice Power opened its first storefront office last July (6/14).
The further expansion of First Choice Power's brick-and-mortar presence reflects the success of the first two stores and overwhelmingly positive customer feedback on the stores, said Jeff Schiefelbein, Vice President Of Sales for First Choice Power.
Schiefelbein reported that traffic into the stores, which are typically opened 9 a.m. through 6 p.m. on weekdays, is about evenly split between customer service functions (bill payment, etc.) and enrollments, both for new and renewing customers. The stores also open every few Saturdays as part of larger barbecues and events First Choice Power puts on at the locations.
Schiefelbein told Matters that First Choice Power experimented with several hours for the stores, and found that foot traffic was typically slow right at 9 a.m. and dropped off considerably after 5 p.m. First Choice Power also saw slow traffic on Saturdays, and thus elected to open the stores on a limited basis on Saturdays as part of the larger events.
First Choice Power opened the first store in Lewisville last year as a result of customer feedback, as customers said that they missed face to face interaction. The initial experience with the stores has only reinforced that customer desire, Schiefelbein said, and positive word of mouth from satisfied customers surprised with the personal service has continued to drive new visitors, in addition to repeat traffic.
Aside from new enrollments from customers looking to price shop, Schiefelbein said that a considerable amount of traffic is from existing customers coming in to review renewal options, or to handle transfer of service to a new address.
First Choice Power accepts cash, check, and credit card payments at the stores, and waives any otherwise applicable convenience fee for using a credit card. Customers also avoid any convenience fee imposed by other in-person authorized agents where they can pay their First Choice bill (e.g. Western Union and similar agents in either stand-alone or partitions of other retail spaces). Schiefelbein said that some customers are driving past several authorized payment agents to use the First Choice Power stores and avoid the convenience fee.
The storefronts also do a steady business in commercial sales, as customers come in to negotiate rates in person.
Plans for a fourth storefront location are also in the works, Schiefelbein told Matters, with several areas under consideration. The current locations of Lewisville and Texas City (which opened in October) are in the Texas-New Mexico Power service area, and the soon-opening third location in Mission is in the AEP Texas Central area.
Schiefelbein said that First Choice Power plans to leverage its retail locations as it rolls out more smart energy products taking advantage of advanced meters, as the stores will allow customers to touch and see the new products or view demonstrations of any features and online management tools.
Yesterday, First Choice Power announced that it has signed a three-year sponsorship agreement with the City of Lewisville to fund a new performing arts center, the Medical Center of Lewisville Grand Theater, as well as the Western Days festival, which celebrates the history of Lewisville and features activities and live music.
The Medical Center of Lewisville Grand Theater is a 40,000-square-foot facility with two theaters, a recital hall, an art gallery, five classrooms, and a courtyard. First Choice Power will receive naming rights for the ticket window and concession stand in the center of the facility
For the Western Days street festival in historic Old Town Lewisville, First Choice Power will be the official food court sponsor.
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