FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
August 11, 2011

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Nicor National: Hank Possley
630-444-2360

Media Contact: Richard Caragol
630-388-2686

Nicor National's Call Center Recognized for Providing "An Outstanding Customer Service Experience" for Fifth Consecutive Year

Naperville, IL — Nicor National is pleased to announce that its Call Center has been recognized for excellence in customer satisfaction for a fifth consecutive year under J.D. Power and Associates' Certified Call Center ProgramSM. This distinctive honor acknowledges Nicor National's unwavering commitment to providing "An Outstanding Customer Service Experience."

Nicor National is a leading provider of home warranty and energy efficiency plans through its Home SolutionsSM portfolio. The company offers a wide variety of products and services to the customers of its utility partners, which helps to build brand awareness and stronger customer relationships for both companies.

"In achieving certification for a fifth consecutive year, Nicor National has demonstrated its commitment to consistently providing high quality service to its customers," according to J.D. Power and Associates. "Through our audit, we learned that the company's customers are especially pleased with their Call Center agents' technical knowledge, as well as their very professional level of service."

Nicor National annually handles more than 1 million telephone, e-mail, and fax inquiries from customers. To become certified, the call center successfully passed a detailed audit of its recruiting, training, employee incentives, quality assurance capabilities, and management roles and responsibilities. As part of the evaluation, J.D. Power and Associates also conducted a random survey of Nicor National customers who recently contacted Nicor National's call center for assistance.

For certification status, a call center must perform within the top 20 percent of customer service scores, which are based on benchmarks established in J.D. Power and Associates' cross-industry customer satisfaction research. The evaluation criteria include courtesy, knowledge, concern for the customer, usefulness of the information provided, convenience of operating hours, ease of reaching a representative, and timely resolution.

"Our fifth consecutive certification reinforces our commitment to excellence for both our employees and customers," said Barbara Porter, Vice President, Business Development & Customer Service, Nicor National. "We firmly believe that employee engagement positively affects customer satisfaction and contributes to better business results. The environment we create for our employees is nurturing and collaborative, and our customers benefit from that workplace dynamic."

Nicor National continues to expand its customer base across the country and currently does business in 26 states. For additional information about Nicor National, visit www.nicornational.com.

Nicor National is a d/b/a for Nicor Energy Services Company, a non-regulated subsidiary of Nicor Inc. (NYSE: GAS). Nicor National markets "Home SolutionsSM ," a proprietary line of customizable home warranty and energy efficiency plans that can be co-branded with utilities and energy partners to maximize financial performance and build and sustain customer satisfaction. For J.D. Power and Associates 2011 Call Center Certification ProgramSM information, visit www.jdpower.com