Call Center News

Telus 4th Call Center in Manila Creates 900 to 3,000 Jobs

Manila, Philippines -- Telus International opened its fourth call center in Manila, one that currently employs 900 workers, but will ramp up to include at least 3,000, possibly by the end of the year. To fill these new positions, Telus spokesman Shawn Hall said the company would "absolutely" look to hiring from a growing pool of returning workers to the Philippines.

In recent months, a slew of other mid-sized and large BPO centres like the one opened by Telus have announced their own expansion plans, according to Manila-based consultant Michael Hamlin. His clients, including Convergys, TeleTech, eTelecare, Sitel and StarTek, have been keeping him busy with one inauguration ceremony to another. "BPO really is the only bright spot," Hall said in an interview. "Everyone I know is hiring."

more of this story

ePerformax Offers Free Workshop for Aspiring Call Center Agents

Manila, Philippines --  Good news for fresh college graduates who are aspiring to work as call center agents. Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) firm ePerformax is offering a free global communications training workshop for jobseekers who want to work in the company. Vincci Larang, ePerformax's recruitment manager, said jobseekers who pass the screening exam will qualify for a free training that will prepare them for the next level in the company’s recruitment process.

"The day-long workshop aims to bridge the training needs of potential recruits to enable them to come closer to qualifying. The workshop will focus on English communication, including grammar, pronunciation and intonation,” Larang said. Larang said interested applicants can conveniently take the screening exam at ePerformax’s Career Café2Go booths located at the Ayala, Shaw, Cubao and North Avenue MRT stations.

more of this story

New 911 Call Center to Open in Huntington, West Virginia

Huntington, West Virginia -- Officials at Cabell County 911 hope to begin moving in equipment to their new call center next week and begin training within a month. A complete change-over to the new facility should take place later this spring, said Director Mike Davis. He blamed poor weather at the onset of construction for delaying the project.

The 12,500-square-foot building is located near Norway Avenue and Gallaher Street in Huntington. It is the product of about three years of design, consultation and construction. It will house an expanded 911 dispatch room at its core. The dispatch room will be surrounded by several offices, two bunk rooms, an exercise room, an equipment room and a dedicated emergency operations center.

more of this story

Call Center Expanded to add 100 jobs in Monroe, Louisiana

Monroe, Louisiana -- Computer Programs and Systems Inc., a Mobile, Alabama company that serves health care facilities and professionals, will expand into Monroe with a call center that will create 100 new jobs over the next three years, Monroe Mayor Jamie Mayor confirmed Wednesday.

Mayo said that Monroe's Dr. Claude Minor, who was a client of CPSI, gave the city the original lead on the project more than a year ago and the city, state and OEDC Land Corp. have been in partnership ever since to make the deal happen. Mayo said that CPSI will begin its operation with 40 employees and ramp it up to 100 within four years at the Twin City Plaza, which is owned by Strauss Interests, on Oliver Road.

more of this story

New Call Center in Jackson, Mississippi Brings 273 Jobs to Area

Jackson, Mississippi -- Gov. Haley Barbour celebrated the grand opening Thursday of a call center for NEW Customer Service Companies Inc., the nation's leading provider of extended service plans and buyer protection programs for consumer products. Since October, the call center has brought 273 new jobs to the area.

"We greatly value this opportunity with NEW, which has brought jobs to hundreds of hard working people in Meridian at a time when many companies are laying off employees," Barbour said in a news release. "The opening of this call center is a reflection of our continued efforts to support this region by increasing job and business growth opportunities."

The customer care team at the Meridian call center is responsible for fielding and managing inbound calls from DirecTV customers. With more than 17 million customers, DirecTV is one of NEW's largest clients, according to the press release.

more of this story

Bend, Oregon Call Center Adds 350 Jobs

Bend, Oregon - TRG Customer Solutions announced Thursday it needs an additional 350 workers at its call center in southwest Bend. Since October, TRG has been a tech support and customer service center for Apple products. Because those products have proved popular, Apple needs more help with support calls.

The jobs have a starting pay of $10 per hour and employees can make up to $11.50 per hour by meeting performance targets. Applicants will be hired in training groups of about 75, and TRG estimates the full 350 will be answering calls by July.

more of this story

AT&T Opens New Call Center in Little Rock, Arkansas

AT&T opened a high-speed Internet technical support center in Little Rock on Wednesday, a hub that will provide 189 jobs. AT&T announced in September 2007 that it would build the facility, the 13th center in the country that will assist Internet customers with questions about their high-speed digital subscriber lines, or DSL.

The 12 other centers already are opened, said Jason Allen, an assistant director for Internet services at San Antonio-based AT&T. AT&T already has hired 14 managers and 79 customerservice workers for the center, located on the seventh floor of AT&T's 10-story office building in downtown. The company will hire another 86 people by August to get the facility up to full capacity, Allen said.

more of this story

Plantronics Headsets an Essential Tool at Top Service Companies

Santa Cruz, CA -– Plantronics, Inc. today announced that 24 of the 25 companies named in BusinessWeek’s third-annual customer service report use Plantronics headsets in their customer service centers.

BusinessWeek’s special report on customer service makes it clear that companies focused on protecting the customer experience, and not short-term cost gains, in today’s difficult economy are rewarded with long-term brand loyalty. In fact, the best performers are investing in, not cutting, customer service programs to enhance satisfaction and differentiate from the competition. BusinessWeek identified the 25 “Customer Service Champs” by combining data from market research firm J.D. Power & Associates and supplemental surveys using the BusinessWeek Market Advisory Board.

more of this story

US Airways Repatriates Call Center Jobs from Philippines

Manila, Philippines  - US Airways Group is repatriating some reservation call center work from the Philippines after service problems threatened to disrupt the airline's industry-leading revenue recovery, the Financial Times reported. US Airways merged with smaller rival America West last September after two spells in bankruptcy protection to form the sixth-largest US carrier by sales.

more of this story

Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines Call Center to Expand

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, PHILIPPINES -- A call center operated by a university here will be expanding by adding at least 25 more seats within the second quarter. The call center is also planning to upgrade its services to meet the increasing demand of its major client, a translation company based in the United Kingdom (UK).

Britain's Interpreting Translation Line partnered last year with Capitol University's call center, which is aiming to expand operations within Asia."We will be doing a trade and industry survey on Arab countries soon through [Interpreting Translation Line]," Josenita R. Abecia, the university’s call center manager, told BusinessWorld.

Interpreting Translation Line, headquartered in northeastern England, has more than 100 interpreters and translators who specialize in "almost every language from Arabic to Zulu," said its Web site.

more of this story