tennessee flag

Cellular Sales Verizon Wireless announced it is opening a new national call center in Knoxville, Tenn. that will hire between 200 and 250 employees over the next eight weeks.

Cellular Sales is based in Knoxville and is the nation’s largest Verizon premium wireless retailer. The company plans to invest more than $1 million in the new call center, which will employ supervisors, managers and customer service representatives in full-time and part-time positions.

“This new National Call Center is a perfect extension to the ultimate customer service Cellular Sales provides,” said Jay Witherspoon of Cellular Sales. “We want every customer who purchases a wireless device in one of our 300-plus stores across the country to get a call from our National Call Center within 24 hours of the time they leave our store.”

The new Cellular Sales National Call Center will have nearly 13,000 square-feet of space and, according to Cellular Sales, will provide the ability for growth beyond the 200 to 250 people they initially plan to employ.

“As a company, we have grown by about 30 percent every year,” said Witherspoon.  “As we move forward, we fully expect similar growth here at the National Call Center.”

Cellular Sales is a 17-year old privately held company. The company currently operates throughout the United States.  By year end, Cellular Sales – which attributes its rapid growth to its unique level of customer service – will open at least 50 new stores, bringing the company’s total number of locations to around 400.  For the past two years, Inc. magazine named Cellular Sales one of the nation’s fastest growing retail companies in the country.

The final number of layoffs will depend on how many affected employees take other positions within the company, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal. However, a company spokesperson said that Chrysler Financial has seen its portfolio “dramatically decline” and that there won’t be many other positions to be had.

Chrysler Financial, which offers automotive financial products and services to dealers, has more than 2,600 employees around the world.  According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the company’s portfolio has declined dramatically since last year’s restructuring of the automotive industry. Prior to that the company handled more than $70 billion in accounts, but now that number is around $26 billion.

The expansion is the result of the company’s need to support a client in the telecommunications industry, Convergys said in a press release. People with IT and customer service experience and keyboarding skills are encouraged to apply.

Convergys previously announced in April that it was bringing on 150 employees also because of a telecommunications client.

Job fairs will be conducted on June 8 and June 10 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Erlanger center in CirclePort II Business Park. Interested candidates can also apply online at the company’s Web site.

Convergys has nearly 70,000 employees that serve clients in more than 70 countries

The company’s hunt for employees will begin with an on-site hiring event on Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Sprint representatives will be there to meet interested job-seekers and provide more information on the open positions.

According to a company press release, the call center handles multiple line of business, including account services, finance, and business care. It also has bilingual teams to serve Sprint’s Spanish-speaking customers.

New hires will be offered competitive salaries and benefits, including medical, dental 401 (k), monthly performance bonuses and participation in Sprint’s employee wireless phone program.

The call center expansion comes in anticipation of increased customer service with the national rollout of Sprint’s 4G network.

For more information or to apply online, visit www.sprint.com/callcenterjobs.

According to the Charlotte Business Journal, Connextions is taking the action because it lost a contract with Sprint Nextel Corp., which is moving its customer-service operations to India.

Connextions has about 800 workers at its Concord call center. Scott Kabel, the company’s vice president of operations, told the journal that some of those affected would be offered severance packages.

In addition to the North Carolina facility, Connextions also operates call centers in Florida and Indiana.

The organization is conducting a job fair to fill the positions Tuesday. It will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Omni Mandalay at 221 E. Las Colinas Blvd. in Irving.

According to AAA Texas, the jobs are described as full-time positions that include benefits such as medical and dental insurance, a 401 (k) plan, a company pension plan and free AAA memberships.

According to the company, the new hires will be offered competitive salaries and benefits, including medical, dental 401(k), performance bonuses, free use of an on-site fitness center, and participation in Sprint’s employee wireless phone program.

“These are increasingly difficult times for job-seekers throughout the country, so Sprint is thrilled to be able to provide career opportunities for many families in Orlando and the surrounding areas,” said Susan Jones, director of the Sprint Orlando Contact Center. “We are exceptionally pleased that we’re also able to positively impact the local economy while servicing our customers with talented and qualified working professionals from this area.”

Those interested in the positions can complete an online application at www.sprint.com/callcenterjobs for immediate consideration.

Time Warner Cable is closing a call center and its National Systems headquarters in Denver, which will result in 350 employees being laid off.

The layoffs equate to about 30 percent of Time Warner’s workforce in Colorado, the Denver Post reports.

The Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton area of North Carolina where the call center is located reported a 14.4% unemployment rate for November.

Convergys has 75,000 employees in 85 call centers at various locations throughout the world including the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

High volume of calls? They sell coffee and ceramic mugs, some danishes and the occasional CD. For this, you need a call center?