Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, August 15, 1993 TAG: 9308150041
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO I
SOURCE: CATHRYN McCUE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
After punching in some numbers at 4:55 p.m., he hit the "return" key and blocked all further phone calls to the last Sears catalog center in the country.
Forever.
"It's the end of an era," Cox said quietly. He looked at the screen as it printed out "cancelled, cancelled, cancelled . . ." for the phone lines.
He looked around as co-workers, some sniffling, hugged and took pictures of each other and turned in their ID cards.
A woman came up and gave him a hug. " 'Bye, Dennis. I'll miss you all."
"I'll never forget our little break times," he answered.
"It's the best job I ever had," he added.
Cox was one of about 700 part-time workers at the Sears telecatalog center on Thirlane Road Northwest, which closed its doors Saturday.
And while the workers, a majority of them women, were sad about leaving their Sears "family," they were hopeful that a deal between Sears and another telemarketing firm would bring them back together some day soon.
Sears has been negotiating with Retired Persons Services Inc., the mail-order prescription-drug division of the American Associated of Retired Persons, to buy the center. The new company has indicated an interest in hiring some of the former Sears employees.
Tom McVaney, manager of the Sears center, said an announcement could come as early as this week.
There was no big splash, no big party or fanfare or speeches Saturday. "It's just going to be a very quiet fade into the sunset," McVaney said.
Closing the Roanoke Sears center is part of the Chicago-based retailer's massive reorganization of several of its business units, including elimination of the entire catalog operation. The Roanoke center stopped taking catalog orders May 27, but stayed open to handle customer service calls.
Gladys Wallace, who has worked at the center for about four years, said many of her last calls came from mothers who wanted to buy school clothes and from people wanting to order from the Christmas Wish Book.
"And it broke their hearts that they couldn't order any more," she said. "To them, that was their lifeline."
For the last month, the workers took fewer and fewer calls. They explained to callers that the catalog business was closed and gave the location of the closest Sears store. Last week the computers were removed, so the workers could only advise customers to check their telephone directories for a store location.
The number of daily calls dwindled from about 35,000 at the center's peak to 8,000 or so last week, McVaney said.
During the final days, employees read, talked and played cards. And waited.
Muriel Turner took her last call about five minutes before closing.
"I'm saddened by it, but I'm happy," she said after the caller hung up. The pay was good - she made $5.40 an hour at the end - and the company treated senior citizens well, Turner said.
She had perfect attendance during her five years at the company, and received dozens of customer-appreciation awards for helping people who called 1-800-366-3000.
That number is no more. Dial it, and all you'll get is a man's recorded voice, saying, "We're sorry, but the Sears catalog is now closed.
"Thank you for your patronage."
by CNB