THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 3, 1996 TAG: 9605030740
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MYLENE MANGALINDAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 103 lines
West Telemarketing Corp., one of the country's leading telemarketing companies, will open a center in Hampton employing 1,200 people by the end of the year.
The Omaha, Neb.,-based firm will initially employ 640 people and invest $5 million, said Lee Waters, vice president of sales and marketing.
Most of the center's employees will be hired locally. About 80 staff positions will be transferred from headquarters, said spokeswoman Tricia Wiese.
The company's entrance into the Hampton Roads market follows a series of other moves by telemarketers and customer service companies, including, most recently, Harris Select.
``Our goal is nothing less than becoming the pre-eminent provider of telephone-based solutions to our clients,'' Waters said.
West Telemarketing Corp. provides inbound telemarketing services, which involves employees answering calls from prospective consumers.
Consumers watching television may see an ad or an infomercial touting a toll-free number and a product.
``If you're calling an 800 number, there's a 60 percent chance you're calling us,'' Waters said.
Employees field calls about magazine subscriptions, medical conditions, athletic products, travel package information or other services. They answer questions by following scripts that appear on their computer screens.
West Telemarketing was ranked highly in its industry by Telemarketing magazine, a Connecticut-based trade publication. West and its sister companies, West Interactive Corp. and West Telemarketing Outbound, employ more than 7,000 people.
The company will occupy a 54,000-square-foot facility, a former Rose's department store, in the Willow Oaks Shopping Center, located at 225 Fox Hill Road in Hampton.
``Many in the public have anxiety about empty buildings showing up in our community,'' Hampton Mayor James Eason said. ``I believe Hampton and Newport News are doing everything they can'' to prevent that problem.
Officials declined to disclose the terms of the lease other than saying it's long-term.
The company will receive work force training from the Virginia Department of Economic Development worth $350,000, said Mark Kilduff, director of administration at the department. It will also receive $150,000 if it creates 500 jobs over the next three to four years, Eason said. Plus the company is eligible for a state tax credit based on how fast it creates jobs, Kilduff said.
West will start hiring by mid-August. The center will be operational early this fall.
Interested applicants can attend a job fair, whose details will be announced later. The Virginia Employment Commission is answering inquiries about applications. The number is 804-727-4739.
Most available positions will be for telephone representatives.
The base pay for most new employees will be $5.50 per hour, but that can move up to $6.75 per hour with incentives, Waters said. That means the annual salary for entry-level jobs would range from $11,440 to $14,040.
Waters expects two-thirds of the center's staff to be part time and the rest to be full time, because that is the composition of West Telemarketing's current work force.
West considered about 100 cities in its search for a location but whittled the list to 10, which it researched in depth. Labor, telecommunications infrastructure, real estate availability and cost, and the quality of life were the key factors in the company's choice of Hampton.
The company's two other sites for incoming calls are located in Omaha and San Antonio, where more than 250 million calls are processed annually. A production facility is located in San Antonio.
West was founded in 1986 by Gary and Mary West. They had also founded WATS Marketing of America in 1978, which they built into the largest inbound, live-operator service company before West Telemarketing's inception. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
WHAT: West Telemarketing Corp. employees answer calls from
prospective consumers of magazine subscriptions, athletic products,
travel information or other services. The callers usually have seen
an ad or an infomercial touting a toll-free number for the product.
WHERE: West will occupy a former Rose's department store in Willow
Oaks Shopping Center, 225 Fox Hill Road in Hampton.
FOR A JOB: West will start hiring by mid-August. The Virginia
Employment Commission is answering inquiries about applications. The
number: (804) 727-4739.
SALARIES: Most positions will be for telephone representatives.
Base pay will be $5.50 per hour but can move up to $6.75 per hour.
Two-thirds of the center's staff is expected to be part-time.
by CNB