Call centers branch out in northern Nevada

Thanks to the National Do Not Call Registry, "cold calls" from people you don't know and probably don't want to know appear to be a thing of the past.

But the phones remain very busy at a host of call centers in northern Nevada where quietly but steadily a significant industry is growing.

But don't call them telemarketers.

The customer relationship management (CRM) business is all about listening to customers and responding to their needs.

Today, an estimated 65-70 customer call centers are doing business in northern Nevada and, by one rough estimate, may employ as many as 5,000 people.

Virtually all calls are "inbound" calls from customers calling their utility, insurance company, bank, or retailer.

Pat Campbell-Leib, manager of the Reno office of Hire Dynamics, calls CRM the hidden industry in Northern Nevada.

"While it's true we live in a Web-dominated society, the fact is that many people still want to speak to a living, breathing human being," she says.

It was Campbell-Leib who spearheaded a Northern Nevada Call Center Executive Forum this year to ferret out call center managers and supervisors in call center managers and supervisors in hopes of getting a better handle on how many exist, the prevailing wage structure, and what kinds of problems the industry faces.

"She certainly has the most knowledge of this industry for our region," says Lisa Plummer, director of business development for the non-profit Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada.

Plummer says over the past 10 years, a few very large call centers employing upwards of 400 to 500 people each set up business in the greater Reno/Sparks area.

"We are talking about a business that does not require a lot of skills and, therefore, entry level workers are not paid a great deal of money," she says.

"But in recent years, things have changed."

For one thing, Plummer says, the labor pool in Northern Nevada has tightened and the cost of living has crept up.

"Ford Motor Credit Co.

looked here a while back, but went to Las Vegas because of a larger labor pool, especially the large number of casino workers there for whom the jump represented more money," she says.

Over the past 18 months, however, EDAWN has seen interest expressed here from smaller, more centralized and what Plummer calls "more high end" call center operations.

"This is especially true for the financial services industry," she says, singling out Intuit and noting that Harley Davidson's financial and credit services sector recently decided to keep its 500- worker call center operations in Carson City.

"Because these are in the financial services sector, the beginning wages are considerably higher than other sectors," says Plummer.

"We are talking about $12 to $14 an hour."

A survey conducted by Hire Dynamics indicated a starting wage for most call centers was in the $8.25 to $9 an hour range plus benefits.

Patagonia Corp., a leading designer and distributor of technical outdoor clothing and known for its strong proenvironment stance, operates 26 stores worldwide, including Japan, Ireland, Germany and France.

It has a major call center facility in Reno, right next to the Truckee River.

"Our base is between 15 and 20 fulltime customer representatives," says Jim Young, the center's manager.

"From August through the winter holiday season, we will add seasonal representatives and essentially double our staffing."

Because Patagonia is basically a directto- customer retailer, the most important arm besides its seasonal catalogue is the Web.

"In terms of actual dollar sales volume, the bulk of our sales are done through the Web site and that usage continues to grow," says Young.

What he finds interesting, however, is the fact there has not been a corresponding decline in phone queries.

"Our customers see the product on the Web, but want more information, so they call us," he says.

When call center representatives begin reporting a large volume of like questions, "we have a Web team here in Reno and they will go onto the site and make necessary adjustments." Gretchen Djukanovich, manager of the Sierra Pacific Power Company call center, oversees 45 fulltime and part-time representatives.

It is not, however, a consolidated function.

"Our service territory covers some 50,000 square miles," she says.

"We have district offices in places like Elko and Tonopah where customers can either phone or walk in.

The calls we receive run the gamut from placing stop or start service requests to questions such as how to read the power bill."

Training is an important part of creating a successful call center, Djukanovich says.

"We have a very intense six-week training program for those who make it through our standard test.

The test is one developed by the Edison Electric Institute and has become pretty standard for our industry."

Why do call centers like Northern Nevada? Beth Blackwood, training manager for West Telecommunications which employs some 700 people at its facility in Reno, says there are several reasons.

"First, the area already has a 24/7 mentality because of the gaming industry," she says.

"You also have a growing hospitality industry, so you already have key people with a strong customer service orientation.

Another is the fact the area provides an affordable cost of living, and Reno is in the Pacific Time Zone which is what some of our customers demand."

Then, Blackwood drops another nugget.

"The people here have a natural speech pattern where there are no discernable accents," she says.

Industry sources confirm that when considering relocation or the establishment of a new call center location, focus group feedback has not favored parts of the country where there is an immediately recognizable accent places such as Texas or the Deep South.

"There does exist some bias against that," remarked one industry observer.