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Business
Oct. 16, 2008
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CORRECTION ON 10/17/08 -- A story in Wednesday’s Business section contained incorrect information about pay scales at the AT&T call center in Las Vegas. The starting pay range will vary from the low- to high- $20,000 per year range plus benefits.

AT&T plans to increase hiring at call centers in Nevada

By JOHN G. EDWARDS
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Howard Lenox Jr.
AT&T official says the "state Legislature has been good to us"

AT&T is giving local workers and economic development advocates a strong tonic for hard times in Southern Nevada.

The telecommunications giant on Wednesday announced the opening of a Las Vegas call center that will employ 350 workers earning in the low to high $20 per hour range with full benefits.

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    • The company payroll will total $9 million yearly, said Howard Lenox Jr., president of AT&T in Nevada.

    AT&T already employs 80 workers at the new facility at 10550 W. Charleston Blvd., Lenox said. The workers will help AT&T customers around the country connect and maintain high-speed Internet service.

    The company will increase employment to 350 by June, he said, and plans to open a call center in Reno in February that ultimately will employ another 300, bringing the total number of AT&T jobs in Nevada to 1,850.

    The Las Vegas center is the ninth AT&T call center of this type opened since 2007. Four more, including the one in Reno, are scheduled to open by the end of next year.

    "The state Legislature has been good to us, and the state is good to us," Lenox said. "This is a state that believes in and encourages and promotes competition."

    AT&T also likes the pool of potential employees in Nevada, he said.

    "AT&T is committed to bringing jobs back to the U.S., and this center in Las Vegas is an example of our belief in the American work force and the need to bring these jobs to our local communities," David Condit, AT&T president of state and legislative affairs, said in a statement.

    The company said the Las Vegas jobs are among 5,000 positions that earlier were outsourced, many to offshore locations.

    The Las Vegas area is starting to attract inquiries from companies served by overseas call centers, said Somer Hollingsworth, chief executive of the Nevada Development Authority.

    Foreign workers cost less to employ but don't understand the language well.

    Overseas call center workers encounter problems if they aren't following a script or hear regional slang, Hollingsworth said.

    "It just plain wasn't working," Hollingsworth said.

    AT&T's pay scale will set a new high mark for call centers, he said.

    Citibank opened Las Vegas' first major call center in the mid-1980s, showing employers that area work force skills weren't limited to casino operations, Hollingsworth said. The bank call center provided customer services for credit card users.

    Las Vegas' telecommunications infrastructure and the availability of land needed for large employee parking lots make the area attractive to call center operators, Hollingsworth said.

    Workers don't need college or technical degrees to get jobs at the AT&T center, Lenox said.

    AT&T is looking for individuals interested in technology and customer service, he said, and will train them over four to six weeks.

    Lenox said the company offers opportunities for advancement, noting that he started 30 years ago as a telephone operator.

    AT&T doesn't offer high-speed Internet service to consumers in Las Vegas because Embarq Corp. is the major local telephone company in Southern Nevada.

    However, AT&T is the major provider in Northern Nevada and also provides wireline Internet service to businesses in Las Vegas, and also wireless service to consumers and businesses here.

    "We like the idea of putting folks to work in the communities we serve," Lenox said. "This is really a landmark investment in Las Vegas."

    The company has spent about $5 million on improvements needed at the building it leases on Charleston Boulevard. AT&T has invested $160 million in equipment and infrastructure in Nevada, including wireline and wireless services, since 2006.

    Contact reporter John G. Edwards at jedwards@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0420



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    Judy wrote on October 18, 2008 07:28 AM: I am so happy to hear that a company is bringing jobs back to the United States instead of outsourcing to countries that barely speak English. It is so frustrating to have to keep saying, "I don't understand you."
    Thank you AT&T! You will be getting my business in the future.


    JROD wrote on October 16, 2008 10:57 PM: AT&T thank you!! I will consider changing companies to get your i-phone since you want a support our community!! Other companies should do the same..


    Sanjeeve Punjov wrote on October 16, 2008 09:24 PM: If I get hired can I make telemarketing calls to people in India?
    I would love to interupt their dinner and introduce myself with a fake name.


    VegasMom wrote on October 16, 2008 08:19 PM: This is awesome! Kudos to you AT&T, OUR community and OUR Country needs all the employment opportunities we can get. When and where can those interested apply?


    wonder wrote on October 16, 2008 02:52 PM: Well people the thing about outsourcing is that it was supposed to help keep inflation and prices down in this country, and obviously it did not. Our society is all about the almight dollar and profits, did anyone see the price of anything go down as a result of lower offshore wages? did anyone notice prices not going up for the same reason? What it did do in fact was provide corporations leverage to surpress wages in this country, ie. the statistics about wages being stagnant over the last 8 years will support that claim. Workers were alway subject to the possibility of their jobs being shipped offshore so that the company can pay someone a lot less for the same job. AT&T is making a strong statement here, they are willing to pay US wages to provide a higher level of customer service, and that is not being prejudiced against the offshore people. The reality however is that there is a language barrier to overcome.


    roger wrote on October 16, 2008 02:35 PM: I am glad to say I have at&t cell phone service....thanks at&t, leading the way with jobs and income that this area so desperately needs.


    Cecilia wrote on October 16, 2008 02:33 PM: I have used a call center in the Philippines before and they worked well for me. They also employ home based agents so they are truly "Global" (www.globalsky.com).. it just depends on who you work with, you can't really stereotype outsourcing in general.. although I definitely agree there are some accents out there that make it very difficult to understand what a person is saying!

    Cecilia


    American wrote on October 16, 2008 01:22 PM: I applaud them bringing American Jobs back to American Soil. I had to go and get the local number to Dominos pizza as every time I call they are answered by a overseas call center. I cant understand them and they always get the order wrong.

    I am American anc proud and I live and pay taxes here and refuse to do business with anyone who is not. I dont care what color or your parents heritage, but I do care about the strength of our country , and every time you do business with someone in another country you are degrading ours !


    American wrote on October 16, 2008 01:22 PM: I applaud them bringing American Jobs back to American Soil. I had to go and get the local number to Dominos pizza as every time I call they are answered by a overseas call center. I cant understand them and they always get the order wrong.



    I am American anc proud and I live and pay taxes here and refuse to do business with anyone who is not. I dont care what color or your parents heritage, but I do care about the strength of our country , and every time you do business with someone in another country you are degrading ours !


    Dustin Dean wrote on October 16, 2008 12:32 PM: this is good news, Im currently out of work and have some electrical background. but it hasn't gotten me anywhere with the economic downfall hopefully this can provide a relief for eagerly awaiting people like myself.


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