Agero, a roadside assistance service provider, recently announced that it will take over a former Sprint call center in Bristol, Tenn.
Its own operations at the building will continue with call center duties. According to a local Times News report, Agero will invest $3.5 million in the move and will create nearly 600 jobs. A series of job fairs will begin this month and last until May; operations are expected to begin April 25.
Dave Ferrick, the CEO of Agero, commented that his company is excited to open this new center. He noted that the call center agents Agero provides act as the first line of contact between a customer and service they can receive, so agents remain an indispensable part of the equation.
“Our associates play a critical role each and every day they come to work,” Ferrick said. “They are the first point of contact for drivers in need, whether that person is stranded with a flat tire or it is a family in a serious car accident. They are, in fact, a hero in that instant and provide a calming presence during an otherwise high stress situation.”
“It is because of this that we need people who demonstrate the highest level of professionalism to ensure that each driver’s situation is resolved quickly and safely,” he continued.
This announcement comes off the heels of interviews it conducted in North Augusta, S.C. It also comes as an addition to the one other contact center Agero operates in Tennessee – a facility in Clarksville – and the four other regional centers that exist in Medford, Mass., Sebring, Fla., Tucson, Ariz., and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
Tennessee officials, both Gov. Bill Haslam and Economic and Community Development Commissioner Randy Boyd, were vocal about their support of the jobs that this will create. Haslam began by calling the opening of the center “great news” and its assistance with making Tennessee a place where individuals in all industries will want to work.
Boyd noted that the jobs associated with this call center are valuable and may allow Sullivan County to stand out among the approximately 200 other call centers that exist in the state. He said he looks forward to the success the call center will have.
Although many Sprint employees lost their jobs with the previous closing of this center, they may regain similar positions with Agero. The company announcement indicated that many former Sprint call center associates have expressed interest in the new jobs coming to the area. Many former Sprint employees and others will have the choice of applying for associate, management, director, human resources, information technology, and facilities staff positions. This center is truly rising from the ground up and appears to need all the muscle it can get.
Edited by
Rory J. Thompson
