Published 12:00 am Wednesday, December 2, 2009
By Mark Wineka
Salisbury Post
Salisbury remains in the running for an inbound call center that would eventually employ about 250 people.
Cross Country Home Services of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., still has Salisbury among three locations it is considering. The other two locations are outside of North Carolina, according to economic development officials.
Cross Country had planned to make a site selection over the holidays, but now is hoping to choose a location within a week or two, according to Delena Matos, human resources director for the company.
“Our broker is working with each city to ensure we have the most detailed information on tax incentives, training programs, etc.,” Matos said.
“Once these figures are finalized by each economic development group, they will be measured against the other cities and rated alongside of the cost of real estate, real estate availability and timeline for renovations, labor force findings, etc., and then an overall score will be produced.”
The company is a nationwide provider of home warranty products and services.
In Salisbury, Cross Country has expressed interest in leasing the former Winn-Dixie location off Jake Alexander Boulevard and Lincolnton Road.Stuart Hair, project manager for the Salisbury-Rowan Economic Development Commission, confirmed that his office has been working with a Dallas broker on the project.
Hair said the projected workforce numbers mentioned previously by Cross Country are still valid.
Cross Country was hoping to open its new call center by June 1 with about 100 employees. Matos said previously the call center could grow to at least 250 employees in time.
The call center would hire customer care associates who would receive calls from people seeking claims for home warranty repairs or making requests for other home-related services.
Other employees would include service authorizers or trade technicians who would receive calls from service repair companies, diagnose home system repairs and replacements and approve or deny repairs based on warranty coverage.
Cross Country’s call center in Fort Lauderdale has about 350 employees.
A Salisbury call center would be in addition to the headquarters in Florida.
In early December, the company held an all-day open house at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College’s North Campus in Salisbury to help it gauge the potential workforce. Similar open houses have occurred in the other two locations being considered.