FIRST ON WSAZ.COM: Call Center Closing, Employees Say

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FIRST ON WSAZ.COM: Call Center Closing, Employees Say

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Posted: 12:33 PM Jul 24, 2008
Last Updated: 4:35 PM Jul 24, 2008
Reporter: Amanda Barren
Email Address: Amanda.Barren@wsaz.com

29 comments

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SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va., (WSAZ) -- According to several employees, one of the nation's largest telemarketing firms is closing its call center in South Charleston.

Employees tell WSAZ.com that about 150 employees will pick up their last paychecks at DialAmerica Thursday afternoon.

We have a crew at the facility and we can tell you several employees are there now picking up their checks.

If you look inside the call center, you can see people boxing up materials and supplies. Employees have identified those people as managers. The managers on site won’t talk with WSAZ.com.

Employees tell us they found out on Monday the center would close Tuesday.

The center was an outgoing call center. They sold things like satellite radio, mortgages and did questionnaires for the Army.

Full time employees were offered severance packages.

Our calls to the corporate office have not been returned.

We've also contacted city, county, and state leaders, but none of them have been notified about the closure.

Keep clicking on WSAZ.com for the very latest.

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Comments are posted from viewers like you and do not always reflect the views of this station.

Posted by: ugh on Jul 25, 2008 at 09:15 PM
I'm pretty sure the reason the one person compared the Army to telemarketing was because DialAmerica (along with many other places) was hired by the United States Army themselves to make calls the young adults interested in joining to do a questionaire. I know this because I did it. It is the banks that you trust with your money everyday and the companies you deal with on a daily basis that WANT other people to do their work for them, and that's where telemarketing comes in. Not all telemarketing is meant to sell something. Most of the things we did there never involved taking money from anyone. And as for the Do Not Call List-well there pretty much shouldn't even be one. Have you ever listened to the message it gives you when you sign up for it? It tells you plain and clear that if you are affiliated with any company (past or present) the law allows them to contact you for whatever they want. That means your banks, your creditors, a company where you made on online purchase,etc.

Posted by: how rude! on Jul 25, 2008 at 04:52 PM
You guys are some real jerks and really stupid to say that people need to get a real job if they work in telemarketing. The fact is that many, many people in this country support their families on these jobs! They are all human beings too! Don't judge people for working in this industry, at least they are working and not living off of all our tax dollars from the government! A job of a telemarketer is very stressful and they take a lot of crap from a lot of different people! And not all telemarketers are asking people for money, they are calling to help people with different aspects of their lives such as better plans for their cell phones or better deals on internet service or what have you. Don't disrespect these people. How would all of you feel if you walked in to your job one day and were told you would not have a job tomorrow? How would you make it? How would you feed your families? I am very sorry to all of the people who lost their jobs with this company and wish them the best!

Posted by: whats for dinner? on Jul 25, 2008 at 03:53 PM
To Wowyouguys.... I have never had a prostitute interrupt my dinner. I sure can't say that about telemarketers. I also bet that a prostitute is far more honest and professional than most telemarketers, car salesman and insurance agents.

Posted by: Nadine on Jul 25, 2008 at 02:06 PM
Seriously if all telemarketers close their doors then who will provide customer service? The call centers provide both inbound and outbound calls. So, be careful what you wish for or we'll all be dealing with automated systems alone. Besides, any kind of job is better then no job at all so get off your high horses.

Posted by: Todd on Jul 25, 2008 at 12:50 PM
hey wowyouguys, most of them call to ask for money, and the Army and telemarketers are two totally different things!

Posted by: wowyouguys on Jul 25, 2008 at 11:15 AM
Some people seize to amaze me! what do you mean by telling people to get a real job??? What is a real job?? Oh let me guess working under the table, prostituting themselves or how about selling drugs on the street??? Is that a real job. I do know that the telemarketers can be a pain, when you are having dinner. But that means one more person is contributing to our society, state and federal taxes ect. I would find it more of a pain, knowing that our economy is going down and we are in a recession. Call centers are usually hired by these organizations to make the phone calls. Why not complain to the organizations who hire the call center??? Would you actually tell someone from the U.S. Army to get a real job if they were calling you to ask questions? A lot of the telemarketing calls that are received in this area are actually from New York. Trust me we receive a lot of them. Yes it does agitate me when I get the call at 9:00 a.m.

Posted by: Carrie on Jul 25, 2008 at 08:02 AM
Close them all, I cant stand them calling me and asking for money!

Posted by: Beth on Jul 25, 2008 at 06:41 AM
I worked for a Telemarketing company, Never again will I. You are harrasing people for money and you have people saying my house just burnt down or my Husband just passed away and my manager at the time would be beside me telling me to say.. tell them your sorry but you really need 25 dollars from them. I couldnt believe it so I quit that day! I wish they would all close! You said it Chris its not a real job!

Posted by: Greg on Jul 25, 2008 at 06:36 AM
Another displaced caller, You just said you have to put up with some of the crankiest people! I hope you understand why, You are calling there house asking for money! what do you expect them to be? I worked for a telemarketing company for a day and saw where the company keeps 80 percent of the sells and gives only 20 percent to the person you are taking donations for. So I agree with Chris its not a real job!

Posted by: Earl on Jul 25, 2008 at 06:33 AM
Do telemarketrers get these pesky phone calls too.Dont call to sell me aluminim siding,I live in an apartment.

Posted by: Another displaced telemarketer on Jul 25, 2008 at 12:50 AM
To DDCJ: You'd be surprised how many people add themselves to that list and turn around and exempt themselves from it at the same time. Anytime, you sign up for something, read the fine print. Alot of time you are allowing yourself to be contacted for similar products or services if you fail to read the fine print and check the opt out box. Also, Qualified Non-Profit organizations making fundraising calls are exempt from the list for the simple fact, those calls were not the ones the list intended to stop since Non-Profits rely on the publics support. To everyone thinking telemarketing is not a real job, should try it sometime. We have to be on time for work, Keep our sales up, worry about pay raises, and most of us make almost double the state minimum wage.And on top of that, we have to put up with some of the crankiest people on the planet. If you don't want the call, use a caller ID blocker. I feel for Ugh, My Huntington Call Center announced monday, we are closing down on Aug 29th.

Posted by: DDCJ on Jul 24, 2008 at 09:41 PM
With the Do Not Call list, I am surprised not more telemarketing centers are closed. I'm sorry for you guys. At least it was a job and they weren't standing in the welfare lines collecting money from us!

Posted by: chris on Jul 24, 2008 at 07:55 PM
I dont call calling people and begging for money a job, Most Telemarketers dont stay but a week if that. I agree with Earl.

Posted by: ugh on Jul 24, 2008 at 07:47 PM
To the person who said I wish all telemarketers would find real work...well we live in West Virginia. There aren't any good jobs anymore. There aren't even good jobs for people with master's degrees or higher. That's what this world is coming to. Being one of the people who worked at DialAmerica, I know how often we didn't want to even make those calls, because people forget that they're speaking to a human and weren't raised how to treat people right. You can't expect a pleasant conversation when you aren't pleasant in return. That goes the same in real life. Sure, part of me is glad I don't have to do it anymore, but I also feel like I am seperated from a disfunctional family. That's what we were basically. If you knew the lives of the people who worked there and the things they have to go through to support their families and make it through life, you wouldn't feel the way you do about the person on the other end of that telephone.

Posted by: former worker on Jul 24, 2008 at 07:04 PM
you say this but at the same time would you rather we stand in the welfare line, and really telemarketers are people just like you and it is work cause we have to deal with jerks like you Posted by: Zeki on Jul 24, 2008 at 05:51 PM Yes!!!! Thats great news indeed. Maybe I'll be able to enjoy my dinner peacefully after a hard days work. My work doesnt consist of making people angry with each call. I wish all telemarkters would find real work.

Posted by: former worker on Jul 24, 2008 at 06:18 PM
to the person who said now my phone will stop ringing well lets see your phone ringing every time means one less person in the welfare line, but being that i was one of the ones who lost their job i was shocked and now i am just scared that i won't be able to feed my children and it hit hard with school being right around the corner

Posted by: na on Jul 24, 2008 at 06:12 PM
another one closing doors what is going to happen next? to many places closing & no jobs & I don't think others well go out for help.

Posted by: Zeki on Jul 24, 2008 at 05:51 PM
Yes!!!! Thats great news indeed. Maybe I'll be able to enjoy my dinner peacefully after a hard days work. My work doesnt consist of making people angry with each call. I wish all telemarkters would find real work.

Posted by: Earl on Jul 24, 2008 at 03:54 PM
Now maybe my phone will quit ringing.

Posted by: Concerned on Jul 24, 2008 at 03:43 PM
I am so sorry to hear of anyone losing a job. I certainly hope each of you can find another one rather rapidly.

Posted by: Kyle on Jul 24, 2008 at 01:25 PM
Thank God! I am sick of getting phone calls all day from people who really dont want to speak to me but instead want to turn me into a sale or a mark on their record.

Posted by: Hummm on Jul 24, 2008 at 01:11 PM
MORE JOBS GONE! More people in West Virginia will need to apply for assistance from the Dept. of Human Services! Never, say never it night be your job next!

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