[Multichannel Merchant] Crediting increased operational efficiencies as the catalyst, Lillian Vernon closed its satellite call center in Manila, Philippines, on March 18.
“We began delivering 100% of our contact volume to our Virginia Beach facility effective Sunday,” said Toni Cicero, vice president of customer care. “This means that our Virginia Beach call center will operate from 7 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week.”
The gifts, housewares, and toys cataloger first experimented with outsourcing during fall 2003, sending order and customer service calls to a facility in India, switching to the Manila contact center in 2004. Until the closing, the company employed 25 year-round representatives in the Philippines with an additional 100 during the peak Christmas season.
Although the company won’t release exact figures on the total number of calls it receives in Virginia Beach, it expects a 30% increase in call volume now that the Manila facility has closed. Even so, “our peak capacity proved that 100% of our calls could be handled in Virginia Beach without any detriment to budget,” said a spokesperson.
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