INFOCISION MANAGEMENT Company adds bilingual workers to boost inbound calls

The do-not-call list could hurt about 10 percent of the company's business.
By CYNTHIA VINARSKY
VINDICATOR BUSINESS WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- Spanish-speaking call-center workers are part of Infocision Management Corp.'s defense strategy against business losses it expects to see as a result of the national do-not-call list.
Steve Brubaker, senior vice president at Akron-based Infocision, said the company has added several bilingual staff members at its Austintown call center as part of an effort to beef up its inbound call division.
With the Hispanic population at nearly 40 million -- the largest ethnic segment in the United States, according to the Association of Hispanic Ad Agencies -- the addition of bilingual operators is an important selling point for Infocision.
In all, the company employs about 800 locally in its Austintown, Boardman and New Castle, Pa., centers. The Spanish-speaking employees are paid $10 an hour to start, more than the usual starting wage because of their language skills.
Potential for growth
Inbound calls make up a small percentage of Infocision's business, but Brubaker said it has major growth potential. "We project that inbound calls will make up half of our business or more five years from now," he said.
Infocision's emphasis on inbound calling is part of the company's growth strategy in the face of a national do-not-call list President Bush launched last week. Incoming calls would not be restricted by the list, which is designed to help consumers block unwanted telemarketing calls.
"We certainly want to focus on things less likely to be affected by the changes in the law," Brubaker said.
The do-not-call list will mainly affect Infocision's commercial telemarketing division, he said, estimating the category makes up about 10 percent of the company's total business.
Officials are relatively certain that its fund-raising calls for political campaigns, religious causes and health-related charities will not be impacted by the list. They're still "reading the fine print" to be sure, however.
Infocision's inbound call service allows corporate customers to have their phone orders and customer service calls answered by trained operators. Many companies find it is more cost-effective to hire the service out, he said, instead of buying all the necessary telephone and computer equipment to handle the work themselves.
Brubaker would not reveal the names of companies using the service, but he said they include financial and telecommunications companies and a large vitamin and dietary supplement company.
Joining in lawsuits
Infocision is joining other telemarketing companies across the country in lawsuits aimed at making changes in some aspects of the do-not-call list.
For example, Brubaker said, the telemarketers object to a clause which allows a company to call its customers for just 18 months after a purchase is made. That time limit is unreasonable, he argued, especially for large purchases such as automobiles and computers.
The industry also fears the list will become outdated quickly, he said. Plans are to update the list every five years, but that could leave many numbers on the list long after their original owners have moved away.
Brubaker argued that the list was unnecessary in the first place because the Direct Marketing Association, a trade group for telemarketers, has been registering consumers on a do-not-call list since 1985.
vinarsky@vindy.com