Call center to hire 200 more

Workers are needed to handle incoming calls for DISH Network.

By DON SHILLING

VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR

NILES — A call center is hiring 200 more workers at $10 an hour to handle calls for a satellite television provider.

West Corp. is looking to add workers immediately and is holding an open house every day through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the call center, 5185 Youngstown-Warren Road.

The center employs about 1,000. The hiring for the new positions is expected to be completed in early November.

DISH Network, which is part of Colorado-based EchoStar Communications Corp., is one of the center’s two primary customers.

West said DISH Network has been growing, so more workers are needed to handle incoming customer service calls. Workers will assist customers with routine billing questions, including cancellation, bill payment and activation.

“We’re excited to secure this new business,” said Lorre White, vice president of operations for Nebraska-based West. “It is certainly indicative of the high level of customer service that the Niles employees consistently deliver.”

Increasing base pay

The base pay for a starting position normally is $8.50 an hour, but West is adding $1.50 an hour in order to attract workers. The increase would be paid after a 90-day training period.

The Niles center also handles customer service calls for AT&T. One of the services it provides AT&T is taking customer calls about service for the Apple iPhone.

AT&T provides wireless service for the iPhone, which was launched in June.

West has about 28,000 employees at call centers in North America, Europe and Asia.

shilling@vindy.com