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September 13, 2006
Fledgling call center already set to expand
(San Antonio Express-News (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Sep. 13--The grand opening isn't until Thursday, but one of San Antonio's newest call centers already is preparing to expand.
Virginia-based Harris Connect's Northwest side facility will employ as many as 300 San Antonians by the end of 2007, said Susan D'Agostino, Harris' vice president of administration.
The 43-year-old company announced in February that it would open a 250-person call center here. The family-run business updates print and Internet alumni directories for high schools, colleges, fraternities, military groups and others.
About 130 employees, more than 10 percent of Harris Connect's total work force, started taking calls in June at the company's facility off Northwest Loop 410. Another 70 employees are expected to be hired by year's end.
Despite the popularity of sites such as classmates.com, myspace.com, facebook.com, friendster.com and a slew of other social networking portals, D'Agostino said the alumni directory business remains strong.
"We're still in a growth mode," she said. "People have an affinity with the schools they attended and the membership groups they've belonged to." One advantage that Harris Connect has over sites like classmates.com -- the Web's No. 2 social networking spot in June -- is that it starts with alumni or member lists provided by schools or organizations.
Classmates.com and other sites let users post their own information and generally aren't a comprehensive list of every member in a group.
Harris mails surveys to and takes phone calls from alums looking to update their academic, personal or professional information.
Still, phone calls to update alumni information are rare, said Jane Burton, director of alumni programs for the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Most UTSA alums update their information on the school's Web site or through the mail, she said.
To see more of the San Antonio Express-News, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.mysanantonio.com.
Copyright (c) 2006, San Antonio Express-News
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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(source: http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/-fledgling-call-center-already-set-expand-/2006/09/13/1889979.htm)
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