I hate telemarketers.
Posted on 01/16/2004 7:54:22 PM PST by steve86
Dakotah Direct shut down its Pasco operation Thursday as a preventative measure after one of its employees showed an unidentified illness.
The telemarketing operation is scheduled to be fully staffed again today, said Carol Padon, vice president for industrial and public relations for Atlanta-based West Corp., parent company of Dakota Direct. All media questions were referred to her. Dakota Direct employs about 190 people in Pasco.
The company's Pasco center was being disinfected Thursday.
The Benton-County Health Department has not been able to confirm what the one employee's illness was and was not able to connect with the appropriate corporate officials on Thursday, said Heather Hill, the department's communicable diseases program supervisor.
Employee Nick Van Slyke said Dakota Direct officials did not tell him and fellow workers why the business was closed Thursday morning.
"They were cleaning up the whole building, scrubbing it down," the 19-year old West Richland resident said. "They said work was canceled due to some sickness, but they wouldn't tell me what it was."
Hope to have more information tomorrow morning.
No possibility of terrorism /sarcasm
Wonder if anyone just returned from Southeast Asia with flu-like symptoms?
Last time we heard about scrubbing down a building it involved anthrax but I have no reason to believe that is the case here.
On a side note I'm glad to see they are working, but not in this industry which is akin to the worlds oldest profession...I thought most telemarketers went belly up?
Sometimes they do...
Largest employer closing
by Carrie Opdahl, Harvey, North Dakota, Harvey Herald-Press
Fessenden's largest employer, Call Solutions, will be closing its doors Jan. 31.
"Business has been slow for the last two years. We knew the call would be coming," said Call Center Manager Becky Roller. Managers were informed of the closing Dec. 29.
The telemarketing business has been in Fessenden for about nine years, during which it has taken on four different companies.
The first company to occupy the building was Impact Telemarketing, Woodbury, NJ, on March 15, 1995. Then Dakota Direct of Spokane, Wash. moved in. GLS of Philadelphia, Penn was the next company and now Call Solutions of Waukesha, Wisc.
Call Solutions employed over 45 people from a 50 mile radius. "We have employees from Martin, New Rockford, Esmond, Hurdsfield, Goodrich, Bowdon and Harvey, as well as Fessenden," said Roller.
Five employees have been with the telemmarketing business since the beginning. They are Marvelyn Leier, Helen Job, Deanna Opp, Allison Lindgren and Roller.
Members of Fessenden's Economic Development committee are currently searching for another company to fill the void left by Call Solutions.
"We've been in this position before and at that time it worked out and a new company came in. I am hopeful there is something else out there for us and we can call all our people back," said Roller.
Although Roller has seen a lot of employees come and go through the years, she said they have all been loyal and stuck in there through thick and thin. "We are grateful for our employees. They have been very good to us." said Roller.
Attack of conscience?
I worked for a while on a helpdesk for Verizon DSL. What germ factory THAT place was!
There were no drug tests, so you can imagine the type of brainiacs and tattooed/pierced losers that job attracted. You never knew who had been on the computer last, or how much fecal matter was on the mouse and keyboard. Everyone was fighting "the cold from hell."
The best part of the job was when some arab with an attitude called, and I would transfer him to the Spanish line and listen to them jabber back and forth.
Hopefully some new, strange, laryngitis confined to his/her profession that only goes away when the infected annoyer gets a new job.
I hate telemarketers.
Something very similar resulted in Grolier closing its telemarketing operation here in Panama City, FL. Employees kept getting sick so they did a temporary shut down and had the building checked out. Nothing was found so they re-opened and the illness reappeared.
They finally closed up the operation altogether and left the area.
Dakota Direct illness still unknown
By John Stang
Herald Staff Writer
Dakota Direct and its parent corporation remained mum Friday on what illness led the company to send its Pasco employees home Thursday, and its subsequent cleaning and disinfection of the facility.
Employees returned to work Friday at the Pasco telemarketing shop, the company confirmed. The site employs about 190 people.
Questions to Dakota Direct were referred Thursday and Friday to the parent corporation, Atlanta-based West Corporation.
On Thursday, West Corp. said one employee had a potentially infectious illness, so the rest were sent home and the building was scrubbed as a precaution. On Thursday, West Corp. declined to identify the illness, citing privacy laws.
Phone calls Friday to West Corp. were not returned.
Meanwhile, the Benton-Franklin County Health Department has contacted Dakota Direct's offices in Spokane and San Antonio, Texas, and the West Corp. office in Atlanta, but could not obtain information on what disease led to Thursday's closure, other than it could be infectious.
"It's frustrating...We've had a lot of employees phone us, wondering what to do," said Heather Hill, the department's communicable diseases supervisor.
The health department and the Herald have received several rumors about what the illness could be, but neither have been able to confirm any of them.
"We have offered our support and assistance to Dakota Direct and their corporate offices and await their reply,.... We have had no reports of infectious diseases from other physicians or emergency rooms that would lead us to any concern at this time," the health department said in a written statement.
(Accompanying photo shows building exterior)
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