Call center ups capacity

Housed inside the 45,000-square-foot SEI call center is a replica of the computer system in a McDonald’s restaurant.

It is capable of simulating an entire day’s operation for one of the fast-food restaurants. Although there is no food or cooking equipment, there is a fully functional cash register.

The system facilitates the ability of SEI employees to provide technical assistance for the fast-food giant, according to SEI call center operations director Chris Read. By having the same equipment as a caller in trouble, SEI troubleshooters can readily see what their client is experiencing, Read said.

It’s a strategy that is helping the business grow. SEI began operations at the center on Seventh Street in eastern Clovis near Clovis Community College in November 2005 with 35 positions, site manager Warren Woodward said. The number of employees today has tripled, and the target is for the site to have as many as 300 positions, Woodward said.

“(SEI is) very aggressively hiring at this time,” he said, with about 15 new employees beginning training on Monday and nearly 30 more in April.

SEI is adding new clients as well as expanding service to existing accounts, Woodward said.

The Clovis customer support center provides technical support for the quick service restaurant industry, he explained.

That support comes from employees who sit in front of computers at ergonomically designed work stations wearing telephone headsets.

The company recently invested more than $500,000 to expand the call center’s infrastructure, according to global operations vice president Tom Glavan.

Glavan and several company executives were in Clovis on Friday for a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

SEI’s president, Carolyn Faehling, said the company was attracted to Clovis “because we could find some exceptional people here.”

She said the workforce has been “great for us; great for our customers.”

Read said the company looks for people with good technical and good customer service skills.

By the numbers

17

Languages SEI employees worldwide speak to provide

technical support

30,000

Average number of inbound calls to the Clovis call center received monthly