Replacements offers unique call center experience
Replacements offers unique call center experience
Good call center workers know when to talk and when to listen.
Mary Anne Huskey of Replacements Ltd., spends much of her workday listening. Some customers are as quick to tell her details about their lives as they are their patterns of china.
“They love to tell you who bought them the china, why it got broken,” Huskey says. “A lot of times, we just try to help them preserve their memories from the dishes they got from their family. Everyday work is always changing because every person has a different thing they’re looking for, maybe a different story to tell you.”
Huskey works as a sales associate at Replacements’ McLeansville call center. Founded in 1981, the Greensboro company is home to the world’s largest selection of dinnerware with 13 million pieces in 300,000 patterns. It’s the premier resource for people who have broken pieces or lost items from their collections.
Huskey came to the business in a roundabout way. After graduating from Bartlett Yancey High School in Caswell County, she got her bachelor’s degree in physical education from UNCG. But she decided she didn’t want to teach and went on to work in motels, recreation and a different call center before applying for a job with Replacements.
She listened to a lot of complaints in her early experience as a call center representative but says she hears fewer of them in her work at Replacements, and finds the atmosphere less stressful.
“Replacements is different,” she says. “Even though we ship all over the world, it’s more like a family. The people that you work with are all friendly. You can go and ask anybody here the answer. It’s intense but it’s still a relaxed atmosphere because everyone tries to help everyone else.”
One of Replacements’ famous employee perks is a policy allowing dogs in the workplace. Huskey has a puppy at home, and although he’s too young to be managed at work, she’s made friends with her co-workers’ animal companions.
“They don’t mind if you borrow their pet to walk or rub,” she says.
Huskey’s shifts run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday through Thursday. In addition to answering phones, she also labels boxes of china in the company’s warehouse and assists the Internet Services department by setting up files in the computer system, which trigger an e-mailed response to customer questions submitted via Replacements’ Web site. By working in other departments, Huskey gains knowledge of the company’s products, which helps her better answer questions about them.
Still, even with that knowledge base, she can’t always tell customers what they want to hear. Despite its huge inventory, Replacements sometimes runs out of stock.
“Hopefully, it’s not a lost cause,” Huskey says. “We’ll try very hard to get the pieces they want.”
New employees may find her cubicle to be one of their first stops out of the two-week call center training, which follows an initial one to two weeks of general company orientation. They listen to her take calls for a while, and then she answers their questions.
“It gives them a better background to know what’s happening here,” she says.
Those seeking a job like Huskey’s need to have excellent typing skills. There’s some selling involved, but no cold calling. Instead, sales associates in the call center will often suggest to customers other items that might complement their order. Call center representatives are paid anywhere from $10 to $18.75 an hour.
Huskey says her work at Replacements is the most satisfying call center work she’s done. Instead of fielding complaint calls, she hears from customers who ask for her by name.
“I’m sure anybody in our facility that answers the phone could help them,” she says. “I guess they like that personal touch.”
Mary Anne Huskey of Replacements, Ltd.
Mary Anne Huskey of Replacements, Ltd. works as a sales associate in the call center of Replacements - McLeansville facility.
Craig Miller / News & Record
