Comcast said Monday it plans to open a new Spanish-language call center in Miramar, creating 300 jobs by year-end.
Employees at the new center will be taking calls from Spanish-speaking consumers across the country who are responding to Comcast’s marketing efforts. The expansion reflects the growth in demand for Spanish-language TV and other programming from the burgeoning Hispanic population in the nation, said Filemon Lopez, senior vice president of Comcast’s Florida East Coast Region.
Philadelphia-based Comcast chose South Florida for the call center because of “the pool of talent that exists in Miramar and surrounding areas,” Lopez said. One location answering Spanish-language customer calls will help Comcast “leverage all the tools and training. We felt our markets would be better served that way,” he said.
Comcast currently operates call centers in Miramar and West Palm Beach.
No incentives were offered upfront, but Lopez said Comcast “is in conversations” about state or local tax credits and benefits potentially available to the cable TV company for job creation. “That was not really a driver,” he said.
Comcast said it is seeking bilingual individuals with sales experience to fill the jobs. The company is now hiring for the center, which begins operation in May at Comcast’s existing Miramar campus. Apply online for the customer account jobs at http://www.comcast.com/careers.
The company said the jobs will provide base pay plus commission, but declined to specify an hourly wage for competitive reasons. A few supervisory jobs also will be available, Lopez said.
In South Florida, Comcast offers 60 channels of Spanish-language channels and 700 on-demand titles, Lopez said. “We’ll continue to add more and more. It’s something we’ve been working on very hard — programming that’s relevant and serving the needs of our diverse marketplace.”
The company also offers its employees medical, dental and prescription benefits as well as discounted Comcast cable, internet and other services.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-comcast-miramar-jobs-20110426,0,3599939.story
