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When Swiss Colony executives started searching for a location for a new call center in 1998, they happened upon the lovely little Mississippi River town of Hannibal, Mo. It was a match made in heaven; the company found a welcoming community and a multitude of hard-working employees, and the community gained a dependable long-term employer.
The Swiss Colony celebrated its 10th Anniversary in Hannibal with a celebration for employees on Aug. 5. Formerly located in the old hospital building on Virginia Street, the company built a new facility on Palmyra Road in 2007. It is one of four call centers operated by the company to receive orders by telephone and internet, and to provide customer service. The new center has 337 phone stations and currently employs 418 people. That number is expected to go up to 800 or more for the peak season in November/December. Since 1998, employees have received almost 11 million phone orders at the Hannibal facility.
While offering congratulations at the celebration, Swiss Colony Vice President Bob Vig and Executive Director Brad Newcomer were in agreement about the positive attitude of Hannibal employees. “Everyone is very friendly, cheerful, and extremely helpful,” Newcomer commented, “and the key to our success here is that’s exactly the way you treat our customers.”
Founded in 1926 as a mail-order purveyor of cheese and sausage products, The Swiss Colony has grown into a direct marketer of a multitude of general merchandise products as well. It produces catalogs such as Seventh Avenue, Ginny’s, Midnight Velvet, Country Door, and Montgomery Ward to market thousands of items from apparel and jewelry to housewares and electronics.
When Swiss Colony executives started searching for a location for a new call center in 1998, they happened upon the lovely little Mississippi River town of Hannibal, Mo. It was a match made in heaven; the company found a welcoming community and a multitude of hard-working employees, and the community gained a dependable long-term employer.
The Swiss Colony celebrated its 10th Anniversary in Hannibal with a celebration for employees on Aug. 5. Formerly located in the old hospital building on Virginia Street, the company built a new facility on Palmyra Road in 2007. It is one of four call centers operated by the company to receive orders by telephone and internet, and to provide customer service. The new center has 337 phone stations and currently employs 418 people. That number is expected to go up to 800 or more for the peak season in November/December. Since 1998, employees have received almost 11 million phone orders at the Hannibal facility.
While offering congratulations at the celebration, Swiss Colony Vice President Bob Vig and Executive Director Brad Newcomer were in agreement about the positive attitude of Hannibal employees. “Everyone is very friendly, cheerful, and extremely helpful,” Newcomer commented, “and the key to our success here is that’s exactly the way you treat our customers.”
Founded in 1926 as a mail-order purveyor of cheese and sausage products, The Swiss Colony has grown into a direct marketer of a multitude of general merchandise products as well. It produces catalogs such as Seventh Avenue, Ginny’s, Midnight Velvet, Country Door, and Montgomery Ward to market thousands of items from apparel and jewelry to housewares and electronics.
