The recent closure of Charter Communications’ Albert Lea office signals an overall centralization of customer service operations, said Charter Marketing Director Paige Cain.

Monday, April 16, 2001

The recent closure of Charter Communications’ Albert Lea office signals an overall centralization of customer service operations, said Charter Marketing Director Paige Cain. A new call center in Rochester will handle calls from around the region, she said.

Closing the Albert Lea office was not a cost-savings measure, Cain said, though the Marshall Street building was old and outdated. The company decided not to invest money to make repairs and upgrades. Instead, they will try to sell the building, she said. It closed March 16.

Rather than purchase or lease a new location in Albert Lea, Cain said Charter opted to handle customer calls at the Rochester office. The same will soon happen after the call center opens May 21 for customers in Austin, Mankato, Faribault and Owatonna, Cain said.

&uot;We’re not a small cable company anymore,&uot; Cain said. &uot;We offer a lot of products and services now, and our customer service people require special training. We can offer better service from a call center.&uot;

Cain said Albert Lea customers will have the option of mailing their payments or taking them to a new drop box location at Hy-Vee Foods. The drop box outside the Marshall Street office is no longer in service, she said.

All of the Charter technicians who worked out of the Albert Lea office were transferred to Austin. Of the four office staffers, two remain with the company and two took severance packages, Cain said.

&uot;We need to emphasize that Albert Lea customers will still get local service,&uot; Cain said.