New call center could employ up to 500

COEUR d’ALENE – At U.S. Bank’s new call center, agents make their living from their headsets.

More than 500 people could eventually work in the bank’s $15 million building at 3700 Seltice Way, answering customer queries about credit card transactions and ATM withdrawals.

A building tour Tuesday revealed rows of beige cubicles, computer monitors, and executive conference rooms – a new look for property that housed a sawmill in the recent past.

“It’s the beginning of development on this part of the Spokane River,” Coeur d’Alene Mayor Sandi Bloem said at Tuesday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new building. “Truly, the face of the river is changing.”

Last year, U.S. Bank announced that it would open a call center in Coeur d’Alene. As part of the incentive package to bring the jobs to town, local developers Tom Johnson and Cliff Mort donated 10 acres of land in their Mill River development.

Mill River – 100 acres planned as a mix of homes and offices with a public park – is being built on the former Crown Pacific Mill site. The waterfront sawmill closed in 2001, ending an 80-year run as a stalwart of the local economy.

“In the early 1970s, when I first came to Idaho, natural resource jobs were paramount,” said state Sen. John Goedde, R-Coeur d’Alene. “We learned a lot in the next decade. We learned that we couldn’t put all of our eggs in one basket.”

In recent years, the call center industry has been one of the Kootenai County’s fast-growing job sectors. It employs 1,900 people, representing almost 4 percent of all jobs in the county.

U.S. Bank currently employs 105 people at the new call center, and expects to grow to 500 workers within three to five years. New agents earn $8.25 to $8.50 per hour, plus benefits. Wages are higher for workers with managerial experience or bilingual skills.

Sarah Frank, who was recently hired by U.S. Bank, considers $8.25 per hour a good starting wage. The 19-year-old Hayden woman is a student at North Idaho College. She said there aren’t many entry-level jobs available locally that come with health insurance, a 401(k) and a paid vacation.

Her friend, Jaclyn Gonzalez, left a call center position at another company for U.S. Bank’s higher wages. Since Gonzalez is expecting her first child, health insurance was also important, she said.

The call center is the second for Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank. The bank also operates a call center in Fargo, N.D., that employs about 1,200 people. The company chose Coeur d’Alene partly because of its Western time zone, a plus for staffing evening calls from East Coast and Midwest customers.

New agents spend about six weeks in training. “There’s a lot to learn,” said Pat Wesner, executive vice president with U.S. Bank.

The bank offers 500 different types of credit card, debit card and “affinity” programs. Affinity programs are partnerships between banks and retailers that reward customers for purchases with perks like free airline miles.

Customer service can be stressful work, and the building was designed with that in mind, Wesner said. Large windows let in natural light. The décor is soothing shades of tan, olive and beige.

Agents will eventually lose their unobstructed river view. Developer Marshall Chesrown has purchased the land south of the call center, and plans to build townhouses along the Spokane River.