Keeping Jobs in America

When we established Consumer Cellular more than 17 years ago, we were strongly committed to using local talent to build our company. Throughout the years, our commitment to rely on American workers held steady, even as others in our industry were outsourcing many of their positions to cheaper resources in other countries.

In my opinion, some businesses make a mistake in over-emphasizing the cost of using American workers while, at the same time, overlooking the benefits that using American workers has on customers and local communities. In short, a service company built on outsourcing was not the kind of company we wanted to build.

Starting with a mere handful of employees, we now number more than 700 strong in two states, Arizona and Oregon. Our contact centers are staffed with English-speaking cell phone experts, who are knowledgeable, patient and friendly. And I know these folks are delivering because every day I receive emails from customers praising the service they are getting. There are no lost-in-translation moments on our watch.

This has been quite the year for Consumer Cellular and awards. To cap it off, we were recently selected as a recipient of the inaugural Inc. Hire Power Awards, a recognition given to private companies that are leading the way in creating American jobs. This award is particularly sweet because it’s about job creation right here in the United States of America at a time in our nation’s history when jobs are hardly plentiful. And it validates our commitment to hire fellow citizens.

It seems business awards were an embarrassment of riches for us this year.  The big one, of course, is that for the third year in a row we were rated the #1 cell phone service provider in the nation. We were also recognized as one of the best companies to work for, as well as one of the top green companies to work for in Oregon. Plus, for the fourth consecutive year, we made Inc. Magazine’s list of the top 5000 companies.

And now we’re being recognized for creating jobs for American workers.

These awards and attaboys are nice, to be sure. However, the real value in such recognition is that it enables us to attract top talent and continue to provide superior service to you. And that, I think, is a combination that will continue to win favor. Because the right people serving customers the right way is the right thing to do.