The Singing Machine Company, Inc. (OTCQB: SMDM), the world-wide leading consumer karaoke products company, today announced it is moving its Customer Service Inbound and Outbound Call Center back to the United States. The Company, which had previously hosted its call center in Mexico, decided to bring its call center back to the States to better support the growing demand from its customers for more in-depth technical help related to music downloading and its new digital download series of products. The decision was also based on a commitment by the Company's executive team to keep jobs in America whenever possible.
The move comes in response to the Company's anticipation of higher volume of inbound calls and emails this coming holiday season.
After an extensive search of call center locations, the Company has picked Greenville, South Carolina as the site of its new call center, which will be staffed by up to 30 representatives from the local Greenville, S.C. area. The new call center will be open six days a week and will also be fully staffed on holidays, including Thanksgiving and Christmas, to support the technical needs of customers during the holiday season.
Gary Atkinson, Singing Machine CEO, stated, "We're proud to be bringing jobs back to the States and to work with a center that better understands today's American consumers and technology. In forecasting our upcoming needs for call volume support, we felt it was necessary to locate a center with the level of capabilities needed to handle the call and email volume we experience during our peak holiday season."
Cathy Novello, Singing Machine Customer Service Manager, added, "During our search process for a new call center location, it was important to us to bring our call center back to America. We picked Greenville, South Carolina for its cost effective structure to employ highly skilled workers. While this move will cost more in the short term, we believe it will become profitable in the long term. It is our goal that our new call center will improve customer satisfaction and reduce the rate of our product returns after the holiday season. We also anticipate building stronger brand loyalty among our new customers with this move as we'll be able to meet their technical support needs quickly."
About The Singing Machine
Based in the U.S., Singing Machine® is the North American leader in consumer karaoke products. The first to provide karaoke systems for home entertainment in the United States, the Company sells its products world-wide through major mass merchandisers and on-line retailers. We offer the industry's widest line of at-home karaoke entertainment products, which allow consumers to find a machine that suits their needs and skill level. As the most recognized brand in karaoke, Singing Machine products incorporate the latest technology for singing practice, music listening, entertainment and social sharing. The Singing Machine provides consumers the best warranties in the industry and access to over 12,000 songs for streaming and download. Singing Machine products are sold through most major retailers in North America and also internationally. Seewww.singingmachine.com for more details.
