An old, defunct bowling alley in Montgomery will soon see new life as a call center.
The Montgomery Advertiser reports a $2 million renovation is already underway inside the Brunswick Woodmere Lanes bowling alley. The alley has been out of business for about five years, ever since Brunswick moved to Stratford Square in Montgomery.
The newspaper reports ASK owner Rick Burley plans to move his call center company there from its current, very cramped office building nearby. They plan to add about 300 employees once the new office is finished, nearly doubling their payroll.
It's a big change from 2013, when the company was called ASK Telemarketing and they had about 50 workers. That's when they switched from telemarketing to an inbound center and started handling customer care for companies across the United States. They take phone calls, reply to emails, conduct customer Web chats and more.
In late 2015, Montgomery landed 800 new call center jobs in a two-week span. Burley says the workforce in Montgomery largely “fits the model” for call centers – people with at least a high school education who speak well and live in a city where it’s relatively easy to get around. Within one year, call center employees can expect to earn around $14 an hour.