OGDEN, Utah (ABC 4 News) – The Home Depot held a ribbon cutting event Saturday for the opening of a new call center based in Utah.
The Home Depot spent 18 months searching for the selection of two call centers in the United States. Ogden, ah and Kennesaw, Georgia were chosen as the final cities.
The facilities are twice as big as The Home Depot’s previous call center locations. The center in Utah created approximately 600 jobs.
Terry Lee, a new employee, is excited for the facility to open. He spent months looking for a job after his previous employer started outsourcing positions overseas.
“It was just really heart wrenching,” Lee said. “We were all laid off and our jobs sent to Sabu, Philippines."
Lee applied for a customer service representative position on The Home Depot’s website.
Lee got a call two days before the interview and was told he was not eligible to apply. There was a conflict of interest between The Home Depot and his last employer.
Lee went to the interview anyway and explained his situation to a woman from The Home Depot’s Human Resources division. He said the woman asked him to come back for an interview.
“I went right down to the hiring event,” Lee said. “We went through the interviews and they gave me the job offer.”
He said he is thankful to be a new employee for a company based in the U.S. that values community and customer service.
“It’s really frustrating that our jobs are continually being sent overseas,” Lee added. “That’s why I’m committed to The Home Depot because I know they will stay in America.”
