Consumer Cellular keeps line open to future

Published 8:48 am Tuesday, April 25, 2023

Like many in the past year, Consumer Cellular and its Redmond call center location also saw significant growth in the ever-expanding city.

The company, a wireless carrier that sells no-contract cell phones and plans to a customer base made up mostly of those over 50 years old, has seen an increase in customers, employees and revenue.

“2022 was an exciting year for us,” said Tiffany Smith, site director of Consumer Cellular’s Redmond location, in an email. “We attracted new users to expand our overall customer base and added new benefits for our employees to take advantage of.”

The company hit nearly 2,800 employees and cracked the 4 million mark for their customer base — an all-time high for the company. Roughly 215 of those employees are based in Redmond, with about 75% of them working remotely.

The company has consistently ranked in the Redmond Economic Development, Inc., top employers list. In 2021, Consumer Cellular was the fifth-largest employer in the city, and in 2022 it dropped slightly to the seventh-largest.

However, these numbers could grow after Ibex Global, a customer service company, laid off an estimated 150-200 employees from its Bend call center in early April, according to the Bulletin. Don Myll, Bend area director for Economic Development for Central Oregon, said EDCO would help facilitate a connection between the two companies.

According to Smith, the company has expanded remote work options and opened two retail locations in Florida and another in Arizona.

“Last year was filled with growth and expansion,” Smith said.

In addition to selling their products at Target and Bi-Mart, Smith said they’ve expanded into other retailers including Walmart as well.

Their product list includes smartphones from Apple, Samsung, Motorola, Nokia and specialty phones that are targeted towards those above the age of 50. According to the company website, some of their specialty phones include features like raised keypad buttons, one-touch emergency buttons and hearing aid compatibility for seniors.

They also have products such as the GrandPad, a tablet designed for those over the age of 75 “that pairs simple design with modern features,” according to the company website.

The company also won multiple awards in the last year, including making the Forbes 2023 America’s Best Mid-Sized Employers list. They were also ranked first in customer service among value mobile network providers by JD Power for the 14th time in a row.

The company also won a Reader’s Choice award from PC Mag for the eighth time in a row and Inc. Magazine included Consumer Cellular in their list of 5,000 fastest-growing private companies.

According to the company’s fact sheet, the company donated $1 million to Meals on Wheels in 2022 and provides more than 2,000 volunteer hours every year.

Consumer Cellular was founded in Portland in October 1995 by John Marick and Greg Pryor and has continued to grow since then. The company is now headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, and is led by Ed Evans after GTCR, a private equity firm based out of Chicago, acquired the company in 2020.

According to The Bulletin, Marick and Pryor opened the Redmond call center location in 2012 when T-Mobile moved out of the current building and out of Redmond. Consumer Cellular was able to hire half of the employees when T-Mobile left.

Since then, the Redmond location has continued to advance the company’s mission.

“Our Redmond location is consistently at the top of the rankings for customer satisfaction surveys,” Smith said.

According to Smith, the company also recently partnered with new agencies that aim to highlight the company’s affordability and customer service work.

“Looking ahead, we’re determined to continue on this path of growth and expansion,” Smith said. “This growth creates more opportunities in Redmond for those searching for customer service positions as we’ll continue to hire new employees to support our expanding customer base.”

These expansion efforts, Smith added, can help current employees grow their careers within the company and aim to promote from within the company first.

According to Smith, there are a number of positions available, but customer service positions are the most in demand. Two-thirds of the company’s staff work in customer service and they are hiring for both in-person and remote positions in addition to part-time and full-time positions.

Smith said employees receive medical, dental and vision insurance, paid time off, 401(k) company match at 6% and other benefits.

According to the company’s hiring portal, customer service representatives earn a base salary of $17 per hour or roughly $35,460 per year.