Global Services Firms Maintain Focus in Wake of Chile Quake
March 3rd, 2010By Karina Cuevas
Despite Chile being a country with a long seismic history, the 8.8 earthquake that devastated its southern region left many disconnected from the rest of the world. A lack of electricity and communication has been one of the primary concerns for business owners whose operations are fundamentally dependent on connectivity to the rest of the world.
The global services industry in Chile appears to be rebounding well from last week’s disruption, working simultaneously to reach out and service those in need and also strive to maintain business as usual.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by this earthquake. In the wake of this emergency, Sitel’s first priority is the safety and well-being of our associates,” said Dave Garner, Chairman and CEO of Sitel. “The local Emergency Committee is working to contact every associate to determine their situation, get an idea of individual losses, and find out needs and ways we can be of assistance. “
Sitel has enacted a preparedness plan, built for these types of situations. Among other procedures, account teams activated to make contact with customers to minimize the impact on contact center activity.
Chile Telecom Network Stands Up Well in Wake of Earthquake
February 28th, 2010Communications systems in Chile, a much more technologically advanced country than Haiti, are strained but still functioning for many in the wake of the earthquake. However, the country’s transportation minister, René Cortázar asked that Chileans limit their use of telephones.
“There’s a problem with communication quality and overload, for which we only ask people to use the phone if it’s completely necessary,” Cortázar is quoted as saying in Argentina’s Buenos Aires Herald newspaper.
Volunteers from the nonprofit group, Télécoms Sans Frontières (Telecommunications Without Borders), which also helped in Haiti after the Jan. 12 quake there, are on their way to Chile, Paul Paul Margie, U.S. representative for the nonprofit group told msnbc.com.
“Our reports are that communications are badly damaged in some areas, so we are sending an emergency telecom team” there, Margie said.
Chileans using Twitter, the short-messaging site that limits posts to 140 characters, urged others to conserve and …
