Williams-Sonoma Opens Contact Center

Kitchen and housewares cataloger/retailer Williams-Sonoma has a new customer service center in California. The Shafter, CA, contact center opened in mid-April and so far employs 25 associates.

The San Francisco-based company's brands include Williams-Sonoma, Williams-Sonoma Home, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, PBteen and West Elm. The new center will serve its Internet and catalog customers.

Williams-Sonoma in January closed its call center in Camp Hill, PA, as part of a massive cost-cutting plan after a lackluster holiday season. About 330 people worked at that facility, which had opened in 2000.

The merchant said at the time it was consolidating its call center operations into its remaining centers in Oklahoma and Nevada. The Shafter facility will act as a satellite to Williams-Sonoma's larger customer service facility in Las Vegas.