Springfield Township cell phone firm to hire 100

10/3/2009
BLADE STAFF

A Springfield Township prepaid cellular phone provider announced Friday that it planned to hire more than 100 new employees by year's end to address growth in the popularity of its services.

Page Plus Cellular, 1615 Timberwolf Drive, said most of the new employees would start at wages of $10 an hour or more, plus benefits, depending on the position. Most of the positions are customer service representatives, although additional salaried and staff positions will be filled, human resources manager Joanna Crosser said.

Those interested can apply online at www.pagepluscellular.com/careers.aspx.

By adding the positions the company will nearly double its existing 145-person work force, Ms. Crosser said. The expansion is the result of the popularity of a new prepaid cellular plan the firm rolled out in August that offers unlimited talk and texting for $39.95 per month.

"I've got people waiting in the queue 90 deep right now," Ms. Crosser said, adding that the company has already begun to bolster its staff in response.

The company was started in 1993 in Toledo to offer pagers by Abdul Yassine and three of his brothers, but customers' declining interest in paging led them into the cellular business.

It began offering prepaid cellular phone service in 1998, and now operates in 30 states, selling phones in convenience stores, gas stations, dollar stores, check-cashing shops, and wireless stores.

The firm's $5 million building in Springfield Township, built just over two years ago, already houses its national call center. Ms. Crosser said that the rapid expansion may force the firm to once again use its former headquarters building at 2035 South Reynolds Rd., which has been maintained

as a backup facility, she said.