Tag: Jay Witherspoon

Cellular Sales continues to climb on Inc. magazine’s list of the nation’s fastest growing companies

Posted by Rick Laney – August 26, 2010

Knoxville, Tenn. – Inc. magazine listed Cellular Sales at No. 72 on its list of the nation’s fastest growing companies according to gross dollars of growth. Cellular Sales was ranked No. 1,856 on the fourth annual overall list of the nation’s fastest growing companies (up from No. 2,069 last year).  The “Inc. 5,000” represents a comprehensive look at America’s independent-minded entrepreneurs.

Growth for Cellular Sales was reported at 147 percent according to Inc. magazine.  The magazine ranked Cellular Sales No. 96 on the “Inc. 5,000” list of the nation’s fastest-growing privately held retail companies.  The magazine reported that Cellular Sales’ 2006 revenue of $127.9 million grew to $316.1 million last year.

“When we started with one Cellular Sales store in 1993, we said we were going to stand out from other companies by providing the kind of customer service that turns customers into dedicated fans who don’t want to do business anywhere else,” said Dane Scism, founder and CEO of Cellular Sales.  “We do things that other companies cannot or will not do – and our success comes from that philosophy.

“Every single customer who purchases a wireless device from us gets a call from Cellular Sales within 24 hours.  We call to see what their in-store experience was like.  We make sure they understand how their new phone operates and make sure they understand their service plan.  It’s just one more way Cellular Sales guarantees that our customers are getting unparalleled service.”

Cellular Sales, Verizon Wireless’ largest premium retailer, also conducts ongoing analysis of its customers’ phone usage so the company can notify customers when other service plans would be more cost effective for them.

“In spite of economic ups and downs, Cellular Sales has averaged 30 percent growth every year,” Scism explained.  “You can only do that by making sure your customers are happy with you.  We have customer satisfaction numbers that show our training and business model works.”

Cellular Sales is a 17-year old privately held company founded and headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn.  The company currently operates throughout the United States.  By year end, Cellular Sales will open at least 50 new stores in markets across the United States, bringing the company’s total number of locations to around 400.  For the past three years, Inc. Magazine has named Cellular Sales one of the nation’s fastest growing retail companies in the country.

For more information about Cellular Sales, or to find a Cellular Sales location near you, visit the company’s web site at www.cellularsales.com.  Read about the entire 2010 Inc. magazine “Inc. 5000” list at http://www.inc.com/inc5000/2010/index.html.

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Media Contact
Rick Laney
(865) 584-0550
rlaney@ackermannpr.com

Cellular Sales Verizon Wireless Opens National Call Center in Knoxville, Tenn. and Adds 250 New Jobs

Posted by Rick Laney – July 21, 2010

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Knoxville-based Cellular Sales, the nation’s largest Verizon premium wireless retailer, announced today that it is opening a new National Call Center at 9038 Cross Park Drive NW across from the U.S. Post Office near Cedar Bluff Road.

Cellular Sales also announced it would hire between 200 and 250 new employees to work at the National Call Center within the next two months.  The new operation – which represents an investment of more than $1 million by Cellular Sales – will employ supervisors, managers and customer service representatives in full-time and part-time positions.

Jay Witherspoon of Cellular Sales talks to the media about the company's new National Call Center in Knoxville, Tenn.

Jay Witherspoon of Cellular Sales, said, “This new National Call Center is a perfect extension to the ultimate customer service Cellular Sales provides.  We want every customer who purchases a wireless device in one of our 300-plus stores across the country to get a call from our National Call Center within 24 hours of the time they leave our store.

“Every customer we call will be asked what their in-store experience was like, we will make sure they understand how their new phone operates and make sure they understand their service plan.  It’s just one more way for Cellular Sales to guarantee that our customers are getting unparalleled service.”

The Verizon Wireless retailer also conducts ongoing analysis of its customers’ phone usage so the company can notify customers when other service plans would be more cost effective for them.

“Everyone uses their wireless phone differently,” said Mark Dugger, National Call Center Manager for Cellular Sales.

“Here at our new National Call Center, we will monitor how our customers are using their phones and reach out to them if we recognize usage trends that are better-suited to other service plans.  There just aren’t many companies out there that will take extra steps like this to save their customers money.”

The new Cellular Sales National Call Center has nearly 13,000 square-feet of space and, according to Cellular Sales, will provide the ability for growth beyond the 200 to 250 people they initially plan to employ.

“As a company, we have grown by about 30 percent every year,” said Witherspoon.  “As we move forward, we fully expect similar growth here at the National Call Center.”

Cellular Sales is a 17-year old privately held company founded and headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn.  The company currently operates throughout the United States.  By year end, Cellular Sales – which attributes its rapid growth to its unique level of customer service – will open at least 50 new stores, bringing the company’s total number of locations to around 400.  For the past two years, Inc. magazine named Cellular Sales one of the nation’s fastest growing retail companies in the country.

For more information about Cellular Sales, or to find a Cellular Sales location near you, visit the company’s web site at www.cellularsales.com. Job seekers should call (865) 531-9359 to schedule an interview.

To learn more about the new Cellular Sales National Call Center, read and watch additional coverage of this story at the Knoxville News Sentinel, WATE (ABC), WBIR (NBC), and WVLT (CBS).

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Media Contact
Rick Laney
(865) 584-0550
rlaney@ackermannpr.com

Skype Mobile Now Available to Verizon Wireless Retailer Cellular Sales Customers

Posted by Rick Laney – March 25, 2010

Knoxville, Tenn. –  Beginning today, customers of Verizon Wireless retailer Cellular Sales are no longer confined to their PC when making Skype-to-Skype calls.  With Skype mobile™,  Verizon Wireless 3G smartphone users with data plans will be able to connect with friends, family, and business colleagues around the world.  This new service is available exclusively to Verizon Wireless customers.

Cellular Sales Verizon Wireless and Skype

“This is a tremendous partnership between Verizon Wireless and Skype,” said Dane Scism, founder and CEO of Cellular Sales.  “With Skype mobile on our phones, customers will be able to enjoy conversations with Skype contacts wherever they are at no extra cost.”

Skype mobile uses the Verizon Wireless voice network for the wireless connection of the Skype-to-Skype calls.  Skype mobile users can:

  • make and receive unlimited Skype-to-Skype voice calls to any Skype contact around the globe;
  • send and receive unlimited instant messages with other Skype users;
  • manage the Skype contact list directly from the mobile application; and
  • call international phone numbers at competitive Skype calling rates.

Skype mobile will be available initially on millions of best-selling Verizon Wireless 3G smartphones, including the BlackBerry® Storm™ 9530, Storm2™ 9550, Curve™ 8330, Curve™ 8530, 8830 World Edition, and Tour™ 9630 smartphones, as well as DROID by Motorola, DROID ERIS™ by HTC and Motorola DEVOUR™.

“This partnership between Verizon and Skype heralds more great things to come as 4G technology rolls out,” said Jay Witherspoon of Cellular Sales Verizon Wireless.  “Verizon is leveraging their network with Skype’s community to give Verizon users a better mobile experience.  These would-be rivals are now helping each other, to the benefit of the consumer.  It’s a great situation for everyone.”

Cellular Sales is a 16-year old privately held company headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn.  The company currently operates throughout the United States.  By year end, Cellular Sales – which attributes its rapid growth to unparalleled customer service – will open 50 new stores, bringing the company’s total number of locations to well over 300.  Last year, Inc. Magazine named Cellular Sales one of the nation’s fastest growing privately held companies.

For more information about Cellular Sales Verizon Wireless, or to find a store near you, visit the company’s web site at www.cellularsales.com.

Media Contact
Rick Laney
(865) 584-0550
rlaney@ackermannpr.com