JAMES GIBBARD/Tulsa World
Rudel DeCastro is director of US Cellular's Customer Care Center in Tulsa. Born and raised in Virginia Beach, Va., he came to Tulsa in 1990 to attend Oral Roberts University and received a bachelor's degree in international business with an emphasis in Spanish. DeCastro held call center management positions at TV Guide and Cingular Wireless before joining US Cellular.
1: How did you get interested in the communications
industry?
After graduating from college,
I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted
to do, so I took a job at a local call
center as a customer service/sales
representative. My primary job
functions involved taking customer
service and sales calls from English
and Spanish-speaking customers.
However, it wasn’t just the job or
the company that got me interested
in call center work. The key
reasons I enjoyed working in that
particular center were the diverse
colleagues and the leadership team
that created and fostered a great
place to work, which was fun yet
productive.
And to this day, those same reasons
hold true.
2: What are the keys to offering superior
customer service in a call center setting?
It starts with leadership excellence,
which creates passionate
associates, who in turn deliver
the world’s best customer service,
leading to customer advocacy that
produces superior business results.
Leaders at the Tulsa Customer
Care Center ensure that associates
have the best training and knowledge
so they can act freely to make
informed decisions on behalf of
our customers. We’re guided by
our core values of customer focus,
respect for associates, ethics, pride,
empowerment, diversity and winning.
3: How many people does the Tulsa Customer
Care Center employ? Are there
any plans for the center to grow?
We have been in the Tulsa area
for more than 25 years, have more
than 400 care center associates and
are committed to the community. I
encourage people to visit uscellular.
jobs to learn more about our open
positions.
4: What does your facility do to benefit
the community?
As a wireless carrier with
national coverage, we put an
emphasis on our ability to “remain
local” by serving our customers
well and working with the leaders
in our communities. Associates in
the Tulsa Customer Care Center
love to support the community by
volunteering with various organizations
such as the Community
Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma,
DonorsChoose.org, book drives for
local schools and YMCA of Tulsa,
among other organizations.
My core team also enjoys taking
time every few months for a volunteer
project. We recently volunteered
at the Kendall Whittier Food
Pantry at the University of Tulsa,
where we stocked and organized
the pantry.
More recently, several of the
leaders from the care center
partnered with our sales team in
Moore to provide relief efforts to
those impacted by the tornadoes.
We provided support at six Wireless
Support Stations throughout
Oklahoma City, Shawnee, Moore
and Newcastle to provide a power
source for charging wireless devices,
offer phone calls and provide
Internet access free of charge.
We also gave away chargers and
batteries and sent teams to walk the
neighborhoods in Moore to offer
hands-on assistance to those who
were unable to visit the support
locations.
We are also continuing our commitment
to schools by kicking off
the Calling All Teachers campaign
starting in August and Calling All
Communities campaign returning
in November. U.S. Cellular is giving
$500,000 to help teachers fund
projects to enhance their students’
learning experience and another
$500,000 for schools to improve
their educational resources.
5: What do you look for most when
hiring?
With the rapid changes in the
wireless industry, our Care Center
is constantly evaluating our hiring
needs.
We look for associates who are
passionate about delivering the
world’s best customer experience
and those that are driven by our
core values. We offer a variety of
training and development opportunities
and encourage our associates
to take advantage of these learning
opportunities to enhance and grow
their skill set.
5 Questions
1: You've moved from the construction industry with Flintco to power generation with Clifford. What is the learning curve in your new job?
1 How has the Girl Scout program evolved over the years, and what does it offer today?
CONTACT THE REPORTER
918-581-8457
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