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atellite TV provider DirecTV is expanding rapidly, adding new customers and new local and national high- definition channels.

DirecTV has opened its fourth company-owned call center in Missoula, Mont.

That type of growth requires plenty of technical support for customers, and DirecTV has chosen Missoula, Mont., for its fourth owned- and- operated call center. The 74,000- sq.- ft. (6,900- sq.- m.) facility has capacity to house 1,000 customer service representatives.
   But DirecTV is a different than most companies requiring call center services these days: It is bringing a significant portion of this function in- house.
   "Over the last three years, we've been driving an insourcing plan," says Gary Qualls, DirecTV's vice president of business operations, who oversees the company's call centers. "We're trying to take back the customer experience and own the critical customer touch points. We're bringing in- house some measure of the crucial types of calls."
   Qualls notes that DirecTV is bucking national and global trends, but he says the company is trying to find the right balance in its customer care network. DirecTV currently provides 25 percent of its call center services in- house. That's up from 10 percent three years ago. He says providing the services in- house allows DirecTV to develop a keener awareness of the root customer issues, and he believes that provides a competitive advantage.
   The Missoula facility, which opened in July, is the company's first greenfield call center. It is loaded with amenities such as relaxation areas, an on- site cafeteria and a workout room. Missoula won out following a nationwide search that produced a short list of 10 sites. DirecTV worked with CB Richard Ellis during the process.
   "We focused on the work force, number one, and the second issue is the competitive landscape," Qualls says. "DirecTV prefers to have a captive call center where we're the big fish in a little pond."
   Missoula offers this opportunity. The new center employed more than 400 in late November as it ramped up to an eventual staff of 800.
   "We're looking for the facility to be more than just the anchor of work," Qualls says. "We see it as a branding opportunity for the company."
   DirecTV's other in- house call centers are in Boise, Idaho; Tulsa, Okla.; and Huntsville, Ala. Tulsa and Huntsville opened in 2004 and the Boise site has been in operation since the late 1990s. A fifth center will open in Denver during the second quarter of 2007. This will be DirecTV's competency center, handling crucial customer calls and support for sales, service, commercial and residential business.