EE is creating more than 250 jobs at its Darlington base next year, with the boss of BT putting the decision down to the North-East accent.
Gavin Patterson, chief executive of BT describes accents as one of the most important factors, along with the “good personalities, attitude and digital skills” that he’d found in the North-East area.
“People love speaking to North-East people,” he said.
“It’s why the company re-shored services from abroad, because that’s what customers want – even if it costs a wee bit more”, he added.
The jobs in Darlington will take the headcount at the contact centre to almost 3,000, with another 500 jobs earmarked for Wearside and Tyneside.
Discussing the jobs, an EE spokesperson said: “We’re committed to providing the best customer service in our industry and part of this is about answering all of our customers’ calls in the UK and Ireland.
“We’re continuing to invest in Darlington and our other sites in the North-East, and we’re continuing to hire great local talent so we can ensure our customers have the best possible experience.”
