Tag Archives: chubbuck

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

Details about Allstate Chubbuck Call Center jobs

It seems the local East Idaho television news didn’t tell the story clearly concerning the Allstate Customer Information Center (CIC), planned to be built in Chubbuck, Idaho.

It is not part of the Pine Ridge Mall property.  It will be built on a vacant lot that is part of the Home Depot plaza, aka The Crossings.  The vacant lot was originally intended for smaller retail spaces, but, no contracts were signed so it sat vacant for several years.

The Crossings, Hawthorne Road, Chubbuck, Idaho.

In reading several articles in the Idaho State Journal newspaper, it became clear that the claimed 500-600 jobs is just an optimistic goal.  Only 25 people will be hired in February 2011.  More people will be hired closer to the opening date, and the total amount of employees will depend on how many calls the CIC gets.

For those worried about making sales calls, Chubbuck Mayor Steve England says there will be no “soliciting calls”.  However, employees will be required to get a state insurance license.  Sorry, state law.  Also, employees will have to get a license from every state they handle calls from.  Allstate says part of their training will include prepping for the license exam.

Training will be 6 weeks, plus one week for the license prep.  Allstate encourages college courses, and, after one year of employment, they will reimburse employees for college courses that pertain to the job.

Pay will start at $27,000 per year.  The maximum you could get is $50,000.  There are no details about how you could get the maximum, other than bonuses, but the number of licenses you have, and college courses, probably factor in.

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

Chubbuck, Idaho, to get 500 Allstate Jobs?

Allstate announced that Chubbuck, Idaho, will be the home of a new call center.  The building will go up across from the Chubbuck Home Depot, and could employ more than 500 people (if call volume supports that many jobs).

Lot where Allstate will build a Customer Information Center, in Chubbuck, Idaho.

They hope to have the 75,000 square foot building open by September 2011.  The Customer Information Center will handle not only incoming calls, but conduct outgoing customer calling.  This will make the fourth center for Allstate.  They have call centers in Texas, Illinois and North Carolina.

The Crossings, home to Chubbuck Home Depot, and now Allstate Customer Information Center.

There is some conflicting information about when hiring will start, and how much the starting pay is.  Some local media reports have stated that hiring will begin in November 2010, yet, the official Allstate press release says hiring will not begin until February 2011.  Allstate will post job openings for the call center “At the beginning of the New Year.”  Also, local media reports say starting salary will be $25,000 per year, some say $27,000.  The official press release does not indicate how much starting salaries will be.

Opinion

Fall is Here

Leaf Fall. Chubbuck, Idaho.

Today, twelve days after the official start of Autumn,  the trees in my yard started dropping their leaves. The family across the street has a tree that starts dropping it’s leaves before Fall officially begins. His front yard now has a nice thick carpet of leaves, and his tree still has plenty to drop.

The other day I was talking with someone who expressed concern over the start of Fall. They believe we’re still in Summer. They miss the Fall colors of Virginia. But, when I tried to explain that Fall has begun they didn’t believe me. I explained the Equinoxes and Solstices, but no, it couldn’t have anything to do with the alignment of our solar system.

Now, Sunday, October 3rd, the day a cold front was going to come in, and yet again it hasn’t and it’s warmer than usual. For weeks our local weather forecasters have been predicting a cold front from Canada, yet week after week that prediction is blown away by hot air from California. That’s climate change for you, but, it hasn’t stopped the trees from dropping their leaves.

Don’t blame climate change, did you know the reason for the Autumn leaf fall is because of less sunshine, not temperature changes?  And the further north you go in latitude, the greater the difference in available light (compare Southern California to Idaho).

Fall began officially/astronomically on September 21st. How about Halloween? Maybe the person I was talking with wasn’t wrong? Some historians say Halloween was the ancient Celtic celebration of the end of Summer and beginning of Fall. It’s also interesting that Halloween is almost the half way point of the official Fall season.

Alien the Cat, Ready for Halloween.

Traditionally, here in South East Idaho, Halloween is the beginning of our really cold weather. Funny watching trick or treaters in their costumes, bundled up so much you can’t really see their costumes. Some people feel Halloween is a sign that Winter has begun. Others think Thanksgiving marks the beginning of Winter. The official start of Winter is the Winter Solstice, which is December 21st.

Is there really an ‘official’ start and end to the seasons? Should we go by the alignment of the Earth in relation to the Sun? Should we go by noticeable and lasting changes in the weather at different times of the year? Does it depend on where you are on the planet? Is it worth the argument? I’m just glad to live in a place where there are noticeable changes to the seasons. Have a Happy Happy!

Idaho, Technology

Plastic Grocery Bags, Recycle Them!

Ok, I was watching a local East Idaho TV news program. They ran a national story about getting sick from reusable grocery bags. What got me was in their intro to the story they said that plastic grocery bags just ended up in the landfill. Well not if you recycle them!

When plastic grocery bags first went into use one of the main selling points is that they are recyclable, and therefore will not fill up landfills. The reason they end up in your local dump is because shoppers are not bringing them back to the stores to be recycled.

The Walmart in Chubbuck has bins for dropping off your old plastic grocery bags. So does the Fred Meyer in Pocatello. I believe you can recycle them at your local WINCO. If you’re not sure go ask someone at the Customer Service counter at your favorite store. Just make sure your bags aren’t covered in schmutz.

Why spend money on reusable grocery bags, that they now say may be germ factories, when you can use free plastic grocery bags THAT ARE 100% RECYCLABLE? Please don’t throw them in the trash!

And guess what, it’s not just plastic grocery bags you can recycle. Bread bags, cereal box liner bags & more. Here’s a website for more info on plastic bag recycling: www.plasticbagrecycling.org