US firm to open call center in SM North

MANILA, Philippines – Stream Global Services will open its first call center in the country in the newly renovated SM North in Quezon City.

The US-based firm, formerly known as Global BPO Services Corp., is constructing a 1,500-seat facility at the sixth floor of the newly opened SM North Annex.

The company will start operating its facility this June.

Stream Global operates a temporary site at the Allied Bank in Makati City.

With the newly renovated Annex SM North, which is located along the main EDSA thoroughfare, is now being billed as the world's third largest mall with a total area of more than 90,000 square meters.

SM has likewise attracted operators like TeleTech and companies like American computer firm Dell, which also operate mall-based facilities.

"Call centers like operating in malls because one, it is accessible for their employees because we have our transport terminals and two, we are able to satisfy their requirements in terms of food places, for example," said Annie Garcia, president of SM Shopping Center Management Corp. (SCMC).

SM SCMC operates 33 SM malls all over the country and is set to open a couple more this year including one in Naga City (in the Bicol region), according to Garcia.