Virgin Trains Gosforth contact centre to increase workforce by 50%
Virgin Trains is to expand its customer contact centre in Newcastle by 50%, just four months after it opened.
Up to 45 additional jobs will be based at its Customer Solutions Centre as it brings its web support team in-house as part of its drive to improve customer service.
Around 85 employees already work at the centre, which is within Virgin Money’s Headquarters, in Gosforth. They handle a range of customer inquiries, including bookings, special assistance, delay repay and customer feedback.
The Leader of Newcastle City Council, Councillor Nick Forbes, who opened the centre in September 2016, said: “I’m delighted to see Virgin Trains expanding in Newcastle, bringing more jobs to our city. It is a great reflection on the workforce here that a company such as Virgin sees Newcastle as a key part of its growth plans.
“It is great that staff who know and use the East Coast Main Line can continue to have a stake in its future, and contribute to our city’s success at the same time.”
Claire Ansley, General Manager for Virgin Trains on its east coast route, said:
“We’re really pleased to expand the centre and bring around 45 more jobs to Newcastle. We’re recruiting now and see this move as very important to further improving our customers’ experience of booking and travelling with us, as well as continuing to support the city and wider regions’ economies.
“By bringing our web support team in-house, our employees can develop greater knowledge of the company and its digital channels and products. Their knowledge of the route is also very important and Newcastle is a great city in which to work and a key destination for our services.”
Jonathan Walker, Head of Policy and Campaigns at the North East England Chamber of Commerce, said:
“This commitment by Virgin Trains is a huge vote of confidence in the North East as a centre of technical and customer service excellence. To increase the workforce by such an amount in such a short space of time shows how competitive our region is and what our workforce has to offer.”
Meanwhile, Virgin Trains will this week (6-10 February) visit dozens of North East businesses to promote its products and service improvements, including last month’s completion of a £21m refurbishment of the interiors of all 45 of its trains.
Additional Information
Photograph Caption: Virgin Trains’ Managing Director David Horne (left) introduces Newcastle City Council Leader Councillor Nick Forbes to staff at its customer call centre.
For additional information on Virgin Trains visit their Website
