ANCHOR LEAD:
WE'VE ALL HEARD OF OUT-SOURCING: COMPANIES HIRING PEOPLE IN OTHER COUNTRIES TO HANDLE CUSTOMER CARE CALLS WHETHER IT'S FOR A CREDIT CARD BALANCE, A CLOTHING ORDER OR COMPUTER HELP.
WELL NOW A NEW TREND, HOMESHORING, KEEPS THESE TRADITIONALLY OFF-SHORED JOBS HERE IN THE UNITED STATES. REPORTER ____ HAS MORE.

TRACK ONE Length: :04
REBECCA DOOLEY DOESN'T LOOK LIKE YOUR TYPICAL CUSTOMER CARE AGENT.

NAT SOT
Length: :02
NATS OF HER POURING COFFEE

TRACK TWO Length: :14
BUT THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT SHE IS. REBECCA'S PART OF A GROWING EMPLOYMENT TREND CALLED HOMESHORING. IF YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE A CUSTOMER QUESTION FOR, OFFICE DEPOT, 1-800 FLOWERS OR J-CREW, YOU JUST MIGHT FIND YOURSELF TALKING TO SOMEONE IN HER SHOES.

NAT SOT
Length: :02
NATS OF HER TAKING A CALL

SOT
KEY @: :23 Rebecca Dooley, Homeshoring Agent
"It gives me the opportunity to spend more time with my family and dedicate myself to my work instead of having to commute every day.

TRACK THREE Length: :13
MORE AND MORE COMPANIES ARE HIRING WORK AT HOME AGENTS TO ANSWER CUSTOMER SERVICE CALLS...INSTEAD OF SENDING THESE JOBS TO CALL CENTERS IN OTHER COUNTRIES. WHILE FLEXIBLE HOURS ARE KEY, HOMESHORING ALSO ALLOWS REBECCA TO HAVE A CAREER DESPITE PHYSICAL LIMITATIONS.

SOT
KEY @: :43 Rebecca Dooley, Homeshoring Agent
"I can't work in a traditional office because I have bad knees and it gives me an opportunity to set my own schedule so I can get up and walk away from my computer when I'm not during my scheduled hours."

TRACK FOUR Length: :10
Source: International Date Corp. See Source info below
THE HOMESHORING TREND IS TAKING OFF. EXPERTS SAY THERE ARE UPWARDS OF 100-THOUSAND HOME-BASED PHONE REPRESENTATIVES IN THE U.S. TODAY. AND THEY EXPECT THAT NUMBER TO TRIPLE IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS.

SOT
KEY @: 1:04 Garth Howard, CEO, Alpine Access
"We're keeping the jobs here, we're growing the economy because we're growing good jobs with good people."

TRACK FIVE Length: :07
GARTH HOWARD'S COMPANY HIRES HOME BASED CUSTOMER CARE REPS FOR SEVERAL BUSINESSES. HE SAYS THE MODEL WORKS FOR EVERYONE.

SOT
KEY @: 1:17 Garth Howard, CEO, Alpine Access
"You are able to use people that want to do the work and have their own schedules. And, so they're actually a much better employee, they're much more excited about doing the work."

TRACK SIX Length: :01
REBECCA AGREES.

SOT
KEY @: 1:29 Rebecca Dooley, Homeshoring Agent
"I get to decide when I want to work so it gives me the opportunity to go in fresh and motivated, and happy to be there."

ANCHOR TAG:
SOURCE: http://www.alpineaccess.com/external/agentFAQ.html
THE BASIC THINGS YOU NEED TO CREATE A HOME OFFICE AS A HOMESHORING AGENT ARE: A PHONE, A COMPUTER WITH A HIGH SPEED INTERNET CONNECTION AND A QUIET PLACE TO TAKE CUSTOMER CALLS. THE PAY DEPENDS ON THE EXPERIENCE OF AN AGENT, BUT TYPICALLY IT'S ABOUT 9 DOLLARS PER HOUR.

SOURCE INFORMATION:

Rebecca Dooley
Homeshoring Agent for 1800 Flowers
18564 East Vassar Drive
Aurora, CO 80013
(303) 248-3349

Garth Howard
CEO, Alpine Access
1536 Cole Boulevard Ste 350
Golden, CO 80401

Source information for Track 4:
The IDC stands for International Data Corp.
IDC is a global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. Over 850 IDC analysts in 50 countries provide global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends.
According to their tracking the number of homeshoring agents is about 112,000 right now.s
For more information go to:
http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS20036206

For further information about homeshoring the contact at IDC is:
Stephen Loynd
Senior Analyst
IDC
5 Speen Street
Framingham, MA 01701
sloyng@idc.com
(508) 875-5000