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Consolidating the two offices in McComb makes financial sense, Hilbert said. He said the Brookhaven office, though smaller, cost $20,000 more annually to operate than the McComb office.
"Just like everyone else, this economy has taken its toll on us, too," Hilbert said. "We felt like we can better service our customers with this move. We'll have more people manning the phones, and we can bring things down into different departments. We anticipate not having such a long time to wait for a sales representative."
Hilbert said Brookhaven's 3,500 Cable One customers will not lose any service from the move, as five local technicians in the city already work from home and receive orders via onboard computers in their trucks. Additionally, customers will still be able to retrieve and deposit equipment at the company's warehouse at 1527 West Industrial Park Road.
The local phone number, 601-833-7991, will remain in operation.
Cable One is leaving behind three payment centers in Brookhaven so customers who pay in person won't have to drive to McComb monthly.
The payment centers are located at Wal-Mart Supercenter, AAA Check Service and at the warehouse. Hilbert said the payment centers do not accept cash.
"The only thing is pretty much you can't come to a local office and drop off cash," he said.
Hilbert said customers' monthly bills contain preaddressed envelopes for mailing payment checks to Cable One. Additionally, the company is recommending its Brookhaven customers sign up for direct pay, which directly deducts monthly payments from bank accounts.
Hilbert stressed that Cable One is not abandoning Brookhaven, pointing out that such small communities are the backbone of the company's success. With huge investments made locally for high-speed Internet and cable telephone services, he said Cable One is "not going anywhere."
"The health of the company is fine, this move just solidified our service department," he said.
Cable One serves approximately 10,000 customers in Brookhaven and McComb.
