Stores to be repurposed as call centers to meet increasing call volume

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – GCI announced Tuesday that it will be closing many of its urban retail stores to the public in order to promote social distancing and to help meet the growing demand of customers who are calling, rather than visiting, local Anchorage and Mat-Su locations. The change is the most-recent step that Alaska’s largest telecommunications company has taken in response to the spread of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19.  

In recent days, GCI has responded to growing concerns about COVID-19 by implementing new practices that include more stringent cleaning protocols at facilities, suspending out-of-state and international travel, limiting internal in-person meetings, and encouraging eligible employees to work from home. By repurposing retail stores into call centers, GCI intends to provide a better experience for customers while further limiting social interactions.

GCI will close the following stores to the public:

• Fifth Avenue Mall store
• Dimond Mall store
• Eagle River store
• Midtown store
• Mountain View store
• Palmer store
• Tikahtnu Commons store
• Victor Road store

All inventory will be moved from these stores to a centralized location.

“In recent weeks, GCI’s Consumer group began cross-training employees to ensure that we could pivot as necessary to serve our customers,” said Senior Vice President & General Manager of GCI Consumer Services Paul Landes. “With fewer customers visiting our stores, we recognized that some out-of-the-box thinking was required. We are pleased that our retail employees can transition to serving our customers by answering their calls.” 

Stores will be clearly marked with information indicating that the location is closed to the public and directing customers to contact GCI online or by phone. GCI has also taken steps to remind customers that many transactions don’t require an in-store visit and, in most cases, GCI can provide phones or equipment via its mail fulfillment center. Customers who need to contact a GCI representative are encouraged to reach out to the GCI Call Center at 1-800-800-4800 or by email at rcs@gci.com. A Live Chat function and library of self-service articles are also available at https://www.gci.com/support.

“As an Alaska-born-and-raised company and one of the state’s largest employers, it’s our responsibility to keep our employees and our neighbors both safe and well-connected, and it’s a responsibility we take very seriously,” said Landes. “This is an unsettling and uncertain time for many of our customers and we are proud of the way the GCI team is pulling together to find creative solutions, support each other, and serve our customers.” 

On Wednesday, March 18, GCI stores statewide will limit hours. The following are the new hours for the stores that will remain open to the public:

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