James Finch, a service adviser for the US Bank Service Center, takes a call at the facility in Coeur d’Alene on Dec. 19.

For a room where hundreds may be on the phone at once, it’s surprisingly serene on the floor of the US Bank Service Center in Coeur d’Alene. Seated here in a labyrinth of beige cubicles are the people on the other end of the line when you call about that credit card balance.

The Inland Northwest is home to more than 20 call centers, with a total employment averaging about 3,000 this year in Kootenai and Spokane counties.

While that’s down from peak years, some of the fullest employee parking lots in the region can be found at these work sites, which have weathered the economic slump fairly well and provide stable employment.Scott Maben, SR

My oldest son worked at a call center in downtown Spokane for awhile. Have you ever worked at a call center?

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