Herman Shooster

Herman Shooster
Born November 29, 1924[1]
Died February 20, 2014[2]
Nationality American
Education BA
Alma mater Temple University
Occupation Entrepreneur
Title Chairman of Global Response
Spouse(s) Dorothy Shooster
Children Stephen, Frank, Michael, and Wendy

Herman Shooster (November 29, 1924-February 20, 2014) was a Florida entrepreneur, best known for his founding of Global Response.

Early life

Herman Shooster was raised in Chester, Pennsylvania, where his father was a tailor. Eventually his father opened a gas station and a drive-in restaurant, both of which served as Herman Shooster's first places of employment. He enlisted in the army after the attack on Pearl Harbor.[3] During WWII he served as a medic in the Pacific Theatre for the American Forces, and then obtained a BA in Marketing from Temple University.[4]

Business career

Early career

Shooster's first business was an establishment called Shooster’s Restaurant, which Herman opened with his father and brothers. The business included a drive-thru and dance floor where they played Rock n' Roll music. He then started a frozen food company called Cherry Hill Foods that he took public,[5] before being dismissed from his position and moving to Florida with his family.[4] Shooster is married to Dorothy Shooster, with whom he had four children.[6] Shooster decided to sell his house for $50,000 and used the money to try and start a new business.[7]

Ding-A-Ling

In Florida Shooster purchased an answering service called Ding-A-Ling in 1974.[4] Ding-a-Ling Answering Service had twelve employees when it first started.[5] Shooster has stated that, "My wife and I got comfortable with this business and decided to make it a little bit bigger."[8] The company grew, largely servicing lawyers, doctors, and other professionals that required a 24-hour answering service.[9]

Communications Service Center

Towards the end of the 1980s new technology began to take the place of answering services, so in 1989 Shooster transitioned the company to providing additional services and renamed it the Communications Service Center (CSC) of Margate.[9] In 1990 Shooster's children began to join the firm, so Shooster began to expand the company's profit margin to incorporate the new owners.[8] Part of their new market was for companies employing 24-hour support for 1-800 numbers, TV shopping companies, catalogues, and infomercials. Ding-a-Ling remained a subsidiary and was renamed Answering Service Care. Over the first five years of the new business model, annual revenues grew from $150,000 to $400,000. By 1994 Telemarketing Magazine ranked the firm as the 21st best telemarketing firm in the country.[9] In 1995 CSC became the only family-run business in the US to be nominated for the Blue Chip Enterprise Initiative award.[10] Upon the launch of the Internet, CSC began to offer additional services, including live chat and email, in addition to telephone services.[5][11]

Global Response

In 2000 the firm changed its name to Global Response. It also began providing sales classes for its staff through a program entitled TQM Lite, provided by both senior employees and companies executives alike.[12] Herman Shooster is currently Chairman of the board at Global Response,[13] and has included most of his children and their spouses into the executive structure of the business.[14] He is also known for the promotion of benefits for child raising costs among his employees.[15] In April 2013 he was the recipient of the 2012 Excalibur Award for Business Leader of the Year in Broward County, given by the Sun-Sentinel.[3]

In 2004 the firm was in the process of purchasing of three new buildings, employing its growing workforce that had reached more than 500 people.[16] By 2012 the company had grown to more than 1500 employees. That year the firm added social media management to its services offered to clients. The company has continued through its history to be family run and owned. Herman's four children are all chief officers of the company: Frank Shooster is the Chief Legal Officer, Stephen Shooster is Chief Technology Officer, Michael Shooster is the Chief Financial Officer, and Wendy Shooster is the Chief Marketing Officer, and each of them serve as co-CEO's for the company. The company building has been run twenty-four hours a day and 365 days a year for more than thirty consecutive years[5] and has been reported to not close during major hurricanes.[5][17]

Philanthropy

Land owned by Shooster's children was later sold for conservation purposes in exchange for the park to be named for Herman and his wife Dorothy.[6] In 2004 their twenty-acre parcel of land was accepted as a park by Broward County Florida and named, The Herman and Dorothy Shooster Preserve. The couple were also active in the charities Habitat for Humanity, the Broward Alliance and the Florida International Film Festival.[18]

References

  1. ↑ "Obituary for Herman Shooster". Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  2. ↑ Lisa Huriash (February 20, 2014). "Herman Shooster, founder of Global Response Corp., dies at 89". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  3. 1 2 Maria Mallory White (April 25, 2013). "Sun Sentinel Excalibur Award winner Herman Shooster, Global Response". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved April 26, 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 "Company history. A tradition of customer care". Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Margie Plunkett (July 8, 2012). "Global Response call center broadens vision". Miami Herald. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  6. 1 2 ERIKA BOLSTAD (January 14, 2004). "WHAT'S IN A NAME? NEW LAND FOR COUNTY". Miami Herald. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Expert Testimonials, Successful Small Business Owners Relate Their Experiences At Forum". Sun-Sentinel. June 24, 1996. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  8. 1 2 "Expert Testimonials: Successful Small Business Owners Relate Their Experiences At Forum". Sun-Sentinel. June 24, 1996. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  9. 1 2 3 David Altaner (January 30, 1994). "Communications Service Center". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  10. ↑ Lisa Huriash (January 3, 1996). "Small Business Gets Nod For Achievement". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Customer service: Raising the stakes as customers expect more". Internet Retailer. September 30, 2008. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  12. ↑ Marcia Pounds (October 20, 2000). "Employee Energy Can Be A Major Resource". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Customer service takes on greater importance in tough times". Internet Retailer. September 30, 2008. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  14. ↑ "Questions From The Panel Of Business Experts". Sun-Sentinel. June 24, 1996. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  15. ↑ Ellen Forman (November 20, 1989). "Firm Tackles Issue Benefits Help Halt Turnover". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  16. ↑ Niala Boodhoo (September 26, 2004). "CALL CENTER WAITING IT'S UNCLEAR HOW INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS WILL AFFECT A BURGEONING SOUTH FLORIDA INDUSTRY". Sun-Sentinel.
  17. ↑ "ANOTHER FIRM FLEES SOUTH FLORIDA". Miami Herald. February 1, 2006. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  18. ↑ Scott Wyman (January 14, 2004). "BROWARD TO PURCHASE PRISTINE SWAMP TRACT PROPERTY WILL BE PRESERVED AS A PARK". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
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