Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, December 1, 1993 TAG: 9312010012
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Sandra Brown Kelly
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Gracza is program director for The Orkand Co., which has government contracts to code mail that has been incorrectly addressed. The company recently learned that its work will be taken over by the Postal Service in a year or so. In the meantime, it needs to operate, including facilities in Salem, and it doesn't have enough people to do the job.
Some of the private mail-coding contractors such as Orkand might be selected to continue working for the government, but Orkand's facility in the Roanoke Valley won't be in the running unless it's operating at full speed, Gracza said.
Orkand pays health insurance for workers who put in as much as 20 hours a week - and it still can't get people.
The company isn't the only one pleading for workers.
RPS Teleservice Center, the mail-order pharmacy occupying Roanoke's former Sears Telecatalog Center, is holding open houses to lure prospective workers and running "Help Wanted" ads on the radio.
Retail stores are having trouble finding holiday help. Even Santa gigs are going begging.
What's going on? Are there really more jobs than takers in the Roanoke Valley?
Not necessarily, said Marjorie Skidmore, manager of the Virginia Employment Commission's office in Roanoke.
The jobs aren't being filled because either people don't want them or can't do them.
Although the economy hasn't fully recovered in this area, it's "better than a couple of years ago, so people can be more selective," Skidmore said.
A better economy means people aren't as readily attracted to the late-night hours or lower pay of some jobs and don't necessarily need the extra Christmas work to earn money for presents.
"There doesn't seem to be a good clean match between what employers want and what job seekers are offering. Some of it has to do with skills and some with the willingness to work at the salary quoted," Skidmore said.
Lines at the VEC now are heavy with the seasonally jobless - for example, construction workers whose jobs are affected by colder weather. Also, some of the Dominion Bank administrative and clerical workers who lost their jobs when First Union took over Dominion have not been absorbed.
However, the lines perennially include high school and college graduates who can't do the jobs available.
"Many times people come in who aren't able to do anything with their hands," Skidmore said. "They may have degrees in business administration or general diplomas, but they haven't had any vocational training."
In other words, these educated people can't type - Orkand needs accurate 40 words-per-minute typists - or have no keyboard or other computer knowledge and have never taken an accounting course.
If you, like me, have been ripped off by a pay phone, take heart. The State Corporation Commission has adopted regulations for price and service of public pay phones.
The phones must allow access to all operator service providers' networks; equipment and consumer information must be posted; and all phones must allow a user to call, without charge, an operator or the 911 emergency number.
If these things are not true of the phone you use, report it to the commission, (804) 371-9141.
The newest computer toy is a mouse copied from the Chevrolet Corvette. MotorMouse, a Canadian firm, also offers a Lamborghini Countach mouse. Each comes with cursor-control software that supposedly enhances mouse action, such as allowing you to change the cursor from an arrow to a car shape - with a horn, no less.
Suggested list price for MotorMouse is $65.95. If you want to know more about it, call (800) 334-2933.
A Leggett outlet store for the former Brendle's location at Valley View Mall is official. The company has scheduled a tentative opening for Feb. 16.
Leggett outlets include items bought specifically for sale at outlet prices and deep-sale items from the chain's regular stores.
An outlet that opened this summer in Bedford is "doing great," said T.C. Leggett, vice president for merchandising at Leggett Co. "We're testing Bedford. We may open some outlets in small communities."
The company might even go back into some downtowns of small communities, he said.
This is just more of the changing retail shopping picture, in which malls have not proved to be the be-all for customers.
Apple Computer Inc. is supposed to ship today an interactive shopping CD-ROM called "En Passant" ("in passing") to 30,000 randomly chosen Macintosh owners who have CD-ROM drives. According to Apple, the average family with a CD-ROM Macintosh has a household income of $70,000.
The CD-ROM, physically identical to a music compact disc but capable of displaying photographs, video clips and audio as well as text, will contain advertising from 21 companies, including Lands' End, L.L. Bean, the Nature Co., Tiffany and Williams-Sonoma.
What users will see on their screens are images of catalog pages. With a mouse click, they can see details of the way a down jacket is assembled, for example, or a short video clip demonstrating aerobics equipment. In some fashion photographs, users will be able to change the color of dresses.
The project is a test. The California company will decide in January or February whether to go ahead with full-scale production for the Macintosh and IBM-compatible personal computers.
by CNB