Worrell Selby drives the BPO business
WHEN 41-YEAR-OLD Worrell Selby purchased his Toyota Noah in 2004, he was responding to the frustration of working thousands of dollars for someone else but being unable to make ends meet.
“I was driving for someone in the tourism industry, but I needed my own thing. So, I saved my money until I had enough to purchase a Toyota Noah for myself,” he told
BPO Jamaica. “I purchased the vehicle just when Teleperformance was seeking to offer a contract to pick up about five employees between 12 and 1 a.m.”
“I had to be as efficient as is required by the agents,” he recalls. “Each night, I would have to be on location 15 minutes before the end of their duties, and I had to leave the location 15 minutes after ... . Everything was about timing,” Selby said.
“But there were those odd occasions when the staff member had to stay a bit longer on the telephone ... . On those occasions, I would take them home.”
Impressed by his commitment to his task, two and a half years later, the company approached Selby to transport more members of staff, which meant that he
would have to get a bigger bus.
“I got a loan and purchased a Coaster, but I also started exploring the possibility of expanding,” he recounted.
Today, he is the chief executive officer of Selby’s Transportation and Tours Limited, supported by his twin brother, Walter, who is the general manager. The company transports staff members for several outsourcing operations, including Teleperformance, with a fleet of five coaches, three Coasters and one Toyota Hiace bus.
With his growing fleet, Selby acquired property to park the units safely, but this soon developed into additional business opportunities for the former St James High School student.
“I still think about it at times ... . Just from a Noah (mini-bus) and an opportunity in the BPO industry, my life has changed.”
Now, the facility not only serves as parking for his vehicles, but it is also home to a thriving restaurant and catering service that also serves three BPO firms, a car wash, and a vehicle repair facility.
“Catering for the workers in the BPO industry is all about efficiency,” he points out. “We have to serve all different shifts, and we have to be there 15-20 minutes before time.”
It’s a far cry from his early days when his family struggled to make ends meet, memories that make him even more grateful for how things have turned around for him.
“Before this, life was hand to mouth,” he recalls. “It was a struggle growing up, but life has been kind ... . It is very good ... . The BPO sector has done well for me.”