Under Warshak's control, Berkeley mushroomed into a $250 million-a-year enterprise with more than 1,000 employees in Forest Park and Blue Ash. The company is best known for Enzyte, a one-a-day pill aimed at men with faltering erections, and its TV pitchman, Smiling Bob. But it has since rolled out herbal remedies for weight loss, fading female libido and other conditions.

Warshak, 38, said Tuesday that he remains the company's sole owner and will continue to oversee creative and product development. His replacement, Mike Spirakis, 36, was hired in May as chief telemarketing officer in charge of sales, customer care, data entry and compliance. "It's just an evolution of the company," Warshak said. "I don't think I'm the best man for the job any longer.

"As the company has grown, it needs better communications and long-term strategy and more professional management, processes and procedures."

While Berkeley has grown rapidly since it was founded in 2001, the company has been dogged by complaints about its credit-card billing and refund practices. Because its products are herbals, they are not regulated by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, leaving the question of their efficacy entirely up to consumers.

Last month, Warshak altered the company's marketing strategy to improve relations with its customers. It discontinued the automatic billing of credit cards for a second month's supply of product. It announced its intent to broaden sales through stores such as General Nutrition.

But the changes triggered the onset of 700 to 800 layoffs, or roughly half the company's work force.

"Our goal is zero complaints," Warshak said. "That's why he (Spirakis) is taking control of this. His background is in customer service. He's been a customer service expert for 15 years."

Before joining Berkeley, Spirakis served as a regional vice president for a 600-seat call center owned by ClientLogic in Alabama. The company provides customer service assistance for Hewlett Packard, DirecTV, TiVo, Sony and other clients.

Warshak said the company plans to develop sales channels through mail-order catalogs and in international markets. He expressed some frustration at his inability to manage the burgeoning operation.

"We worked hard and spent a lot of money and at the end of the day I couldn't get it done," he said. "No matter how many phone lines we put in and no matter how many reps we hired, it wasn't enough. We couldn't keep up with demand."

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E-mail jcmcnair@enquirer.com