[maxgeorge]

“the outrage bus”

Eish!

As they say down in Die Kaap.

[K1ngston]

My tuppence and not using any “racism” card at all.. When I phone a call centre I dont care where it is, I want to have my issue dealt with to the best of the companies abilities, I will happily speak with anyone who can do this!

However, I do expect if I am dealing with a UK company or a company in an English Speaking Country to be able to understand the operative thats answering the call!

9 times out of 10 this is the case, but lets not forget if you are calling a centre to speak with someone aside from a transaction or interaction you may have had on line or indeed face to face, there generally is an issue and therefore to be able to converse with someone who a) understands and can deal with the issue and b) makes them understood is the key point.

My all time best experience with a call centre was actually with BA and was handled in India, the person who I spoke to was outstanding and I enquired whether I could use the Staff Excellence Card I had at the time for him… If only all companies had his level of expertise the world would be a better place…….

[neilsoaj]

So i see yesterday that BA formally confirmed it was looking offload Manchester & Newcatsle contact Centre’s to CAPITA – of all the companies it could have chosen to maintain the customer service level- Capita really !!!!

[summerfly]

A few days ago I called the number on the back of my silver card and eventually spoke to someone in India who didn’t know what Avios was! I’m really not kidding, even after I spelt it out with A for Airmiles.. he just kept replying ‘is this for a hotel, holiday or flight booking?’

I agree with some of the above posts, that it doesn’t matter so much where the call centre is or what nationality the call handlers are as long as their English is very good and they are trained to a level that enables them to efficiently solve customer queries.

[capetonianm]

I did some work for Capita a few years ago.

I can only say that BA’s involvement with them will drag BA further down than their current levels.

Not only were they nasty people, but it’s one of a very few contracts that I’ve done in the last 15 or 20 years which I can remember distinctly because they were so unpleasant and incompetent.

[Reeferman]

As any reader of Private Eye will know, Capita (not the name PE gives it – but if I use that name I’ll no doubt be reported for inappropriate comments/language) features regularly – and it’s never good!

[Flightlevel]

Don’t think they’ll be solving the problem of the 20p Angola tax at Mykonos,in fact it may be a good question to test their capabilities?

[openfly]

@Flightlevel ?

[Montysaurus]

How right! C apita! Heaven help us!

[canucklad]

I missed this topic first time round, so I’m going to chuck my thoughts into the ring.

Let me first say that in my previous and current role, I have and still regularly work with outsource companies. My thoughts on Outsourcers are based on those years of experience.

The role that outsourcers play within my business is critical to the success of my company.
Although, their numbers are significant, they are still in the margins, allowing us to flex our model when demand dictates. Therefore we have a workforce that can be there for our customers when we require them., thus benefitting our customers.

And when I interact with the management teams at our partners, they are always accommodating and are more than happy to accept our corporate values within their business.
Their employees working on our account are trained and expected to live our corporate values and deliver the same service level as my internal colleagues. .

And now the reality ……..
An outsourcer makes money by paying minimal wages to build an already tight profit margin , and are generally just interested in “bums in seats” to ensure they meet our request. I’ve actually caught one ex-company fiddling the figures by ghosting staff, and worse filling seats with totally untrained people. .
Attrition rates at outsourcers are generally high, resulting in almost continual back filling, so not only is there little loyalty to the company paying their wages, there’s even less loyalty to us.
On more than one occasion, I’ve gone on “walkabout” by myself, blending in to the background, listening to team leaders rubbish my company to their team, and stating to their team, that it’s our fault their work conditions are what they are. Commonly heard, is that internal staff are paid and treated much better than they are.
Thus driving jealousy and resentment with people talking to my company’s customers.

These outsource companies that I visit are global organizations with their own corporate values and tag lines, exuding an outward appearance of professionalism and willingness to deliver excellence..
To finish, after one particularly bad visit, I had to take 4 colleagues who were supporting and upskilling to a pub, allowed them to vent about their negative experience with the staff and had to point out that normally as a client there is a veneer of respect and collaboration demonstrated when we appear on site, but actually as soon as us pesky clients leave the outsourcer they’ll revert to type, so don’t let them get to you……..It’s just the nature of the beast !!

Finally, as far as Indian call centres go, I’d suggest that the culture in India dictates that you’re more likely to find people taking pride in their work, as opposed to what I’ve experienced back here in blighty.

[Flightlevel]

Agree that Indian workers take pride in their work however they just don’t speak English in the same way. I have many Indian friends and am not being a racialist, just practical. Recently asked a question to an Indian call centre and could not understand her reply. An Indian colleague was nearby and he tried and didn’t understand either so I said speak Hindi to her – and the problem was solved!

[Author]

Posts