Gadgetell had a bit of rant yesterday about overseas call centres, which it seems that most companies use these days. Gadgetell’s suggestion is that companies that have local call centres start publishing this, as they think it could be a good selling point.
I personally don’t have problems using overseas call centres, as I think most companies now make sure that all agents speak good English, which didn’t happen when some of the first outsourced call centres appeared. Some companies have acknowledged that when they first outsourced and were presented with a range of options, they’d mistakenly went for the cheapest option.
But, after these initial hiccups, I now find the level of technical support to be roughly the same as it was in the past. I think that if most people who claim to have had problems with outsourced call centres could filter out the accent of the person that they spoke to, they would grudgingly admit that the level of support is about the same.
What I do hate though, are the stupid scripts that the agents are given in an attempt to make the calls ‘pleasant’. Why are agents told to ask me ‘how are you doing today Everton?’ and to be overly polite? e.g. why are agents told to ask if they can put me on hold while they check something out? I just want my problems fixed quickly! I didn’t call to pass the time with someone thousands of miles away.
Do you agree, or have you had some shocking experiences with overseas call centres?
