UK companies : Profits!

[jayuk]

Has anyone seen in the past year the record breaking profits of BP and HSBC?

Its, in one hand, amazing, but as a consumer I cant help but thinking where the consumer gets value from this!

I still have major issues calling HSBC and getting though to an Indian Call Centre (and yes being asian myself this isnt meant to be racist!), but then this whole call centre thing I could go on till the cows come home!

Diesel has gone up, in my opinion, intentionaly and I beleive is part of a European Price Fixing scam.

What is happening!

Oh well!

Rant Over

[John Smith]

Banks and call centres! Oh I can have my own rant on that.

In my day to day work, I support the processing of credit cards at a major UK supermarket. Occasionally, we have connection issues to a bank, and we get on the phone. Usually, all is sorted out quickly, as we are a major retailer with over 16,000 tills.

However, when phoning after 5pm on the dot, the UK office staff go home, and we're left to the call centre. Leaving aside the issues of accents (neither side can understand each other) all of a sudden I'm asked to give the serial number of my till. Which till? All of them that are having problems. We have 16,000 tills having problems. Well I can't do anything until you tell me all the numbers.

There's no concept of difference. That some customers issues are different from the norm,and there seems to be no way of sorting the problem out. (We managed it eventually by calling the bank's UK press office!)

It's not the bank's staff I have a problem with, or the fact that the call centre is in India (though I wish it wasn't), but my real gripe is that we're talking to people in a call centre who are not allowed to be intelligent, just to read a script.

Rant over.

[jayuk]

John

Totally agree! I can go one step ahead and give you about 3 high profile examples of Call Centre setup and also Software Outsourcing initiatives I was leading; where it was one of the most difficult tasks to actually make ppl understand WHAT was required!

Boy! My blood boils when I need to speak to my bank though! That seals it to me, as you can easily confuse the person on the other end if you ask a question which isnt covered on there Easy To Scan FAQ on the PC screen!

ARRRRGGHHHHH!!!!

The potential good thing, is that year on year alot of the major CC are coming back onshore.....but I think you hit it on the head....its not that its in another country per se, its the communication barrier and HOW the people their have been taught to respond and address!

J

[Andrew MacLean]

I have found recently that some call centres tell you that they ARE in the UK. From the sound of things, the AA is in the North East, T Mobile are in Scotland, etc.

I do understand the drive to take these services off shore, and I do not think that it is only a matter of overseas staff being less costly to employ, and probably easier to sack; it is also an issue of the reduction of the available workforce in the UK.

I read a couple of years ago that for the NHS to stand still in the services it delivered, it would need to recruit nearly 33 per cent of all school leavers. In the same market place the Armed Forces, the Police etc are all recruiting, then you get to industry, commerce and the arts, education etc.

I am afraid that the truth is that call centres will have to be offshore if they are to be available.

BUT, and here is where I agree with my betters: it is imperative that the caller is able to get an intelligent response from the CC. This will involve training of local staff to do more than read a script from their screen. It will also mean that UK companies who employ and train staff in foreign jurisdictions will have to pay a salary that will hold their valuable staff in their employment.

So the location of CC's will have a greater beneficial impact on the economies local to where they are located.

We all gain!

Jay, sorry you are having this difficulty. John, it would be really funny if you read the numbers of all 16000 tills. They may not ask you again!

Andrew

[Carol Vines]

what gets me about call centres, mainly the HSBC one which i have to deal with because of my job, is as others have said they are unable to answer your query if its not on the script. i'm sure the people at the call centres are far from thick but they are just not allowed to use their own intelligence to give you a sensible answer.

as for the langauge barrier its quite entertaining for my work colleagues as i have a very strong northern accent so even they struggle to understand me at times never mind someone in a foreign country who to be fair probably speak clearer english than i do

[Andrew MacLean]

Carol

I am rather afraid that the employers simply refuse to train their staff. Thie results in high levels of stress as callers become frustrated and untrained staff become flustered.

The potentialadvantage of moving call centress offsh=ore is that they have a beneficial impact on the econonies to which they move.

I keep getting calls from HSBC. I don't think I have any business with them, but they keep calling me. I do try to be polite, but eventually I usually just say 'goodbye; and hang up.

Then I feel bad for the rest of the evening (they call at about 6) for having hung up my phone on somebody who was just doing his or her job.

Andrew

[jayuk]

Andrew

Dont feel bad!....I dont!

I wish I recorded the conversation I had few weeks back..I decided to do a reverse windup with one of the staff who called me in the evening.........with my wacky sense of humour....I think I took the windup to the extreme whereby the guy had to put the fone down........but the whole call was around savings and the indian film industry lol..........where I decided to quote names and dialogues just for the sheer hell of it!!

Bless him!

J