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[sir moanalot]

ever have a call centre deal with a problem to completion first time?
i have dealt with seven independent call centres recently, and, whether im just unlucky, had a total of nil satisfactory results. these calls have ranged from paperwork not being received, engineer visits, incorrect charges levied and/or incorrect details issued.
what is the qualification for these call centre staff now- employable if breathing??
would love to hear from you all to prove im not going crazy.............
 

[BIG JOHN]

the staff are rejects from mc donalds and the centres are not worth a blow on a rag mans trumpet so no you are not going mad

[Markie]

the staff are rejects from mc donalds and the centres are not worth a blow on a rag mans trumpet so no you are not going mad

Thats a completely inappropriate comment.

You may find some of your friends on here are some of those "rejects"

As a Contact Centre Manager - with 102 staff. I do feel the need to defend them from that stereotype.

Yes contact centres do have issues and quality is a big one, however, a vast amount of my guys are very very talented and have academic backgrounds ( to honours degree level)

The entry into the big buiness world is often obtained via starting in a blue chip companies contact centre and moving upwards. Various guys i recruited or managed now work in our technial areas, or are managers, in fact our current internal communications manager started as a customer service advisor.

I personally am involved in recruitment and the process is quite complex with several interviews and competency bases techniques used. Others granted wont be as thorough.

And to finish i would agree with the opening post that, as a consumer, I too often have dis satisfaction in the processes and timescales involved in fixing issues when dealing with contact centres.

[TheBoy]

They can be problematic and annoying, esp the offshored ones due to an accent/language barrier. However, I find if you just go along with their scripts, simply answering the simple questions, things are much more positive...

[Andy B]

......
The entry into the big buiness world is often obtained via starting in a blue chip companies contact centre and moving upwards. .....

God help us!  

[Andy B]

They can be problematic and annoying, esp the offshored ones due to an accent/language barrier. However, I find if you just go along with their scripts, simply answering the simple questions, things are much more positive...

When you have to repeat yourself over & over & over again you get your back up. 'Michael' in New Delhi then starts to get the hump cos you are losing patience with him, & you end up slamming the pnone down. You then get in the car, drive to the bank & do the transaction in one go over the counter!  

[Markie]

......
The entry into the big buiness world is often obtained via starting in a blue chip companies contact centre and moving upwards. .....

God help us!  

What makes you say that Andy. If a graduate qualifies from uni with an excellent degree and has perhaps worked part time lets say in a bank contact centre whilst he studied. Would it be that bad for the graduate to go full time for 18 months as an advisor before moving into a marketing department, managerial position, Human resource etc?

[Martin_1962]

......
The entry into the big buiness world is often obtained via starting in a blue chip companies contact centre and moving upwards. .....

God help us!  

What makes you say that Andy. If a graduate qualifies from uni with an excellent degree and has perhaps worked part time lets say in a bank contact centre whilst he studied. Would it be that bad for the graduate to go full time for 18 months as an advisor before moving into a marketing department, managerial position, Human resource etc?

The problems with call centres are

1) Scripts - some are so scripted that getting them off it confuses them
2) Foreign accents - Indian CAN be difficult to understand - als o line quality doesn't help
3) Stupid names - let them use their real names - we are not idiots Onetel use real Indian names, but I still prefered their Scottish call centre

[Markie]

......
The entry into the big buiness world is often obtained via starting in a blue chip companies contact centre and moving upwards. .....

God help us!  

What makes you say that Andy. If a graduate qualifies from uni with an excellent degree and has perhaps worked part time lets say in a bank contact centre whilst he studied. Would it be that bad for the graduate to go full time for 18 months as an advisor before moving into a marketing department, managerial position, Human resource etc?

The problems with call centres are

1) Scripts - some are so scripted that getting them off it confuses them
2) Foreign accents - Indian CAN be difficult to understand - als o line quality doesn't help
3) Stupid names - let them use their real names - we are not idiots Onetel use real Indian names, but I still prefered their Scottish call centre

Agree with all 3 points Martin   HATE foreign contact centres.

[sir moanalot]

i do appreciate that there may be some decent call centre staff out there but why do i never get them? i can HONESTLY say that 95% of them that i am in contact with never solve my basic problem in the first instance.
at least 25% of these give me false or incorrect information and a large quantity seem to struggle with their script -needing to go all the way back to the start if 1 thing was missed. it is usually when i get passed through to a manager that the problem is finally solved.
and markiec not being disrespectful but if one deals with a company constantly making a hash of things i feel there is a little right to sound of and be frustrated..... ps you dont work in a call centre of a famous utility company or an insurance company do you?? (i may need some help).....

[Martin_1962]

......
The entry into the big buiness world is often obtained via starting in a blue chip companies contact centre and moving upwards. .....

God help us!  

What makes you say that Andy. If a graduate qualifies from uni with an excellent degree and has perhaps worked part time lets say in a bank contact centre whilst he studied. Would it be that bad for the graduate to go full time for 18 months as an advisor before moving into a marketing department, managerial position, Human resource etc?

The problems with call centres are

1) Scripts - some are so scripted that getting them off it confuses them
2) Foreign accents - Indian CAN be difficult to understand - als o line quality doesn't help
3) Stupid names - let them use their real names - we are not idiots Onetel use real Indian names, but I still prefered their Scottish call centre

Agree with all 3 points Martin   HATE foreign contact centres.

WHo do you do then?

I may have used it - BTW bank and CC ones in Scotland have never been a problem with me

[TheBoy]

The key is to just patiently answer there scripts. Not give extra info. Not get impatient coz the question is daft - the operator often cannot move to next q until this one answered. They dont enter in the other extra info you give them (unless asked later). Stick to the script!

[Markie]

i do appreciate that there may be some decent call centre staff out there but why do i never get them? i can HONESTLY say that 95% of them that i am in contact with never solve my basic problem in the first instance.
at least 25% of these give me false or incorrect information and a large quantity seem to struggle with their script -needing to go all the way back to the start if 1 thing was missed. it is usually when i get passed through to a manager that the problem is finally solved.
and markiec not being disrespectful but if one deals with a company constantly making a hash of things i feel there is a little right to sound of and be frustrated..... ps you dont work in a call centre of a famous utility company or an insurance company do you?? (i may need some help).....

I do agree with your points.

But i do need to defent my work colleagues against the second post on this thread....To be honest everyone would defend there colleagues in the industry they are in, in just the same way we defend our omegas despite many thinking them awful  

I wont put any personal business in the hands of any company that has Indian or other contact centres. As a consumer thats my choice. My reasons....track record of poor customer service and language barriers.

On a professional level we do have a contact centre in mumbai - and the opionins inside our company very much echo the views of its customers on this matter. Ie UK staff often have to pick up the mess, the escalations, the cancelled business etc.

UK staff feel the same frustrations of customers on this matter. But lets not tarnish everyone. I frequently get letters from customers and give out prizes ( commendations|) to staff that have gone above and beyond the call of duty. Though granted complaints are still the norm  

[sir moanalot]

so markiec do you feel that it is the "script system of working" that causes the problems?
 does having a script possibly be deficient in problem solving? for instance taking out the "human common sense" solution  to go with a script solution that may go amiss with the original complaint?
as my job is problem solving i would like to understand why this keeps happenning to me.

[Markie]

Yep totally agree with the scripting issue....as a company we dont script anything or ask our advisors to conform outwith the essentials ( DPA)