Report says customers hanging up on offshore call centers

[RamboLiberal]

Source: Pittsburgh Post Gazette

A new report on call centers shows catalog retailers are doing the best job of pleasing customers, while personal computer centers perform the worst.

The report, to be released today by CFI Group in Ann Arbor, Mich., also raises questions about the wisdom of contracting out call center operations to foreign countries. The offshoring trend is one of the biggest issues facing call center executives looking to save costs.

---

The study found that customers who believed they were dealing with a call center outside the United States rated their overall satisfaction 26 points lower than those who believed the center was U.S.-based. In addition, callers to foreign centers were almost twice as likely to sever business relations with the company.

Specifically, service reps at offshore centers were rated much harder to understand and less adept at solving customer problems.

Despite the cost savings, "there is concern that customers will be turned off both by the loss of American jobs and by the lower level of service," the report said.



Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07163/793300-28.stm

---

As someone in IT who's had to deal with overseas techs, some are very good, but I'm getting older and it is so frustrating in many cases trying to understand them through their accents.

Also I got so peeved at all the calls that were obviously from India that wanted to do a short tech survey that turned in to 30 minute marathons I automatically tell them now I'm not interested unless they are sending me a very good renumeration and even then I've turned them down over the aggravation. If you want me to do one of these take advantage of the frickin' web!

[TreasonousBastard]

1. Note that catalogue sales have...

been around for well over a hundred years, and the good guys in the business have figured out how to treat customers in that time.

[LiberalFighter]

3. Call centers don't have to worry about customers getting mad

They figure they are in another country and don't have to deal with customers face to face.

[LiberalFighter]

2. I'm hearing-impaired. Hearing on a phone is difficult.

People with accents make it even more difficult. I don't tolerate call centers from another country well.

[Ready4Change]

4. Hello?

Phone rings.
Hello?
(5 second pause)
{50% of the time, I hang up}

-Hallo? Is Mr. (mangled name) home?
{10% hangup}{100% if the name is clearly wrong}

This is him.
-Hallo Mr. Mangled Name. Have you considered refinancing your home?
I am not interested, do not accept sales calls, and will never buy anything from phone solicitors...
(Without listening to me, the caller launches into his script)
-We are offering financing at the low rate of...
{15% more hangups}

I am going to save you time by interrupting you, and I request that you add this phone number to your 'Do not call list'...
-Yes yes. What are you currently paying per month, sir?
{24% more hangups}

I've been polite, I've tried to save you time, and yet you continue. Go to hell you annoying **************
{Final 1% of hangups.}

It absolutely BLOWS ME AWAY that they must somehow make money at that. Who the hell are the morons who buy from this type of goddamn intrusive SOB tactics?

[JohnLocke]

6. You should sign up with the National Do Not Call Registry

https://www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx

Signed myself and my whole family up when it first came out. Never received an unsolicited commercial call again.

[Tansy_Gold]

34. Unfortunately, it doesn't work as well as expected

I registed all three of my phone numbers -- two land lines, one cell -- with the national do not call registry almost a year ago. I got confirmation of the registration. I still received 3-5 calls a week, sometimes more. Sometimes they leave automated voice mail, sometimes I recognize them by the number on caller ID. Most common are a/c services, termite and pest control services, carpet cleaning services. I have reported some of them to the agencies responsible for enforcing the do not call list, but even those I have reported continue to call.

Sometimes it is impossible to answer the call and tell them to stop calling. Once the automated spiel starts in response to the voice mail cue, there is no way to reach a human being without actually calling them back. In at least two cases where I have attempted to talk to the caller personally to get them to stop calling, I have been told that ANY KIND of response to their solicitation, even calling the phone number to tell them to leave me the hell alone, is considered a green light for them to keep calling me.

If I don't recognize the name and/or number on the caller ID, I don't answer. Period. I screen all my calls. This irritates some people I do business with and friends who call from other numbers than those in my system, but for various reasons including some that have to do with personal security, I don't pick up the phone from ANYONE I don't recognize. End of discussion on that issue.

Tansy Gold

[Rosa Luxemburg]

38. yes but I got rid of the fax telemarketers through state attorney general's office

state AG took all the telemarketfaxes and promised to follow it up. No faxes at 3am and 6am since.

[anitar1]

44. That site is not being maintained at this time. I read a few months

ago that the gov. is not funding it any longer. Chimp must need the money for the war.I am receiving many calls. If I don't recognize the name. I do not answer.So much for protection from solicitation.

[classysassy]

56. The callers

keep calling,I just hangup.

[colorado_ufo]

14. The "morons" are often the elderly.

[pokercat999]

18. If I'm busy I just hang up. If I have time I play along. It's

not really very nice to be so cruel to someone just trying to feed their family in a really tough job, but what the hell. If I waste their time it maybe one less person they are bothering. Of course if I was on the other end of the line I'd be pissed. Maybe I'll stop.....na.

[Tracer]

25. Aah. The "5-seconds of silence".

I get these 10 times a day and they rate a 100% hangup from me!

[havocmom]

43. And if I hear 'boiler room' noise in background - call over!

If I hear lots of manic voices chanting same canned speech in background, it's "DON'T CALL BACK" from me and a resounding thud of phone.

Thinkin of getting another boswains pipe to blast rude callers from call centers. Yeah, I know, they are just trying to make a wage. BUT- there are many jobs my personal ethics would not let me do, even when I was desperate (and there were those times!) If people would stop following horrible orders, businesses might be better run.

[HughBeaumont]

27. Yep, they don't answer right away . . . CLICK!

No time to listen to that noise.

[silverojo]

49. I used to work in telemarketing

In those days, they took pains to make sure you had a good, clear, easy-to-understand voice before they hired you. I got lots of telemarketing jobs because I grew up near Omaha. You see, people from that area have been proven to have an accent that's the most easily understandable by people all over the USA. That's why so many telemarketing operations USED to be Omaha-based...till outsourcing began....

Anyway, while I worked in this sickening field, I felt like a jackass having to read these idiotic scripts they make you use. I could've done a lot better just winging it.

Here's one example, from a job I actually had (and mind you, I didn't sell ONE newspaper subscription). The newspaper was supposed to deliver a free paper to a list of non-subscribers...but most of the time, they failed to do so. Even when they did, this was hardly the way to approach the subject....

First words I'm supposed to read:
"Hello! Did you find a newspaper on your front porch today?"

Mind you, we lived in Arizona, where there AREN'T any front porches...and newspapers are thrown into the driveways instead.

Initial response from annoyed never-to-be-a-customer:
"What are you talking about?"

From there, you couldn't continue with your script, because you had to explain what the hell you were blathering about...by which time the person on the other end of the line was totally sick and tired of you. The people with unlisted numbers got especially PO'ed.

I got my revenge, though...every time someone got annoyed, I apologized profusely and offered to let them speak to the main office to complain, then I gave them the phone number. The way I was doling out that info, I'm sure they got LOTS of irate phone calls.

The way I see it...he who lives by the annoying calls can just put up with a lot of annoying calls!

:evilgrin: :evilgrin: :evilgrin: :evilgrin: :evilgrin: :evilgrin:

[magellan]

5. My experience has been the same

Not too long ago I got so fed up with the assistance I wasn't getting from an Indian call center that I phoned the head office. The first words out of my mouth were "Do NOT transfer me to India." After explaining what I'd gone through I finally got the information I needed.

However, a lot of US call centers are just as useless and the accents are sometimes equally unintelligible.

Customer service is a lost art. Most of the company call centers I've interacted with obviously don't pay well enough to keep knowledgeable staff on hand, and treat customers like adversaries to be dispensed with as quickly as possible.

edited to add "as" between "just" and "useless"

[tblue37]

Most tech support call centers are trained not to

help you but to GET YOU OFF THE PHONE. Their employee evaluations depend on their call turnover, so if they spend enough time to actually help you, they get low ratings.

Several years ago, a former tech support center employee wrote an article for Salon.com about this. I have also read things from other such emmployees, as well as talking to a couple in real life, and every one of them has said that the point is toseem to provide customer support without actually wasting time providing it.

[NeedleCast]

58. So True

I'm an IT trainer and am pretty computery savy. I was recently doing a server upgrade and when I opened the box the server was shipped in, it was obviously physically damaged. Calling their support line was a mistake. I got the run around from a level 1 phone answerer before being upgraded to a level 2 engineer. I tried to explain that their product was damaged and it was unlikely that any amount of support was going to take the 18 inch wide dent out of the side of the computer chassis. The support dude insisted on trying a large number of improbable to totally insane solutions, none of which worked. After about 30 minutes, he said "Okay, I can't help you anymore because this is taking to long, you'll have to call back."

I dug their sales number up on the internet spoke to a sales rep for about 90 seconds, and had a new server on the way.

FYI, most major computer corporations have several "levels" of support. Many of their level 1 people (the one's who will answer your call) have next to know IT training and are reading canned "solutions" off a script. If your problem goes off the script, it's unlikely they'll be able to help you. It varies from company to compnay, but if you ask to be bummped to level two support, they'll usually do it for you and you're more likely to get someone with better computer education or more experience.

[baldguy]

45. No unions = low wages = no incentives to do well = poor customer service

[Tarheel_Dem]

7. Same experience here....I will never buy another Dell Product

as long as I'm sane. I need to qualify and say that I don't suffer from xenophobia, but when I have to pay a fee for technical assistance, I want to speak with someone who's knowledgeable and easily understood, and who can get me off the phone in the least amount of time possible.

I generally hang up on marketers within the first sixty seconds. But I happened to be home today and was bored so I accepted a solicitation call from a young man with the DCCC. He was very polite when I told him I'd have to think about it, and he was still very engaging after my tirade. I also got a call from Nielsen Media Research, so I guess I'll be a Nielsen household in a couple of weeks.

[onehandle]

19. Republican Dell outsources all call center services. nt

[Ian David]

8. "Is this the file I need to download?"

"No, no NO! Go to www.widgets.com. Click on Widget Model Six. Click on Windows. Click on downloads. Click on new install. Now, click on..."

"Yeah, that's what I said. Is THAT the file I need to download? Why did you take me all the way back to the beginning you fucking scriptmonkey?"

"Sir, I don't appreciate you being a racist."

"A what?"

"You called me a monkey."

"No, I called you a scriptmonkey. It means an unskilled idiot who can only follow a script. It has nothing to do with your race. It has to do with you being an inflexible idiot who can't understand their own job."


True story.



See also:

2. script monkey
Customer Service Rep who flops like a flounder once the caller's questions go off-script.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=script+monkey

[CountAllVotes]

9. I hung-up on HP

I called because they sold me some software for my printer which they knew would not work! After being on hold for about 1/2 hr., finally I got a very rude man and he tried to convince me to let them have my printer back and they'd send me a different one for $100 which is not what I wanted. I wanted software that would allow it to work on my computer, not another new/crappy printer.

The man I spoke with was rude and inconsiderate and YES, I hung-up on him alright. What a freakin jerk! I would never consider buying ANYTHING from HP again after this episode. Who might I ask would blame me?

And they wonder why this is happening? It is because they are RUDE, that is why. Throw in a messed up accent and an inability to understand the person only adds to the frustration!

Bring back jobs to the USA! Support America and the American people and their jobs! :patriot:

:kick:

[terisan]

21. HP-I let Apple sucker me into an HP Printer-Got Scamed by HP on Rebate

HP is a company i would like to see go out of business. Wasted much time on telephone with apparent off-shores, plus troubleshooter exec here who promised to expedite, got many promises , no action.

[Merlot]

50. You hang up - they win.

If they have to be rude to get you off the phone, they will. And I can't tell you how many times I've been "accidently" transfered to the "wrong" department.

[Donnachaidh]

10. I usually will deal with an accent, but if it becomes clear the person

is reading a cheat sheet, in regards to tech support I need, and they don't fully understand my questions - I hang up, or ask for someone with actual skills.

[Cobalt-60]

13. Call centers don't like skilled employees

It's been my grim misfortune to work in a call center lo these past five horrid years.
(I've only hung with it because there's nothing left locally after this but paper hat jobs. )
Americans transferred to me from India them were often very relieved to hear American accent and idiom.
American call centers like to burn out unskilled employees in a couple of months so they don't earn raises.
When the do have skilled employees on a support line they pressure them to stay within the idiot scripts.
Telephone tech support is a piss poor substitute for good design and thorough documentation.
Remember: "Called in" is a synonym for mediocre. that counts for tech support too.
When I supported dsl we had another function besides tech support. We were human shields to absorb the abuse of angry customers.
Indeed, if we didn't apologize a mandatory three times per tech support call, we were fired on the spot.
No matter how many "supervisors" the customers demanded, they never spoke to an actual ISP employee. Their complaints were effectively round filed then and there.
If you want to get something done right, a call center is a poor place to start.
Unfortunately this has become big business' preferred form of interface with Americans.

[colorado_ufo]

15. Thanks for the insight!

[lovuian]

11. I'm one of them

Sorry I'm for the American worker

[Grateful for Hope]

12. Whenever I am on a call for tech support

and, I know that the call has been routed to India, I ask to speak to an American. So far, this has worked.

[Skittles]

16. skeleton crews are often kept in America

to deal with the messes caused by offshoring

[dipsydoodle]

17. WATCH THIS :

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=366756169934472530&q=call+centre

Seems pretty accurate to me :rofl:

[0007]

24. Thanks for the hardy chuckle!

I'm more than sure that this is how it works.

[zanne]

30. That was priceless.

Poor Debbie!

[Lone_Star_Dem]

35. Rupert was poetic justice

That was too funny. :rofl:

[NuttyFluffers]

20. you'd think this would have been common knowledge by now

was laughing as my friend tried to make a hotel reservation. called, asked need to stay on 20th, for three nights. reply was
'what?'
'three nights'
'yes, three nights, what day please?'
'the 20th'
'so you want to stay 20 days?'
'what? no! i want the 20th for 3 nights. the 20th, 21st, 22nd.'
'so you'll be leaving the 28th'
'what? how are you getting the 28th? i said 3 nights! on the 20th for 3 nights'
'oh, so not the 28th. so when will you be leaving?'
'how are you not getting this? i'll be staying the 20th, 21st, 22nd. arrive on 20th and stay for 3 nights'
'i'm sorry sir, i confirm that you are not staying to the 28th?'
'what!? get me your supervisor.'
'why sir?'
'because i want to talk to your supervisor'
'if you have a problem i will be happy to resolve it'
'obviously you can't because you don't understand what i am saying. get me your supervisor.'
'he is unavailable because his office is closed at this time'
'what? where is this call taking place?'
'excuse me?'
'where are you located'
'our wonderful hotel --'
'not your hotel -- YOU!'
'i'm in iceland. and the supervisor is only available in the mornings. would you like to leave a message'
'yes, tell him he just lost quite a bit of business *click*'

cracked me up! i was rolling on the floor. some things are just better localized -- like healthcare and fine dining.

[lpbk2713]

33. Sounds just like *Who's on first?*

Abbott & Costello would be proud of these call centers.

[ClintonTyree]

22. 3 years ago I bought an HP laptop computer.....

right out of the box I had trouble getting the computer to interface with my DSL modem. It just wouldn't recognize it. I dial the number for customer support (transferred to Bangalore, naturally) and for 3 hours, in the dead of the night, tried to make sense of what my customer support "expert" was trying to tell me. He had to repeat everything 4 or 5 times because I just couldn't understand him. It was maddening. I'm usually a patient person but I lost it that night.

The computer went back to the store the next day. I told them that until they have customer support in a language I can understand they'd get no future business from me. I bought another computer from a local company and haven't had a bit of trouble with them answering questions and giving assistance.

The up side of the story......I'd already mailed in the rebate from HP. Even though they took the computer back they still sent me the rebate check. I think it was $75 or something like that. :) I figured that made up for the hours I was on the phone to the "expert" in Bangalore.

Hopefully American Companies are finding out that the cheapest method of doing business isn't always the best way to do business. HP lost a loyal (until then) customer and I'll never buy anything from them again. "Penny wise, pound foolish", as my Dad used to say.

[FlaGranny]

23. I recently had to call tech support for my Gateway

and got an American call center. Then I received a call a few days later asking me to rate the tech help. You can be absolutely certain I praised the use of in-country tech support.

The most frustrating experience I ever had was calling my towing company when my car broke down. Try telling an operator in India that your car is broken down in Loxahatchee and see where THAT gets you. After about 20 minutes of waiting I was told there was no towing company in that area. Luckily I remembered my insurance company also provided tow service so I called them (in the US) and got my tow.

[robbyrob79]

41. Gateway has always had american tech support

Its something they've always taken pride in too. I've got some friends who've worked at their call centers and they like it too. Gateway is a good company, when I can't buy something from a local reseller, I always go with Gateway first.

[FlaGranny]

55. Thanks. I didn't know that. In that case

I'm very happy I went with Gateway.

[dkofos]

26. I would like to see the report that says people won't buy products

from companies that use off shore call centers.

[Jokerman]

28. OMG - "Short Tech Survey"

You set me off with that one. Some days I get two or three of those calls and it's always "a few short questions" of "a couple of minutes of your time" that turn into a marathon session that only serves the company and eventually spawns more annoying calls.

OK, I manage a tech department with a sizeable annual budget but that doesn't mean I'm willing to give up my time to help them locate my "pain issuse" and help them sell me more stuff.

[RamboLiberal]

42. We have phones where I can identify itf it's an outside call

or inside call. I've taken to ignoring outside calls for just this and the pushy jerks trying to sell me ribbons and toner cartridges(latter not my department).

Before we got these phones I took to asking up front what they were paying me. If nothing, not interested, bye!

[Kingshakabobo]

29. This is a funny video. A good way to handle unwanted calls....

Use a Judge Judy sound-board to frustrate a bill collector....

http://www.break.com/index/judge-judy-sound-board-prank.html

[slackmaster]

31. My experience with HP support in brief: India bad, Costa Rica good

:argh:

[Javaman]

32. ...

operator: may I help you?

costumer: Yeah, I have an issue with my computer

operator: for to you have problem can tell me of?

costumer: um right. well, it seems everytime I press the enter key I get the blue screen of death...

operator: death of which computer does work not, help you much, no?

costumer: yes, I mean no. I mean...What?

operator: please be with patience for we am to help you with enter.

costumer: my head hurts...

operator: does head show blue problem?

costumer: I need some tums...

operator: for this tums I show not working issue of manual...

costumer: Ugh! I want to speak to your manager!

operator: with supervisor to here now!

supervisor: My I help you?

customer: finally, I have an issue with the infamous blue screen of death...

supervisor: for to you which see blue death screen?

customer: click!

[The Backlash Cometh]

36. Big DUH on that one.

If you're talking to someone who you KNOW is doing the job an American can do, you'd be hostile too.

By the way, there is a big difference between outsourced call centers and American service. Those outsourced workers sound like they're reading from a script, and if they can't answer your question to your satisfaction, they bend over backwards to give you a refund.

I liked the American computer troubleshooter better because you could actually follow the logical progression as he tried to troubleshoot the problem with your computer.

[Dr.Phool]

37. I would rather be ripped apart by grizzly bears than

Ever do business with Dish Network again.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

39. Having had the horror of using both Dish and Dell's call centers

I honestly don't know which one is worse. It's as if they're competing to see who can hire the most ignorant and rude people with accents so thick it takes you five minutes to understand you're being insulted.

[Decruiter]

40. Welcone to Texas and TXU Energy. Need service? Talk to India.

Whenever I call to make a payment the first place I land is in India. The first thing I say is "I want to make a payment, but before I do I want to know if you are speaking to me from within the continental US or are you "offshore"? Every time, first, I am "offshore". They really do hate to admit it too.

Next, Okay, I want to talk with someone in the "continental US", I want to talk with someone being employed here, in a call center here in the US, NOW! I have to just keep calling back. No, they, in India, they can't transfer me.

Fire any company doing business this way. We used to have call centers in the US. Globalization my ass. Is there anyone here who would not work the 3rd shift for $15. an hour?

[treestar]

46. I had trouble with Dell's call center once - the people involved were

American - then used their online service and the problem was solved immediately (person had Indian name but could have been anywhere).

I don't think Indians are inherently inferior to Americans. But phone service is bad throughout the U.S., too. One European told me nothing gets done in America these days - he said phone service in Europe was way better.

There is a sluggishness in the U.S. since the turn of the century. You always get answering machines, leave voice messages, and don't get called back.

[NuttyFluffers]

52. oh it has nothing to do w/ indians per se, just everything to do w/ locality

if i had to read a script phonetically sounding out hindi or gujarati you can be darned sure the customers on the subcontinent would be frustrated. just because people know a language from colonial periods doesn't mean they know it colloquially. and when you are dealing with customer service being able to field colloquialisms and general accents tends to be a huge plus. it would be just as bad if we asked haitians or new orleans cajuns to do phone service for continental french customers.
:rofl:
oh that'd be funny!
there's a certain give and take in retail, but w/ customer service involving reservations and crises such communication frustrations tend to be very bad for all parties involved.

[hootinholler]

47. Dang, whoda thunk it?

:sarcasm:

Just in case.

-Hoot

[barb162]

48. Yeah, I have been hanging up on these call centers for a few years

[Pavulon]

51. Lots of companies offshore to Australia....

people's tolerance for the Australian accent is better than their tolerance to the Indian accent.

I hate any enterprise support wherever it is that reads from a playbook. If I paid over a million dollars for something the person supporting it should know it better than I do.

I could run a list of expensive software and hardware that pays monkeys to support an enterprise class thing..

[Lisa0825]

53. Pleased to hear Americans last night when I called Comcast/Roadruner

(I am not sure which one since RR is in transition to Comcast). Both tech reps I spoke to were very good and I didn't have to struggle to explain my problem or to understand them!

[Lisa0825]

54. dup

it was the kitty's fault!

[bamacrat]

57. I hate calling for tech support of any kind and getting a guy in India.

For one its difficult to understand them, and two theyre in fucking India, good to see people are switching their business away from those companies.