Foreign Call Centres Are Rubbish - Official !
Foreign Call Centres are inferior to those based in the UK !
Is this me ranting about a bad experience, no - it seems a multi-national company that uses call centres abroad to serve their British customers agree . . .
Well sort of
As with most things in life money makes a difference, certainly does if you bank at Barclays as I do ( there, vested interest declared ).
Perhaps I’m fortunate in that if I phone up soon I will not be diverted to India but to a British call centre - however some people will be put through to India it seems.
The criteria . . . money !
If you’ve a bit on deposit or a high credit rating then when you phone you’ll be put through to a British Operator from April 1st. If however you’re skint or spend all your money as it comes in you’ll be put through to India.
By definition Barclays Bank are saying the foreign call centres are inferior - you can’t get passed that !
I imagine there’s a storm on the horizon here with suggestions of latent racism and a two tier service. I’m not remotely interested in political correctness but even I thought ouch when I read it . . . however . . .
I think I might be coming round to it - after all - why not ?
Money always guarantees better everything just about, has to by definition, so why not at the bank as well.
In some senses those with regular money on deposit deserve some perks - the bank benefits so why not the depositor ?
Of course the real spectre here is the call centres - or to be more precise those who work there. This is why it’ll be a hot potato - the obvious implication being British based is better than India based !
This will cause a howl of racism no doubt but I say “why should it”
Racism is the hatred of somebody because of their creed or colour - I don’t believe the vast majority even remotely think along those lines.
It’s all about being understood and understanding what is being said.
Personally speaking, I would much sooner used a call centre based in India than Glasgow for example - not because I hate the Scots but because I find a broad Glaswegian accent almost undecipherable.
Of course nowadays you can’t talk commonsense any more - it’s been banned !
I believe if you’re going to do a job then you have to be able to do it properly.
If that means speaking then you should have a clear speaking voice, if it means lifting heavy weights then you should be strong, if designing space shuttles then you need to be clever and so on . . .
Let’s not keep shouting racism when it’s not applicable
Let’s keep calling people to account though - let’s also question the ultimate wisdom of some of these decisions made in the name of cost savings.
It may cost you a lot more than you save - and this seems like just the thing to do that.
Yours with an appalling speaking voice who should never man a phone line
Rod
chris keyworth said,
March 13, 2010 @ 9:01 pm
Rod if you want a good laugh try ringing National Rail Inquierys lol its totaly automated and gets thing spectaulay wrong, its so frustrating you end up shouting at the phone knowing it will do you no good what so ever as it is a computer you are talking to, it never fails to chear me up on a miserable day lol
regards
chris
Rod said,
March 14, 2010 @ 8:13 am
Chris,
I might be in a position to be put through to a Barclays UK call centre but I’m not really in a position to buy a train ticket
I know why Richard Branson is so embroiled in the railways - only he can afford a ticket !
Best
Rod
Little Brother said,
March 14, 2010 @ 8:56 am
Rod,
I’ll never ring AOL again as long as I live, I cannot understand the Indian operators. Full Stop.
Not racist, FACT. Might make sense from a profit point of view but none whatsoever if you are a customer who simply wishes to sort a problem out.
The repeat phone calls I had to make, me having to ask to speak to somebody else just to understand them was beyond belief.
Never again.
LB
Rod said,
March 14, 2010 @ 3:43 pm
LB,
this is one of the things I was thinking about when I alluded to losing more than you gain.
I used to have an account with Dell computers, I rang them and spoke to lovely girls in Ireland - the whole thing was perfect - specced a new computer, they built to order, sent it out and all was well.
One day I phoned to buy a new one and was put through to India - it was a nightmare !
I had to repeat myself over and over again and simply could not understand the other person on the line.
I had to abandon it as I had absolutely no idea what I was going to end up ordering - After many years and £1,000s spent I never used Dell Direct again !
All the best
Rod
Bob said,
August 27, 2010 @ 12:05 pm
Every time I call Barclays I cannot understand the call handler and he/she claims ’system not working.’ It is very annoying and selfish for Barclays to give customers this level of low service, which has become that way since using Indian call centers.
Rod said,
August 27, 2010 @ 1:10 pm
Bob,
thanks for the comment and welcome to the site - I cannot understand why businesses ruin customer relations like this. It’s incredibly short-sighted of them, it also gives us a clue as to the esteeem they hold their customers in !
Best
Rod
Neil said,
November 23, 2010 @ 8:40 am
I agree with whay you say, Rod. Whenever I have to call Barclays it seems arbitrary whether I get India or UK, though UK seems more common recently. Yesterday though I phoned to chase up a new debit card and got through to India, and it was patently obvious that the guy didn’t understand me. After getting nowhere I asked as politely as I could to speak to someone in the UK - and was put through to a British lady who sorted out my query in minutes!
It is NOT racism to object to being presented with a language barrier when phoning for service, especially when the service is something as important as banking. These call centres are a sign that companies like Barclays don’t care what their customers think, although Barclays are clearly getting worried about losing big accounts if they have introduced this new system.
Perhaps the most amusing/annoying example of the problems these centres cause was when my brother phoned Orange to report a change of address. He was asked to spell the word THE!
Rod said,
November 23, 2010 @ 8:53 am
Neil,
thanks for the comment and welcome to the site.
That just about sums it up and I ttallly agree with you about the non-racist part of it.
Actually I resent the fact that decent people have to prefix things nowadays with statements like this.
I’ve got nothing against bricklayers for example, however I don’t want a brickie repairing the brakes on my car - it’s a case of being cpaable/qualified to do the job.
If you’re going to work in a call centre then you need a clear speaking voice and a perfect grasp of English surely !?
All the best
Rod
Mick Deakin said,
November 23, 2010 @ 12:40 pm
Several years ago I had a cold call from gentleman who was obviously not english!
Being somewhat annoyed I asked for his name - he said ‘Mark’. I asked him for his second name which he gave me but I could not understand what he said, so I asked him to spell it out. He replied K-N-O-P-F-L-E-R. I nearly choked when he’d finished - and told him I was not interested, and furthermore not to call my house again.
I had visions of the guy rummaging through a copy of NME for a name he could use.
Mick
Neil said,
November 23, 2010 @ 2:52 pm
Thanks for your quick reply, Rod. I wanted to keep my first comment short so here’s another angle on the non-racist angle when objecting to foreign call centres: I moved five years ago to the Czech Republic, though still have several UK ties (such as Barclays, for my sins). I now speak Czech pretty fluently, but it took me a long time to master phone conversations, as this is the hardest thing for anyone speaking in a language other than their own. Even now there is the occasional misunderstanding - for example, there is a certain street name I always have trouble getting across to the dispatcher at the taxi company. So I would never expect to be employed answering the phones at a bank in Prague - even though I could probably deal with most things, any native Czech would have the right to complain if a misunderstanding arose. Not even the most ardent disciple of PC could call that racist, and the Barclays scenario is simply the same story with different characters.
Frustrating though it is dealing with Barclays et al in India, I try not to take it out on the Indians themselves (unless they cold call, that’s a different matter). Most of them are nice people who are grateful for a job. It is the management at these companies who deserve our anger and blogs like yours are very valuable in making our feelings public in a critical but civilised manner.
Rod said,
November 23, 2010 @ 4:28 pm
Mick,
how funny - I saw supose the chap was in Dire Straits so had to come up with something
Cheers
Rod
Rod said,
November 23, 2010 @ 4:31 pm
Neil,
spot on !
Good point about the actual operators, as frustrating as it is there’s no need to take it out on them - they’re only trying to make a living - some people in this country could take a leaf out of their book !
Best
Rod
oceaneagle said,
March 12, 2011 @ 8:30 am
What’s racist about not understanding an accent? I now have a policy of not dealing with any firm that operates a foreign call centre. I’m fed up with them not understanding me and (understandably) not knowing the geography of the UK. I haven’t a clue how far Delhi is to Bombay (Mumbai) they don’t know that London is miles from Sheffield.
I am sure queries are dealt with quickly more efficiently and cost effectively if both parties understand each other.