What is everyones problem with call centres?

Question

i currently work in one , and am shocked at the amount of abuse .It is a bit extreme and a bit uncalled for .Wots everyone's problem

alot of people assume when they call a call centre that they are calling india i hate to tell u folks but about 60% of the people i work with are indian and we r in scotland but they get alot of abuse more so than the rest of us

everyone hates waitin in a queue , we all do it every day why is it soo different with a call centre .People should really get a grip there is only so many people working to answer the phone there is 500 of us and that is only in this area more in othersites still not enough wot do people expect

DIM? ppl in call centres are not dim we work very hard many of us are students and many extremely bright just because we work in a call centre doesn't make us stupid , infact i challenge any of u to do it not the easiest of jobs , to handle to the systems

Answer 1

I hear that! I am currently working in a call centre also for a few weeks and am fed up with the amount of abuse that I have to take. I am a New Zealander and as such am called some pretty nasty racist names. I have heard some awful things shouted down the phone at me and there really is no need for it. Do people seriously think that you will want to help them if they abuse you?
I thought face to face was bad but i think people have a mind set that if they can't see you it doesn't count.

Answer 2

Because they are full of idiots.
I also worked for a large banking corp call centre in Scotland and left last month.
The place is full of 16 year old uneducated kids straight out of school who dont give a crap.
When you do get someone who gives a crap the system wont allow them to do anything as there is no way you can take responsibility.
There are also very high sales targets leading to a lot of hard selling forced on people which people just dont want to have to deal with.
However I am always nice now to people in call centres mainly because I know what people can do if you are rude.
(Your fees are much more likely to be refunded if you are nice to the person. Many a time I've had a ***** on demanding a refund and will flat out refuse to piss them off.)
But yes most of the abuse is uncalled for especially when going into a call already being negative about it.

Answer 3

People get frustrated with the poor level of service provided by many companies nowadays. It's very hard to get through to some firms, and we have all suffered from being put on hold, transferred to someone else, and eventually cut off. There's no excuse for rudeness though, even if the person in the call centre seems very dim.

Answer 4

There are two problems ;- the system and the people.
The system is how you get through to the person and give them details and in general it takes far too long. You have to repeat account numbers time and time again..waiting to get through to the department is often irritatingly long and if there is an apology or canned music it can drive one crazy.
Then when you finally get through it can be to the wrong dept because the system has driven you there by default. If the call centre is not in the UK the accent of the agent can be hard to understand and they can't hear you properly. I had to repeat my postcode seven times the other day. No wonder we get upset and abusive. Then just before you hang up they say ' is there anything else I can do for you today?' AAAAARGH

Answer 5

Nobody has time. They get fed up pressing buttons. If you want this press that, if you want something else press another. At the end of which they end up in a queue listening to music, which itself is interupted by a machine telling them that "your call ois important to us" etc. It's all very annoying.
My personal gripe is that I always seem to end up speaking to someone in India. I just cant understand their dialect.
It's not just call centres though. I think you'll find most people who work in "customer facing" jobs get the same abuse. Just ask your average nurse in an emergency department or even a shop worker.

Answer 6

Outsourcing. Many corporations are outsourcing their call centers to foreign countries, especially those in the Orient or India. The problem with that is the language barrier, better yet the dialect barrier. A major ISP has their call center in India and I can barely understand what they are saying. To circumvent that I immediately ask for supervisory management which is located in the USA.

Does anyone know of an ISP who's call center is here in the States?

Answer 7

certainly rigidity would reason hairless, yet for a complete place to go through hairloss through rigidity? very nearly an impossibility. there are a large variety of call centres obtainable. Nor would a headset particularly have an impression. back those are person-friendly issues cutting-edge in call centres. feels like some style of risky chemical/substance factor in the air. yet whilst your wellbeing is effective, then in all hazard no longer. "My dermatologist suggested take supplementations and no rapid nutrients for 6 months". feels like they are knowledgeable *rolls eyes* poor suggestion. yet to be trustworthy, if it exchange into happening to each physique i'm specific human beings would be panicked and raise it as a wellbeing challenge? consistent with hazard you're merely all center elderly men with receding hair loss!

Answer 8

I think your employers take a view on how long punters are prepared to wait, and under staff accordingly.
We start with the automated message - 'press 1 for...' then
we get this canned music whilst waiting, and those inane platitudes - 'your custom is important to us', 'you are moving up the queue' etc.
The whole experience is just hard work.

I do think that any abuse is unfair, after all, you just work there.

Answer 9

Personally, I don't have any problem with them at all, they are only trying to do their job after all. The calls that aggravate me are the unsolicited cold calls that usually come from India at the strangest times, I usually refuse to speak with them, but I try and do it in a polite manner. I do get frustrated when calls I make are routed to India or elsewhere where English is not their first language, I have a slight speech impediment, and at times people have difficulty in understanding me, the difference in language makes it harder for me.

Answer 10

I always try to be nice to people in Call Centres, because its one of those jobs I would'nt like to have & I bet its harder than most people think?
I REALLY hate Call Centres in India.......how in Gods name is someone in Mumbai going to answer my questions about train times & fares in England???