Do you think Indian Call Centres are useful or annoying?

Question

I think they're annoying because

1. They have taken jobs away from British people

2. They are very hard to understand and for them to understand us


Barclaycard announced today their Manchester call center is closing with the loss of 600 jobs and is being moved to.......... INDIA!!!! Thes banks are making obscene profits and are turning their back on the British workforce in the name of more profit!

I will try to boycott companies who use Indian call centers in futute for this reason

Answer 1

It makes me laugh when they say their name is Bob or Sue, how stupid do they think we are?

Answer 2

They are annoying. I have secured a telephone number from my Branch so that I can call them direct. They have a Call Centre in India. I also have the e mail address to let them know if I want to speak later.
Regretably, so many companies and Banks are sourcing the Indian market, there will surely be a backlash before long, for all the reasons you enumerate and those of the masses in general. No slur on the Indian community is intended, simply a desire to keep Britishness where it should be.

Answer 3

I love you Zippy! Please tell me you're not an impostor. To answer your question: Yes Geoffrey, I think Indian call centres are one of the most irritating things ever invented. I wouldn't mind if they worked, but I can't understand what they are saying & vice-versa so you spend a lot longer on the phone & never get anything sorted. In the end I often resort to email & just hope I get an answer one day... Mind you, I think I get more annoyed with automated systems. None of the options ever seem to fit what you want to find out, it's practically impossible to get to talk to someone & when you do it's an Indian call centre. AAAAGH!

Answer 4

I will not say that they cannot be helpful, they can, but it Is not an improvement of service to move it to India because it is more difficult to understand them, and be understood by them.

Having said that, the Indians who answer the calls have a much better uinderstanding of the English language, than I have of the
Indian language.

It is done for cheapness, and it doesn't appear that the cost saving is passed onto customers.

Good luck with avoiding such companies, it may mean you cannot take out a contract with some companies, because many are moving their call centres to places like India.

I've asked which companies use call centres in India.
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070306055542AAXRgtb&r=w

Answer 5

I think they are great, especially the cold-calling centres.

I have great fun when a heavy accented "Steve" calls from some company I have never heard of claiming they have offices in Central London near "Oxford Bondway"

I am particualrly fond of the way they always confirm a statement by posing a question "right?" but rarely if ever await your response before continuing.

Asking what the weather is like is always a sure-fire winner. As is asking if he is really called "Steve"

Take them off script and see what happens, it will break your day up, and you might end up having a good conversation with them, and get an understanding of why they are working in that role.

I think the average Indian call-centre operative is well educated and polite, you just need to get behind the overly-scripted, functional veneer to let their personality shine through.

After all, they are only doing whats best for themselves. "Right?"

Answer 6

I think they are annoying because the staff are under trained and only told to say certain things and not deviate from the sheet in front of them. There fore they are very unhelpful. If you try to probe a query a bit further you end up with someone with a poor grasp of the language getting really frustrated

Have you decided to boycott clothing companies that have been using cheap foreign labour for years or is it just you have to speak to this cheap labour now? just wondering?

Companies have been using foreign labour for years because then they can go to poverty stricken areas of the globe where no one is going to moan about not getting minimum wage and 'union' is not in their vocabulary.

I think you should avoid companies such as BT, Barclaycard 3mobile for their explotation of poverty stricken countries

I get annoyed with some creditors that keep calling for someone who has never lived at this address and when I say they have got the wrong number they repeat my number and when I say that is my number they say - we have the right number i want to speak to mrs x and this goes on until i eventually hang up. And yes this person is always called 'Steve' or 'Andrea'

Answer 7

We have the same problem in the U.S. I have been around quite a few Indians, while growing up and at college, and I still have a hard time understanding them. I just cringe every time I have to use a call center and hear one of their voices, because I know I'm going to have to ask them to repeat themselves over and over, or explain myself over because they don't get what I'm telling them. At the rate companies are switching, we might have a hard time finding anyone to do business with if we boycott Indian call centers. Whenever I do get an American, I always make a point of showing my appreciation by commenting on it and sometimes even asking to speak to someone higher up so I can let them know how much it means to me to be able to speak to someone who understands. Maybe we should make a list of companies that DO use local call centers, so more people will know and use those companies. There's nothing like money to reinforce a behavior!

Answer 8

They can be annoying for four basic reasons. 1. Language barriers 2. Cultural differences 3. They are judged on the number of calls that are completed 4. They don't understand your problem

Answer 9

I'm all about companies moving jobs to where they're the most competitive (cheaper). BUT...

I *hate* getting an Indian call center when i call from America. I can't understand the thick accents, and I think it's hilarious when they try to make up names...(I kid you not...I once got a telemarketing call with a thick Indian accent where the caller said "My name is Abraham Lincoln calling from Bank of America."

I hung up.

What to do if you get an Indian call center:

Say "Sprechen Sie Deutsch?" The Indians don't speak German, so you'll get routed to another call center in Germany, where people speak very fluent and articulate English.

Answer 10

I find them annoying in that I know they're speaking English, yet it's not a form of English that is easily understandable. Fortunately, here in the States, we have the option of pressing another button for service in Spanish. If I can't understand the person speaking English, I'll hang up and dial back, this time opting for Spanish. At least I can understand most people speaking that language.

Answer 11

I used to bank with Lloyds and all their call centre went to India, and everything they said to me sounded scripted. If I asked a question that wasnt "run of the mill" or normal, they got all panicky and would put me on hold until one of them figured out what it was I was saying.

I didnt know that about Barclays - I currently bank with them now, but I dont use the call centre anyway, I do all my banking on line now.

I'm also with SkyTV and their call centre is in India. Makes it very hard to communicate.