Call centre 'creating 1,000 jobs'

**Maggy J** · 07-08-2006, 17:37

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/5075496.stm

The twist to this is than it is an Indian business outsourcing from India.

This was on todays BBC breakfast news but seems to have been reported by BBC news online on June 13th.The BBC this morning seemed to think that a lot more such call centres are in the pipeline.

What a crazy world it is we live in.

Mike · 07-08-2006, 17:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Incognitas

[url]
What a crazy world it is we live in.

Totally agree and you can not get more crazy then this .................

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/5252036.stm

Mike

greencreeper · 07-08-2006, 18:19

We won't be working for 50p a week though. Me spots the fatal flaw in the plan

**Russ** · 07-08-2006, 18:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike

Totally agree and you can not get more crazy then this .................

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/5252036.stm

Mike

And the award for "earliest off-topic post" goes to....

07-08-2006, 19:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by Russ D

And the award for "earliest off-topic post" goes to....

LOL

hatedbythemail · 07-08-2006, 19:44

contrary to perception few call centres have gone overseas - clearly some high profile examples but most, which are quite small, remain in the UK. There are around 5,700 UK call centres, the majority of which employ less than 20 people so not really outsourcing candidates.

the idea of an overseas outsourcing business opening here might sound unusual but it makes sense to me in their specialism is outsourced services and they can practice that specialism in any economy where there's demand. the UK call centre industry is still growing, though that growth is being fuelled by those smaller centres.

**Russ** · 07-08-2006, 19:52

It's not the size of the callcentre which is the point in question - it's the size of the company. Major utilities and telco companies tend to have bigger callcentres because of the sheer number of customers therefore more people will experience Indian callcentres this way. Personally I abhor them - there's something about the Welsh accent they just don't "get" and the way their calls are structured never instills confidence in me that they'll do a good job - that method feels too robotic and faceless. UK callcentres usually have staff who engage their personalities and make you feel like you're dealing with a human.

hatedbythemail · 07-08-2006, 20:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Russ D

It's not the size of the callcentre which is the point in question - it's the size of the company. Major utilities and telco companies tend to have bigger callcentres because of the sheer number of customers therefore more people will experience Indian callcentres this way. Personally I abhor them - there's something about the Welsh accent they just don't "get" and the way their calls are structured never instills confidence in me that they'll do a good job - that method feels too robotic and faceless. UK callcentres usually have staff who engage their personalities and make you feel like you're dealing with a human.

wot like ntls|?

anyone for npower? think that its a generalisation -some o/s call centres are cak, some good. my fave centre is orange which has execllent, patient and knowledgable staff with a bit of time, nous and gab. theyre in the north east somewhere though not sure the geography is at all relevant.training and corporate philosophy to customer servicve far more important.

the next outsourcing hot-spot is likely to be south africa. these things move around in line with wage economies, infrastructure and technology i suppose.

**Russ** · 07-08-2006, 20:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by hatedbythemail

wot like ntls|?

Yes like NTL's - when I worked there I knew plenty of people who used their personalities.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hatedbythemail

anyone for npower?

I can't comment on them as I've never used them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hatedbythemail

think that its a generalisation -some o/s call centres are cak, some good.

Every Indian callcentre I've used has been awful, the worst being HSBC. When i called up to report someone using my debit card without my consent and I wanted to report it as a fraudulent transaction, the idiot said "I am sorry Mr Russ (why do they address people like that????) but I am not familiar with UK law so I am unable to report it as fraud".

Quote:

Originally Posted by hatedbythemail

my fave centre is orange which has execllent, patient and knowledgable staff with a bit of time, nous and gab.

You're surely not talking about their Indian registration callcentre? When I called them to register a phone with them last year the guy I spoke to refuse to acknowledge that 'Russ' and 'Russell' are the same name.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hatedbythemail

the next outsourcing hot-spot is likely to be south africa. these things move around in line with wage economies, infrastructure and technology i suppose.

Yeah I've noticed a few of those - Sky in particulr. No problems to report from them 'yet'.

hatedbythemail · 07-08-2006, 21:01

i'd agree hsbc's fraud prevention unit is bobbins though their telephone banking generally is fine. ntl is undoubtedly the worst customer service call centre i've ever had the misfortune to contactand thats in manchester. npowers is just inept, like their billing system, and thats in the north east somewhere, as orange. so like i say my experience is good and bad call centres at home and overseas. where they are failing it seem to be due to poor management and training - that would include language difficulties wherever they exist though i rarely have a problem with hsbc, in fact only with the fraud people who are clearly very, very badly trained.

**Stuart** · 07-08-2006, 22:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by hatedbythemail

anyone for npower

Awful company. Make NTL look like the height of efficiency.

hatedbythemail · 08-08-2006, 08:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stuart C

Awful company. Make NTL look like the height of efficiency.

so incompetent that i couldn't pay my bill because it never matched what they had in their system. after they sent reminder letters with the usual bailiff threats i called their bluff and told them to take me to court so i could enjoy them being laughed at. they wiped out my bills - so incompetence has its upside :-)

but we stray off topic. back to the original line, whilst i can understand people thinking irony is at play, this is just an indian company with international ambitions choosing to practice its specialism in the uk. uk companies export their expertise daily without attracting comment.

liamboyle06 · 08-08-2006, 09:13

the good news for me is that 400 of those jobs are coming to Derry which is in much need of it. Here is hoping to get in the front door first.