I really do think that it is counter productive to send call centres offshore. Yes, the overheads are cheaper and the staff easier to manage, but, it takes much longer to sort out issues as many people can't understand what they are saying.
In many cases, they reach the end of their script and book an engineer unneccessarily. I dread to think how much that has cost the company.
This latest sad news about Albert Dock just goes to show how challenging the current economic climate is for all businesses at the moment. As a company director, I have had to make some difficult decisions to improve efficiency and implement austerity measures. Many forecasters are predicting that it will get worse still.
The best advice I can give to the remaining staff is what I told our managers to say at the latest team briefing. Keep your head down and work hard whilst remembering how important the attraction of new and the retention of old customers is.
VM, like the main industry that I am involved with, in the main offers a luxury product that people can live without.
All the best to anyone unfortunate enough to lose their job. If you are affected, please don't take it personally. It is true to say that management use situations like this to get rid of any dead wood, but, it is also inevitable that many decent experienced people lose their jobs too.
Times like this are just as upsetting for management, but tough decisions have to be made to ensure the long term survival of the company for the sake of everybody.