KEY POINTS:
Telecom is undertaking a call centre trial in Manila, the Philippines, which if successful, could lead it to relocate its 250-person broadband call centre there. This sounds like a recipe for disaster.
Broadband is already a frustrating subject for legions of New Zealanders.
Can you imagine how that will be compounded when they have to seek helpdesk support from people who have very little knowledge of the local network and its numerous quirks and eccentricities?
Outsourcing of call centres is a well-established trend. According to this article, "the list of New Zealand businesses off shoring... includes MasterCard, Visa, Hertz, Unisys, Amex, Diners, Air New Zealand, Pacific Blue, Qantas, ING, Microsoft and IBM."
Telecom already has some pre-paid mobile and dial-up internet call centre support based in Manila.
Call centre outsourcing destinations have shifted as companies seek lower cost countries to base their support centres in.
I remember travelling to Glasgow in 1999 and visiting numerous call centres where support agents were answering queries from around the world with a gentle Scottish lilt. I heard much about how the call centre industry was the backbone of the 'Silicon Glen' Scotland was trying to build.
Then India became the call centre hotspot, in particular Bangalore.
When the hard drive on my Hewlett Packard notebook failed, I had numerous conversations with someone in Bangalore about getting a replacement under warranty.
Overall, it was a good experience but there were a few moments of confusion due to both of our accents and the fact that the call centre agent didn't know much about the local market.
Even India is becoming too expensive for call centres due to rising labour costs.
The Philippines, as this shows, is the new favourite off shoring location for companies trying to cut costs.
I'm in two minds about the whole call centre off shoring trend, which is really one of the most tangible side-effects of globalisation.
I've never worked in a call centre, but I know people who have and generally didn't enjoy it. For the most part, you're stuck at your desk, forced to field calls from people who have something to complain about.
It's no wonder that staff churn rates in the call centre industry are notoriously high.
In a country with the low unemployment rate New Zealand enjoys, off shoring makes sense.
On the other hand, good call centre support is essential to customer loyalty. I get dozens of emails from people who are angry and the long waiting times and flaky service them get from call centres.
Broadband support would seem to be one area that will be more difficult to offshore, given its often complicated nature.
Telecom will need to think very carefully about sending this work to Manila and losing the institutional knowledge built up by its existing call centre agents.
What do you think? Are you happy to be served by a call centre agent somewhere overseas, or do you think you get better service from locals? Is broadband support too tricky to send offshore?
