You can't strip ALL the costs out, ALL the time...

I had occasion recently to hear another "call centre" horror story. A lady had to contact her cable company to advise that her device was malfunctioning. Now, this lady is in her 70s and is articulate and intelligent - unfortunately the person on the other end was neither. In fact, English was not their first language and their training was woefully inadequate

After following the "script" robot-like, wherein the customer was instructed to do a number of obviously useless activities, she was advised that a technician would be dispatched.

It may save time and money to have customer service knowledge concentrated in a call centre, but these savings (and customers) will be lost forever if the training is inadequate or the operators are inarticulate.

Customer service should be seen as an investment, not just as a cost centre! Yes, it is true that it should be as a cost, but it's the cost of doing business - and the best business is repeat business. Repeat business will only occur if a customer knows that every transaction with you will be pleasant and fulfil their needs.

Harry