The Call Center Profession. Can They Keep Up?
Call Centers have expanded the world of communication and opened the doors for businesses world-wide. By centralizing call center management, businesses have discovered a way to incur less cost in their efforts to communicate with their customers, and in their attempts to maintain and regulate customer service. But, at what cost?
Calling centers function in two distinct areas of telephone communication, inbound and outbound. Inbound calls are made by a consumer requesting information, seeking assistance, or reporting a problem, and are answered by a agent who redirects the caller to an appropriate operator. If the operator is unsuccessful, the caller may be forwarded to a supervisor or manager who can resolve the issue, or transferred once again to technical support or engineering staff. A consumer could potentially speak to three or four call center agents prior to resolving their issue.
The second type of telephone communication that occurs in a call center is referred to as outbound, or outgoing calls. These are the calls that initially gave calling centers a negative image. In these instances, the call center agent, on behalf of the business she represents initiates a call, usually to offer assistance or attempt to sell a product, and usually at the most inopportune time for the consumer.
Phone centers are typically seen in under-developed areas where land and labor are more readily affordable. Thus, call centers are sprouting up throughout the world. Countries such as Mexico, China, Puerto Rico, India, Malta, Pakistan, and South Africa have a high number of call center operations and work with companies located in the United Kingdom, The United States, Singapore, Germany, and France. While this is undoubtedly a win-win situation for business owners and economically distressed locations, the communication barrier has added to the disillusionment many people have with phone centers. Customers have become frustrated, while businesses are seen as greedy institutions eager to save money. In addition to communication problems with overseas offices, call centers have earned a poor reputation for service. Incoming callers are left waiting too long, transferred to numerous operators, and treated with little respect, as they are recited a script or provided misinformation. It is equally stressful for staff members who complain of poor work environments, job repetition, and low compensation. In recent years, call center operators have attempted to rebound from this negative image by implementing new tactics. Some phone centers are now offering predicative dialing, where the system estimates the queue time for a caller. Other offices are providing callers with a pre-recorded voice menu so they may chose the specific department or expert they need to communicate with prior to speaking to a live agent. Still other centers are prioritizing customers based on emergency need or call time and allowing agents to recognize a number and have pre-obtained information about the caller in advance. Despite the negative connotation, and possibly fueled by the resolve call center managers have to alter public opinion, undoubtedly they are here to stay. As big businesses continue to grow, the need to communicate more frequently and more rapidly with a growing customer base will ensure the call center profession, never dies.
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