Jim Duffy: When outsourcing just doesn't work as it should

How many of you have had to suffer the experience of dealing with incompetent call centres abroad?
Jim Duffy votes with his feet after a run-in with an outsourced customer service operation. Picture: Ian HowarthJim Duffy votes with his feet after a run-in with an outsourced customer service operation. Picture: Ian Howarth
Jim Duffy votes with his feet after a run-in with an outsourced customer service operation. Picture: Ian Howarth

How many of you have had “computer says no so there’s no point in talking any more, as I’m not allowed to use my common sense”? At what price do big corporates outsource key customer service functions abroad to save money, while actually damaging their brands? Read on…

I have just finished with my mobile telecoms provider. I was a customer with them for over seven years. I never, ever missed a payment. I never called them at any time to complain or question anything.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

I simply paid my bills via direct debit and accepted that my phone would work, that texts would send and that I could steam video on YouTube when I wanted. Indeed, I had my whole family on the ticket. Yes, five phones all running from the one account. Not a bad deal for the mobile phone provider, eh? So, why then, when I actually need them to carry something out, do they treat me like a little schoolboy with no credit rating and no idea about customer loyalty?

Well, let me tell you a wee ditty that I am sure you will also have encountered at some point or will do in the future. I called my provider to get a number changed from my ownership into a family member’s name. Can’t be that complicated – I thought. Oh dear, how wrong could I be. I telephoned said company and was switched through to my local global office in Delhi. I advised the young lady of what I wanted to do.

After some time and some chat with an anonymous person in the background, whom I can only surmise was her line-manager, she returned to the call and asked if the family member was with me. No, I stated. Again, she disappeared for a bit. She then returned and said it was okay. She would give me a password that my family member could use when she called up. Great result, I thought. This was going to be a doddle. That was four months ago!

My sibling then called up with the password only to be told that we could not do this with a password and that I would need to call again, which I did. This time I was told that whomever had given me the password was wrong and that I indeed needed my family member to be with me on the call. Here we go again…

I then organised a call and we were both readied with phones, sim cards, bank account details, addresses etc. What could go wrong now? The chap from Delhi was very pleasant and asked my sibling for her antecedents. He noted that we had moved home only recently and therefore he would need our previous address so his credit team would be able to trace us.

Not a problem. He keyed in the information. Then we waited on hold with some Coldplay playing in the background. After a verse and a chorus, he returned to advise us we had failed the credit scoring and that we would now need to re-apply in 90 days. I then called the credit team to be advised we had stated we lived in our new home for six years, which wasn’t the case.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

I couldn’t believe it – the previous guy had input our information incorrectly, creating a negative credit scoring and affecting our current scores. I explained this, but it fell on deaf ears and deaf hard drives as the computer said no.

Guess what? In 90 days’ time, which was only this weekend, I called back and repeated the same process only to be told that once again, my family member had failed the credit check, despite having a 98 per cent super duper Experian report in her hand! Why did we fail this time? Who knows as no-one in Delhi could give me any answer. So, I told them I wanted to cancel the lot – tout de suite.

This is one global telecoms company who spent tens of millions on marketing that has just lost five customers. I’m voting with my feet – and if we all did this, the shareholders may sit up and take note.

• Agitator and disruptor Jim Duffy is head of #GoDo at Entrepreneurial Spark

Related topics: