Many call centres in need of attention

WE’VE all had bad experiences with contact centres and call centres (Irish Examiner, September 18).

My own worst case was with a British internet service provider who left me in an automatic queue when all the agents clocked off at 5.30pm.

However, the reality behind these centres is not always evident, unless you’re either in the business or working with it. Some are the modern-day versions of sweatshops and have greater than 100% employee turnaround in a year.

They have so many agents, often working in shifts, and such a high volume of callers that they’re incredibly busy places to manage.

The lucky ones may have computer software deployed for quality monitoring, incentive schemes, coaching, etc, but this can be an ad hoc arrangement that’s not directly keyed into their core business processes.

The problem is that while these centres can give corporations a good or bad image, the main focus of the organisation will be on core products, services and customer relations management.

Operational performance within these centres is not given the priority it deserves. Installation of an automatic call distributor is not enough for a successful call centre. They have massive amounts of data which can be used to improve their operations. They should seek expert help in this area.

Tony Proctor

Ballymacarbry

Co Waterford