Customer Service, How Can I Help You?
February 26th, 2009
Submitted by: Raquel Rusing
I just wanted to share this with everyone because I thought it was relevant and humorous. I ordered my business cards for the Chindia excursion from a site called VistaPrint.com. I’d consider myself capable of navigating a website, but somehow this site, with all of its advertisements (which probably is the explanation for the amazingly cheap purchase and high quantity of cards I could order!), completely confused me. Trust me, it was a difficult checkout. I had to customize my business card, enter my credit card information and then I had to launch my own “Just Say No To Advertisements!” campaign before I was allowed to proceed to place the order! The entire time, the formatting of this site was so confusing that I didn’t even know what to actually click to move forward. So, at the end, when I didn’t see anything that said, “Complete Order,” I did the stupid and impatient American thing.. press EVERYTHING! It was like Super Nintendo Street Fighter all over again. And to my surprise, I somehow managed to double my order quantity upon checkout! Go figure. My first thought, “!%&@!!!!!” I took a leisurely two minutes to compose myself and then proceeded to find the customer service number to cancel my order. At least that was my intent. Cancel. I didn’t appreciate being corralled into purchasing more than I wanted to purchase… those sneaky little… When I called the number, a lady with a thick accent responded, “Customer Service, my name is… ” and I couldn’t hear the rest. All I could hear was that she was Indian! My first thought, “!%&@!!!!!” This meant that I’d have to take an hour or so out of my day sorting through something that was ultimately my mistake, but still a HUGE inconvenience.
But hear me out, I’m not done yet! SHE WAS AMAZING! That phone call, and I quote from my phone’s timer, took a total of 5.03 minutes, including a confirmation email of my refund. I immediately said, “I need to cancel my order.” She was straight to the point, didn’t waste my time asking questions about if I would like this offer or that offer or whether I was interested in getting credit instead of a refund. No, her response, “I can do that. Would you like an email confirmation?” WHOA! I flipped a 180! I hesitated, but backtracked a bit and told her, “Well… I just want to cancel the extra 500 cards. I’d like to keep the first 500. Your website was really confusing” Her response, “I apologize about the email confusion. You will have a refund of… blah blah… would you like an email confirmation? I will stay on the line until you receive it.” And then I checked my email, she stayed on the line, my refund was cleared and that was that. Outsourcing customer service to India… that was the best customer service I’ve ever received!!
Although it’s not a new discussion topic, I found a couple Wall Street Journal Articles that discuss how our new President is affecting outsourcing to India:
India’s Outsourcing Industry Is Hesitant to Embrace Obama
Indian Outsourcing Firms Lay the Groundwork to Hire More Americans
Entry Filed under: Pre-Departure, China, India
18 Comments Add your own
1. Andrea Muntzel | March 3rd, 2009 at 11:49 am
Raquel, thanks for sharing your personal experience. I really think it adds some token of reality to a discussion of ideas and issues that are omnipresent in our daily lives but that many of us don’t even recognize. Part of the reason I enjoyed your post so much was that I have also been the recipient of amazing customer service from India in the recent past. I’m not sure if it’s based on difficulty in interpreting accents, a past of poor service, or just negativity resulting from the loss of American jobs, but Indian outsourcing of customer service has a very bad reputation. It’s undeserved, in my opinion. You’re right in the fact that outsourcing is not an unspoken issue on this blog or in the news, but while reading the articles, I was struck with a tangential thought. Outsourcing is simply stronger evidence that Americans as individuals and as a country, need to be more competitive. I think it’s also a lesson to us as MBAs (although hopefully not as future call center representatives!) that we need to step up our game. Coasting through our education and work lives is the way to unemployment, not efficiency, success, and an increased GDP. Ultimately, I don’t think everything is about the depressed wages that are acceptable in India. I think it’s also about hard work and a job that is done so seamlessly that it prompts you to write about it on this blog. I’ve gone back and forth over the outsourcing question and whether it’s ethical or unethical. I’ve also gone back and forth over whether it’s appropriate for President Obama to restrict outsourcing. In times like these, perhaps it is but I also think that a wakeup call is needed for the working generation. We need to focus on making ourselves better in terms of work ethic and just plain old ethics in general (See Credit crisis blog post above).
I know the outsourcing question has been beat to death, but I wanted to share the tangent my brain has been taking recently on this question. Perhaps it’s the result of two very different customer service experiences (one American and one Indian) that has jaded my view on this issue, but either way, I think it’s time that we all take responsibility for the state of the economy, whether we were involved in the credit crisis or not. Placing blame isn’t going to solve any of the deep-seated issues that exist. Just to conclude, the fact that Indian companies are hiring American workers surprised me; if Americans threw a fit about losing these jobs to India in the first place, now is the time to reclaim them through attention to detail and outstanding customer service.
2. Ashley Breneman | March 19th, 2009 at 10:54 pm
I couldn’t agree more with you! I have definitely had my fair share of frustrating customer service calls. Nothing is more frustrating then waiting on hold for a half hour just to speak to someone who is either not answering your question or somehow disconnects the line. However, looking back I have definitely had more bad experiences with the representatives who have American accents. I don’t know if this is a result of our culture and the fact that many of them try to haggle you instead of just getting to the point, but there is definitely a noticeable difference.
With that said, the only problem that I have had with companies who outsource their service centers is difficulties in communication barriers. Although many are trained to talk like us, there are still some out there with very heavy accents. I am not saying this is a bad thing, just something I have noticed. Now looking back, my very quick and sometimes angry tone may not be very easy to understand on the other end. Next time I have an encounter I will try to be much more patient because I know I would have a hard time dealing with angry people all day. It actually amazes me with how calm these people can be after having to constantly calm people down!
3. Emily Schaapveld | December 15th, 2009 at 9:01 am
I have had two similar experiences as well in the past 6 months. First, I had to cancel of series of charges on my credit card. I called the customer service number listed on my statement and ended up talking to an Indian man a large call center that served several companies. I told him that I was not sure where the charges were coming from, but he was able to find out right away, and issue a refund with no questions asked. On another event, I had been automatically charged for a renewal on a software package I had purchased a year earlier. The only way I could talk to customer service was through online chat. I was dreading it! Once again though, to my surprise, the issue was promptly taking care of and a refund issued…no problem! I have had some bad experiences too, but overall, I think overseas customer service is drastically improving.
4. Alex Thornton | December 17th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
I also had two recent customer service experiences: one with my credit card company and the other with an airline. In neither case was I able to discern the ethnic background of the customer service representative, nor did it matter; I simply wanted good service.
In both cases, I did not assume that the company that I was calling was at fault. Both were merely inquires for more information. I wonder if most peoples customer service horror stories stem from a lack of a neutral or positive attitude. I suspect that many people that have customer service problems call in with the attitude that they are right and the company wrong. Then it turns out that the caller was wrong or that there was just a simple mistake. A more constructive attitude regarding customer service would alleviate many of the problems stemming from supposedly poor customer service.
5. Phil Hamer | February 10th, 2010 at 11:37 pm
When I was in high school I worked as a customer service rep for 2 1/2 years at a call center for DirecTV, and I can still remember some of the experiences I had on the phone with people. It helps me to be a little bit more understanding when dealing with customer service on the phone.
I would be really interested to talk with some customer service representatives from India and find out how they perceive America and Americans based on the calls they receive. My guess is that they think we are a bunch of spoiled complainers.
When I talk to customer service in India I always try to keep in mind that I am representing America and adding to the opinion they have about our country and our people. I won’t lie and say that I never get frustrated or impatient (especially when they keep repeating the same line over and over), but I am a lot more patient with Indian reps than I am with American ones and I think it’s because I know they have little authority and are limited to a script, and I want them to have a good opinion of America.
6. Erika Bylund | February 11th, 2010 at 1:50 pm
I’ve noticed a steady increase in the quality of customer service by Indian representatives over the last five years. Dealing with customer service issues in the past was a nightmare for several reasons. First, the reps lost credibility with me from the start when they gave me an American name instead of their real name. I felt like I was being lied to. Second, as Phil mentioned in the previous comment, I felt like my problem wasn’t being heard since the rep was responding from a script. Then, after being able to avoid the customer service interaction for several years, I had to deal with it again. This time, I was calling to rectify an erroneous late payment charge. Of course, the thickly-accented man on the other end gave me an American name. I could already feel my heart pound with frustration. Then he did the last thing I expected him to do. He looked into the problem, consulted his manager, and then told me he would take care of it. Lacking faith in his promise, I insisted that he tell me what that meant. He politely insisted, “Do not worry ma’am. I have taken care of it for you.” My mind told me not to trust that line, but my gut told me to go with it. He sounded so sincere and genuine, but I had a hard time accepting the fact that it was so easy. This is not what I expected after all. I called ready to do battle! But, it turned out to be a fantastic experience. Sure enough, the error was corrected within the day. And since then, the majority of my India-handled customer service experiences have been similarly fantastic.
What happened over the last couple years? I don’t care. All I know is that companies probably got a lot of complaints from their customers about their generic, frustrating customer service experiences. Outsourced customer service has come a long way. Like the products it seeks to support, customer service, too, has evolved to become more customer friendly, effective, and time sensitive.
7. William Ary | February 21st, 2010 at 7:23 pm
These poor Indian customer service people always get the worst side of American customers that I always try to flip the script a little bit. If I have to get customer service, it usually isn’t a big deal for me so I like to take a moment to ask them about what life is like for them, where they live and what matters to them. They’re always shocked that someone cares about them at all. I have had quite a few chats with foreign service reps but one really jumps out at me: I was on the phone to try to get Windows Media Player to play a file that refused to cooperate but I ended up chatting for 20 minutes with a smart guy who lived in Bangalore, followed many of the same sport I did and had a lot to say about what the typical American customer has problems figuring out (read your user’s guides please!). This guy was basically a market researcher’s dream. He knew so much about the product, but he knew even more about the consumer from all of his time on the phones. Companies need to realize just how valuable customer service reps really are in terms of knowing their users.
8. John Barry | February 21st, 2010 at 10:15 pm
Also impressed by the quality of the customer service representatives on the other side of the world I often find myself discussing everything with them but what I really called about. Although I never thought much about it until now, their quality and expediency of service is often times so amazing that I have found myself on a couple of occasions trying to find out more about them as individuals. On one occasion I was so pleased and amazed with the service I received that I asked the lady I was speaking with where she went to school because her english was better than that of typically uneducated customer service representatives native to the United States. Although I can no longer recall her exact response, she told me that she typically works when the rest of her family is sleeping. Unfortunately for my curiosity I did not build enough rapport with her to find out how much she makes, but I suspect that it’s a lot lower than somebody with her intelligence and talent deserves.
9. Danielle Steussy | February 22nd, 2010 at 4:30 pm
Usually I only call customer service for one reason–because something is broken. By that point I’m already angry and irritated and have thrown around a couple of four letter words. So when I call customer service, I’m already in a bad mood and that absolutely affects how I handle the person on the other side of the line. Given that many people react similarly, the true challenge of customer service representatives is if they can bring the customer down a couple of notches and fix the problem effectively.
Unfortunately, I have had representatives handle this challenge with varying degrees of effectiveness, particularly representatives in India. Like many have stated already, I feel like I’m not being listened to about what the problem actually is. I’ve had to call Microsoft a number of times about software (first of all, their customer service number is impossible to find) and when I finally reached a man with a heavy accent on the other line, he asked me a simple yes or no question before handing me off to another customer service rep who proceeded to ask me another yes or no question. I was asked a series of yes or no questions and passed through so many people that I finally got someone by the fifth person who asked me what my problem was. When I finally got to tell him, he said that he couldn’t help me because that wasn’t his area of knowledge. I had to start the yes/no process all over again and ultimately my problem never got solved.
This was a poor experience with customer service representatives in India that unfortunately overshadows all the perfectly fine experiences that I have had, almost identical to Raquel’s VistaPrint success. I actually enjoy calling HP if my printer acts up because I know that I am speaking with an incredibly knowledgeable and intelligent person on the other side. I think what many people fail to recognize is that these people really are well educated and are more qualified and more patient than most Americans. I’m sure that it’s a job that I wouldn’t be able to handle as gracefully.
10. Catherine Kristensen | February 22nd, 2010 at 8:04 pm
Phil - you have always struck me as a very patient person and after reading about your call center history, I feel like I can understand where some of that stems from.
I have to agree with Danielle - I am always annoyed by the time I get on the phone with someone and when they shuffle me around from department to department my annoyance continues to build!
I like the Will/John chit-chat approach and may have to try that next time I find myself on the phone with a Bangalore call center. I am going to assume that the conversations such as these are very rare; they probably don’t eat into their workday productivity too much and provide a much-needed pick-me-up! Who knows, maybe the chit-chat will result in some great tips for our upcoming trip!
11. Tim Lynds | March 3rd, 2010 at 9:54 pm
I have had both positive and negative experiences with customer services reps in India (or at least people who I thought were in India). My most recent experience was a call (actually ended up being multiple calls) to the HP customer service line. I first spoke with a woman who was located in India who really was not very helpful at all. I spent about 30 minutes on the phone talking with her about my computer problems and ended up being completely confused about the repair process and almost paid a lot more money than I needed to. Now that I think about it, maybe she just knew how to sell. Anyway, I got pretty upset and decided to try again later and ended the call.
Even though I was upset and may not have been the nicest person on the phone, the woman remained completely upbeat and still really wanted to help. I have worked in customer service and have helped irate and unreasonable customers over the phone, so I know that it is not easy to keep upbeat and friendly with pissed off customers. I had to hand it to her, even though she really did not know how to help me, her attitude kept me from having a terrible view of HP’s customer service line. Attitude means a lot in customer service and she had a great one.
12. Michael Minasian | March 10th, 2010 at 10:33 am
I have personally had a varying degree of success with outsourced customer service. I have found that Lenovo computer support (which does not outsource its service, in fact when you call they proudly announce that they are transferring you to their support center in Atlanta, GA) is the best service I have received. I have also recieved both good service outsourced (from Dell), and bad service outsourced from companies like ATT and Linksys.
I do not have the same level of initial bias towards outsourced support. I have a lot of experience with tech support through my job as a computer consultant. I have found that no matter where the support center is located, often times the only way anything will get fixed is if I get past the first person on the phone. I only call support if there is a serious issue. Generally I know more about the problem then the person on the other end of the line. I think support services need to approve across the board.
13. Frederick Peemoeller | March 12th, 2010 at 6:14 pm
I personally have never had any good luck with call center support from India. Of course, the last time I received any help was four years ago with my sprint cell phone, but I was still amazed at how helpful they were. It shows that this support has most definitely become more efficient and people are gaining more experience and becoming more qualified for the job in India. After reading The World is Flat by Friedman and watching Outsourced, I have a better understanding of the call centers on the other side of the globe. For the most part, they are motivated, educated, and young employees that are striving to get better at their job and produce the best numbers possible. The job is extremely desirable, which attracts qualified workers. Personally, I still won’t make a call to a call center unless I have no other options, but I feel confident that they will be extremely helpful fixing my problems.
14. Jordan Wente | March 18th, 2010 at 1:11 pm
I have also had similar experiences with customer service from India. They have always been really polite and eager to assist the customer. I also think of the multiple instances in which I have spoken to a customer service representative from the United States, while I am not say all of my experiences were negative the majority of them were. I have experienced the rudest people and you can just tell from the sound of their voice they hate their job. After hanging up the phone from one of these calls I remember my frustration and wanting to just throw the phone across the room. So maybe its just the negative experiences that make me think customer service from India is so great but it sure was refreshing to hear a happy person ready to help me fix the problem. Its sad sometimes the negative reputation Indian customer service representatives get just because of the negative connotation surrounding outsourcing.
15. Vitus Holzner | March 18th, 2010 at 5:56 pm
Ha, I used vistaprint.com for my business cards and I had the same problem. After clicking thru millions of ads I couldn’t figure out how on earth I can finally complete my order! (Reading that it’s not only me, makes me feel a lot better about myself.)
My experiences with Indian customer service reps are very different depending on the issue at hand. As a negative example I can talk about my experience with IT support outsourcing to India. A few years ago I was working for a US based company in Germany that decided to off shore its IT helpdesk to India. Without going into details I have to say this move was a disaster. Prior to that date the helpdesk was organized in regional helpdesks and these local employees had amassed so much knowledge about the IT infrastructure and processes that it was virtually impossible to transfer this knowledge to some large call center operator in India.
My point is that for some generic, well documented tasks such as password resets or there like a helpdesk in India is a very viable solution. More specific and specialised tasks are less suitable for off shoring.
16. Leslie Mann | March 19th, 2010 at 4:28 am
Help is what I need and help is what I get. Customer service through a call center can be frustrating for anyone but I agree that if you try to have a good time on the phone, so too will your experience be. As Will pointed out, having a personal conversation with the person on the other end can be rewarding and at the very least, a good filler of time while you wait for the rep to type in some information and pull up your account. I often find myself in awkward silence with a customer rep and so, just for entertainment and out of shear boredom find myself asking the representative questions about themselves. They are often engaged and probably a bit shocked that I would even be interested in their life, but what better way to make use of your 5 minute call than to spark up conversation with a complete stranger halfway around the world. You can learn some interesting things and brighten their day as well. For anyone who hasn’t worked in a call center, it takes more patience than most are willing to give, especially working for minimum wage. This type of patience and friendly attitude with irate customers should be respected. Customer service reps get a bad rap; they may read from a script and they may tell you their name is ‘John’ when it is really ‘Ravish’, but ultimately they have a job to do and since we are the ones calling for the help, perhaps it best to let them do just that…help us.
17. Jeff | March 19th, 2010 at 8:12 am
Michael, it’s interesting that you said the call center for Lenovo wasn’t outsourced…in reality it is. Lenovo is a Chinese company, so in theory, since it’s not in China, but in the US, it’s out-sourced.
Anyway, I have to concur with most of the comments here. That most of my experiences with phone support from foreign countries has been good. My problem nearly every time has more to do with the scripts and escalating of the problem to someone who actually has the power to make a decision that’s not pre-written.
Since the support person is not responsible for anything other than asking questions and guiding you through their script, I can’t blame them for anything.
They have been unwavering in their politeness, helpfulness (to the degree they’re allowed) and their attitude.
18. Chris Phippen | March 19th, 2010 at 1:43 pm
I also have had mixed experiences with outsourced customer service calls. I’d say they have been mostly negative experiences, but not all. Normally, I call for some type of tech support for a router or computer or software issue and the call always goes to India. Most of the time, I’ve had to just keep hanging up until I can get someone who speaks English clearly enough to make out their instructions. When that isn’t the case, I’ve wasted countless hours on the phone while they run through the little “playbook” they must have to find the problem, and I usually tell them what the problem is when they pick up.
Hold on, I’m not done yet. That being said, the positive experiences I’ve had have been extremely positive. And now that I think about it, they have gotten better as time has gone by, suggesting that training has possibly improved at the call centers. The more recent calls have been very pleasant, easy, and short in duration. The operators have been very helpful and have gone out of their way to ensure that the customer is satisfied. I used to dread hearing an accent on a customer service call. but lately, I think outsourced CS is better than domestic. If this trend continues, I’ll remain a fan.
Leave a Comment
Some HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>
Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed