Small businesses are compelled to project the image of a larger concern for business reasons. Big businesses prefer to work with big businesses. In the course of trying to appear big, small companies outsource support and customer services to provide 24x7 services at a low cost. However, this can also lead to lower customer service quality and even loss of customers.
Today, many customers have a negative opinion of companies that outsource customer service, technical support or any other function to overseas agencies. Some of the reasons outsourced services are unpopular are:
Insufficient quality control
The late 90s saw the dot-com boom which led to the rise of countries such as India, as an overseas call center resource. All kinds of call centers like technical support, answering services, and customer service began to sprout in India. Companies found they could save up to 50% if they used an overseas answering service.
The downside to this arrangement was the lack of quality control. Most customers in the US can recall at least one incident where they were thoroughly dissatisfied with their experience with technical support personnel in India.
Too much, too soon
Outsourcing companies grew swiftly to meet the demand for outsourced technical support and customer service. The growth rate was much too high and answering services were unable to keep up without losing on quality standards. People with inadequate communication and technical skills were hired to meet the demand. As a result, the quality of outsourced services was severely impacted.
One bad experience loses a customer
On a per call basis, 90% of customers may have been satisfied with the level of technical support or customer service. However, one bad experience is enough to make a customer take their business elsewhere.
Consequences of the backlash to overseas outsourcing
Customer's perception of overseas outsourcing has suffered so much that if a customer calls a support number and hears an Indian accent, they are wary of an arduous time with the technical support executive. Many American companies go out of their way to assure their customers of support from call centers located in the US. This gives them a competitive edge over their peers that outsource their support services overseas, and also instills confidence in their American customers, especially the older consumers.
Customers are becoming increasingly skeptical of companies that provide a US number for technical support and connect them to non-US locations. Dell Computers has received excessive criticism for outsourcing all its technical support to Indian call centers. It acknowledges the mistake and has moved a good percentage of its technical support back into the US.
Overseas outsourced services have suffered and its chances of recovering are not encouraging for at least some years. Too much damage has been done, and the bad image of outsourced call centers will stay in the minds of US citizens for a long time. Overseas call centers will have to come up with a strong strategy of improvement in quality and customer service standards to win back the confidence of outsourcing businesses and their customers.
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