Archive for call centers

An Open Letter To Volt

Posted in Commentary with tags , on August 25, 2008 by itnerd

Thanks to the people from Volt for posting to my blog. Seeing as two of you replied to my original posting, I must have struck a nerve.

Just so you know, I have managed call centers on both the $12/hr end of the spectrum, and the $50K – $60K end of the spectrum. So I have an idea of how these places work. Here’s a few facts: When I managed call centers at the $12/hr end of the spectrum, I could not keep the best staff that I had as people at the other end of the spectrum kept poaching them. When I managed call centers at the $50K – $60K end of the spectrum, I found it all to easy to steal those people at the $12/hr end of the spectrum.

Why? I put it down to this:

1. Many of these “entry level” positions don’t have benefits.

2. The hours are long (sometimes as long as 12 hours a day).

3. The employees that I have stolen from call centers that pay these low wages report that they aren’t treated well by the employers.

4. There’s more of a value placed on getting people on and off phones rather than actually solving the customers issues (likely because the more calls that are handled, the better these call centers are paid). This frustrates the best and the brightest that exist in these environments and make them seek employment elsewhere.

The fact is that I believe that to have excellent customer service, you have to find the best and the brightest people. That doesn’t mean that you are looking for the guys with MCSE, CNA, A+ and other certifications. It means that you are looking for smart people who are willing to work hard and learn. In other words, I look for the same people you are looking for.

Here’s the difference. I believe that you need to build a coherent team that are willing to go to the wall for whomever they work for and provide exceptional customer service. The only way that I can see to do that is to pay these people wage that they can live on, have them work 8 hours a day and five days a week, give them decent benefits, and treat them with respect. When I do that, I retain staff and I’m able to gain the best and brightest from places that pay $12/hr. When I am not able to do that (because I’m paying someone $12/hr or something like that), I lose my best staff to people who pay more.

By the way, I have hired entry level people and trained them to do whatever I needed. Plus, I worked their schedules into the call center schedule so that everybody wins.

But let’s get to the central issue: Can you find a person to do tech support for $12/hr?

Sure you can.

But I believe you can get a better employee if you pay more. I believe you get a hard working and loyal employee if you pay more. I believe that you get a employee that remains committed to your company and provides excellent customer service if you pay more.

At the end of the day, it’s about hiring the best staff to provide the best customer service possible. So, while you can hire people to do tech support at $12/hr, I don’t believe that you can hire the people who can take your customer service to the next level for $12/hr.

1 Comment »

How Much Do Canadian Telephone Support Techs Who Support Apple Products Make? Apparently $12/hr CDN

Posted in Commentary with tags , , on August 25, 2008 by itnerd

I spotted this posting on Craigslist last week looking for “Technical Support Agents to Support Apple Products.” So just for giggles, I decided to respond to it. The posting was made by Volt Technical Resources who does tech support outsourcing among other things. In any case, I got this reply back within 24 hours:

Hello,

This position is paying $12/hr. Will this been within your price range?

Thanks!

<NAME REDACTED>

Technical Recruiter

Volt Technical Resources | <ADDRESS REDACTED> | <CITY REDACTED>

<EMAIL REDACTED> | t: <REDACTED> | f: <REDACTED>

“Recognized by FORTUNE Magazine as One of America’s Most Admired Companies”

$12 an hour????

If that’s what their phone support techs make, then that’s insane. The problem with what they are paying is that they seriously can’t expect to get anybody good for that price. All you’re going to get is some droid who will read from a script to try and solve your problem. One would think that they’d pay more to find more skilled techs so that they can get the best customer experiences possible.

I’m assuming that this is for Apple as they likely want to keep their costs down by outsourcing their tech support. That’s just a guess on my part, but I’m likely right. At the moment Apple is at the top of the food chain in terms of customer satisfaction. So perhaps the plan is that they hire staff at low prices, train them so that they all sing from the same song sheet, and hope the good ones stick around while culling the weak ones. That of course assumes that this ad was placed for them (even if it’s not, the same logic applies).

Great plan if that’s the case, but here’s where it falls apart:

  1. The good people at tech support call centers like this one are the sort of targets that get stolen to staff call centers that pay better than what these guys do. After all, if you only pay somebody $25K a year, it makes them really easy to steal without breaking the bank.
  2. Assuming they don’t get stolen, the good people at tech support call centers like this one often figure out how good they are and go hunting for better paying gigs a few months in.
  3. The ones who are left are pretty useless and will drive you insane. That’s not a surprise because when you pay people peanuts, you get monkeys.

Here’s a hint to anybody who runs a tech support call center: Find the best people possible and pay them a decent wage (hint: $12/hr isn’t a decent wage). That way you get great customer service and employee loyalty. A classic “win-win.”

Otherwise, you deserve whatever you get.

7 Comments »

Outsourced Tech Support Call Centers – Welcome To Hell

Posted in Commentary with tags , , on March 2, 2008 by itnerd

A few years ago, I used to work for one of the world’s largest call center companies doing tech support for one of the largest computer companies in the world. These outsourced call centers are all about making money and not about serving the people who call for tech help. So they force the tech support reps to get you off the phone as quickly as possible. They are hell to work for as they completely crush your spirit. I quit after seven months as I figured out that actually solving problems is something that didn’t allow the company to make money as efficiently (as they are paid by the call), and I am the type of person who actually wants to solve your problem. So when I saw this story on Salon, it reminded me of those really bad times I spent working for that call center. In fact, it was so familiar in so many ways that I am pretty sure it’s the same call center company. I’d tell you the name, but I’m pretty sure that I’d get sued if I did. But I’ll give you a clue: they are a world wide company who just got bought by a Canadian. Perhaps you can figure it out from that clue.

To be clear, I currently work for a company who doesn’t outsource their tech support, and the understand the value of tech support. That is, great tech support creates confidence in your purchase and encourages future purchases from the company in question. I am glad that the company I work for that allows me to do what I do best, and that I no longer work for a call center like the one mentioned in the story. Sadly in the age of cutting costs, outsourcing call centers is becoming more and more common. So don’t be surprised if you get an Indian based call center the next time you phone tech support, or a call center company that is U.S. or Canadian staffed with people who are simply trying to get you off the phone as quickly as possible so that they can maximize their profits.

Perhaps people should vote with their dollars and support companies who don’t outsource their customer contact (as in tech support and customer service). Maybe then, we’d get better tech support and happier customers.

Leave a comment »