Offshoring of Call Centers May Have Negative Brand Repercussions

The question of the effect of a decision to locate call centers in other regions or even other countries is one that has attracted much attention and comment in recent years. We are all aware of the rationale that prompts a company to locate its call centers offshore. The reasons are most often related to financial savings — plain and simple, it costs less to operate help desks and customer service centers in areas where labor costs are much lower.

Many companies are today saving a great deal by locating call centers in foreign countries where wage rates are a fraction of what they are in North America and Europe, and where an educated, multilingual workforce stands ready to go to work.

And, we’ve all heard of the negative reaction from customers who have to deal with call centers that are obviously located in another country. Criticism seems to relate mainly to the fact that customers have difficulty with levels of service, with being able to access service in the first place, and with the level of product knowledge demonstrated by the person on the end of the call — all of which are, by the way, criticisms that are just as likely to exist if the call center was located in Kansas or Kilkenny or Kent.

Perceptions of customer service delivery aside, there are more specific negatives that customers tend to associate with offshore call centers. These relate to an inability to understand the accent of the call center agent and to the lack of local market knowledge. One frustrated customer recounted a story of a call center agent who indicated that it would be several days before they could get a service technician to her home because of snow conditions. The agent seemed unaware that it was June in Canada and there had been no snow for months.

In recent customer research projects, I have encountered a more subtle negative reaction to the offshoring of call center operations, one that may have more lasting negative effects on customer relationships and the company’s brand. It seems that many customers, who used to be able to pick up the phone and talk with someone in a local office, clearly resent the fact that they now have to deal with agents thousands of miles away.

Even if customers experience excellent customer service, the fact that the company has located its customer service function in another country sends a powerful message to some customers that it no longer supports the local community or even the country. It’s seen to take jobs out of the local market and is, therefore, unpatriotic. The perception is reinforced every time they have to contact the company.

The decision to locate call centers offshore has corporate social responsibility implications that go well beyond accents and local knowledge and that backfire on the brand. Customers observe “why should I support them? They don’t support us anymore.”