‘Call At Your Own Risk’

The Indian call center industry is facing yet another hurdle in the form of a national ‘Do-not-call’ list issued by the US Federal Trade Commission. This is a measure by which people can sign up online to block telemarketing calls. This may spell trouble for outbound call center facilities in India. Concerto Software has come out with white papers to provide an overview of the amended telemarketing rules. Dataquest spoke to
Ralph Breslauer, executive vice-president (sales and marketing), to understand the implications of the regulations. Excerpts:

What are the implications of the new regulations on the Indian call centre industry?

Going by the new regulations, call centers all over the world will be affected. They will now have to update their call lists in advance and they will be more careful before calling up people. However, they will have a better audience, the number of people called upon will be low but the quality will be high. Plus, the law does not affect the existing customer base of a company.

Do you see it as yet another move to prevent outsourcing jobs from coming to India?

I do not see it as a hurdle exclusively hitting India. The conditions are as bad for the US as they are for India, as the law is applicable to all tele-marketing calls. The problem is more serious for the US because the technology used there is more than 15 years old and making amends will be tougher. The Indian call centers can go in for a change due to advanced technology and equipment.

Will the regulations result in significant revenue losses for call centers?

Yes, there will be a considerable reduction in opportunities. But since these calls will be targeted at interested customers, the chances of call materialization are higher.

Your white paper mentions the benefits that consumers will derive. But doesn’t that spell trouble for call centers?

It is not only the consumers who will get the benefits. The call centers will benefit in terms of the quality of people contacted, the costs of calling up millions of people will be cut down and by updating or moving on to newer technology, they will make their systems more efficient.

What should call centers do to avoid being caught on the other side of the law?

First, call centers will have to upgrade their technology. Second, their representatives will have to identify themselves to the customer within three seconds of the call. The caller cannot hang up without identifying himself so that the customer can get back to the company and identify the particular agent without any problem. Third, call centers will have to prevent call drop rates from escalating beyond the specified limit.

What has been the reaction of call centers to the regulations?

The reaction has been diverse. The companies are trying to make the best out of the conditions by changing strategies. They are now advertising in such a way so as to encourage people to call them instead of the other way round. Bigger companies are leveraging their existing relationships with customers. It is not such a big deal, so there is nothing to worry about.

NEETU KATYAL in New Delhi