Hello, How May I Mess Up Your Day?

As I write this, I have I in my
mail two statements from StandardChartered demanding payment. But hey, I'd cut
and returned those two credit cards a year ago, frustrated by their service,
their call center, and their persistence through my attempts to cancel the
cards. The unpaid dues? The annual fee, which they charge and bill
automatically, and then slap on interest and tax! Call center says they'll
look into it. For the third time.

Even worse is when a great
service is let down by billing and then by a poor customer contact center.
Exhibit A: my Airtel Delhi home phone. Great voice, perfect broadband, not a
minute's downtime — except every few months when they disconnect phone
service for non-payment. But for the past three years, they have my standing
instructions for auto-debit against my bank account! Here's the contact center's
solution when I sent a written complaint: their manager thanks me for my long
custom, begins the process to terminate my service, and emails me happy Diwali
and goodbye!

But there's stiff competition
from Reliance, whose data card is sadly, the only really usable mobile internet
access solution today. It works. Except that Reliance disconnects my service
every two months, one day after sending the bill (and before I have received it)-often
while I'm traveling. Call center says this is policy, and no, they cannot take
auto-debit or ECS instructions.

This is the customer service
story in a country that's the world's call center. And I haven't even
touched upon telemarketing, like the three moronic calls I've just got while
writing this editorial, offering me a card, insurance, and a loan. Like most
mobile users in India, I'm desperately waiting for an effective do-not-call
list and legislation, and better mobile anti-spam.

The domestic BPO segment is in a
corner. It's been pushed there by cost pressures; poor manpower, the remnants
of the BPO exports industry; unreasonable expectations; and a self-fulfiling
cycle of lower and lower conversions as people get sick of telemarketing.

The customer contact center and
service is usually the most important interface to a company's customers. For
many consumers, that experience is the service. I find Amex (gold card services)
has its act together: the call center experience is the compelling reason for me
to pay their stiff fees, given that most shops still say "No Visa?"
But the good stories are too few.

The telcos consider billing
central to their ops: all services revolve around the billing software. I'd
say the customer is as central. The contact center can make or break a service,
especially as differences in technology and features get slimmer. And the BPO
industry can help transfer the best practices and learning into service
companies that are their customers, just as they do for the world. That's an
opportunity for the BPO industry, and for India Inc.