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.