Hari Kishan readily admits that he's not the best guy to
put on the phone with impatient Americans. With his heavy South Indian accent
and rapid, abrupt cadence, Kishan knows US customers have a tough time
understanding him. In any case, he says, he's “not the type of guy who likes
to talk a lot.”
So what is he doing processing orders for a US retailer?
Like growing numbers of call center agents in India, he doesn't talk. He
types. Put the 26-year-old computer science grad at a keyboard, and he might as
well be in Peoria. “Welcome to our wireless world,” Kishan chirped to open a
recent online conversation from MphasiS BFL's huge call center in Mangalore.
He calmly tapped out crisp answers to a battery of questions from a US customer
frustrated that he hadn't received a cell phone he had ordered. The
conversation, Kishan learned later, was a test set up by his employer with a
reporter-and he passed with flying colors.
Demand for such skills is growing fast as Americans become
increasingly hostile to overseas call center agents. Even if the service is
actually the same as or better than what's offered by US-based call centers,
many Americans are turned off by foreign voices. Some 62% of US consumers gripe
about service if they suspect the agent is overseas-double the dissatisfaction
rate with calls to agents they think are in the US, according to a study by
Opinion Research. “Irritation kicks in when
especially if they're already having a problem, says MphasiS Vice-Chairman
Jeroen Tas. And a study by Convergys, found that 72% of US consumers claim they
would rather use automated voice systems or the Web than speak with a foreign
agent.
Such perceptions matter. Nearly 7 in 10 consumers say they
are less likely to do business with a company after a bad call center
experience, Opinion Research says. So companies are trying alternatives to voice
calls-including online chat, e-mail, and improved automated voice systems that
can resolve problems more quickly. Web-based service is a popular alternative
because agents such as Kishan can be fast, accurate typists and have superb
technical knowledge. Many have spent years instant-messaging cyberbuddies in
English. Chat “eliminates the accent issue,” says David A Steinberg, CEO of
InPhonic, the Washington online retailer whose calls Kishan handles. Online
services can also be cheaper, since agents can handle two or three conversations
simultaneously while they wait for responses from customers.
THE STATS |
|
69% |
62% |
Cultural Cues
That has call center operators devoting greater resources to chat. As with
telephone agents, MphasiS puts newly hired chat operators through cultural
training. They read US newspapers, learn that 'AAMOF' means 'as a matter
of fact,' and familiarize themselves with phrases such as 'cut to the
chase.' By 2008, MphasiS expects about 30% of its agents will handle e-mail
and chat inquiries, vs. less than 10% of its 6,500 Indian customer-care staffers
today.
Still, voice calls aren't going to disappear anytime
soon. For Americans overwhelmingly prefer to talk to a live person. So companies
are also beefing up efforts to neutralize agents' accents, and have started
installing sophisticated voice analysis software to help call center personnel
speak more like Americans. But as today's chat-obsessed kids grow up and start
getting credit-card statements, electricity bills, and mortgages, expect them to
spend plenty more time online with the likes of Hari Kishan.
By Pete Engardio