Some companies just don't get it. South African Airways has just announced that in the interests of improving productivity, efficiencies and ultimately the service offered to is valued customers, it will be outsourcing its call centres. Apparently, this would have an initial impact on its reservations and its loyalty program.
Forgive me for being a cynic but my experience with call centres is that they tend to benefit the organization and not the customer despite what the company may say and no matter how it is couched in its mass mailings to customers. I have to admit that I have never understood why companies are so eager to pass on any opportunity to deal directly with its customers and taking customers calls for bookings and their questions surrounding their loyalty programs are such opportunities.
I suspect that someone at head-office in South African Airways looked at the call-centre not as a profit centre able to generate sales revenues but rather as a cost centre filled with people answering irate customer complaints or simply taking orders. Time they woke up a smelt the coffee. Remember those days so long, long ago when sales people were seen as simple order takers - who were told to always follow the company line. As competition grew more fierce and customers more discerning, that soon changed. The same will happen with call-centres. Companies need to see them as natural extensions of the sales team, powerful individuals in their own right who have the ability to up-sell customers or disengage customers. I am not sure that that is something I would want to outsource.
ian
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