another firm of to India

[dvtimes]

British Gas are cutting jobs in the UK and going to take on 1000 in India.

I suspect if a firm as big as this moves to India, others will have to also to compete.

I would never get a job in a UK call centres as there is no guarantee of a job for long.

I remember chatting to one smug git who said that his job was safe as his manager said they would never move.

I said to him, that, they would never say anything else. Besides that, how would his manager know the plans of the directors.

I suspect other utility firms will now have no choice but to move staff to India.

[-HF]

I remember chatting to one smug git who said that his job was safe as his manager said they would never move.

I said to him, that, they would never say anything else. Besides that, how would his manager know the plans of the directors.


precisely. best wishes to him, it happened to me in 2001, we laid of 35% of our staff, including 5 of my 6 office staff (which obviously made me redundant as well in the end).

the only reason why i knew sort of in advance was me regulary checking up on the numbers as it was my job to keep the financial side of half the company in order and that we had a surprise meeting announced one day in advance on the afternoon of the second to last day before they could do such a mass lay off for another 3 months, with noone being allowed to stay away unless they already were off on the announcement day or being off sick.
i even called my contact in the directors board and not even he was aware what has been decided over his head. i asked straight out if i could send my staff home and still look them in the eyes the next day, he said yes, he didn't know anything was coming up. he was informed 30 mins before the lay offs started.

[dvtimes]

I do not think any firm would inform staff till the last second.

I suspect many firms have plans to do this, but fear customer complaints.

So the first to move is brave, as others will just simply say, they had no choose as they could not compete, and blame it on the first firm.

By definition call centers were set up in the first place to save cash. So its obvious they will try to save even more cash by moving to India.

It will be interesting to see if banks and insurance firms also move, as they employ thousands of people. Often paying higher than average wages.

[NumptyNuts]

Don't use them - simple as that - I have swapped power companies and even a bank account due to people outsourcing to developing nations such as India.

I certainly don't do not feel comftable telling some guy on the other side of the earth all my personal details.

[-HF]

you simply CANNOT inform staff in advance, they'd immediately stop being productive, 99% anyway. calling in sick, looking for new jobs, and all of it absolutely understandable.

i awalys sent people straight home after firing them, what's the point to let them work till the last day. they are not motivated for obvious reasons but are a high risk, as they might do things to harm your company. rather pay them to stay home instead of risking a huge loss.

[dvtimes]

you simply CANNOT inform staff in advance, they'd immediately stop being productive, 99% anyway. calling in sick, looking for new jobs, and all of it absolutely understandable.

i awalys sent people straight home after firing them, what's the point to let them work till the last day. they are not motivated for obvious reasons but are a high risk, as they might do things to harm your company. rather pay them to stay home instead of risking a huge loss.


Thats what I meant by "I do not think any firm would inform staff till the last second."

[dvtimes]

I used to be a sales rep for British Gas.

After I smashed up my leg on my motor bike, they gave me a job phoning up firms to arrange appointments for sales reps to see.

They only wanted 10 a day, and gave me my own office in the Leeds call centre.

In truth I got 10 in the first hour, so I used to have a nicelong lunch.

I would go have lunch, which was very good and cheap.

But I had to pass the poor sods who worked in the call canters. I felt sorry for them. Managers would stand above them all the time.

I used to piss off the managers by chatting up all the female workers, as I was a sales rep and no manager. So there was nothing they could do.

A lot of people quit after a few weeks.

I then did a bit in a Mobile call centre in Leeds. 3 weeks training was great.

But as soon as I started, I was told that I could not be on the phone with a customer more than a few minutes. So what people did, was if a customer had a problem, they would be moved to a different department or the person would disconnect the call.

Also if a shop phoned up to sign someone up, they would rush the call, often making mistakes.

I quit as I thought it was poor customer service. Plus they expected you to arrive unpaid 20 mins early, because there crappy software took so long to load, and if you finished at say 5, and someone called at 4.59 you were expected to take the call, which could be another 30 mins, and do this unpaid. Plus there was no place to park the car, so it was a pain to get to.

Sod that I thought. Sat inside a building with no windows, just artificial lights. How people do not go crazy. I just think its torture. Its no life for anyone. I could not give a dam about the pay.

[daveydude]

I like Indian call centres. The staff are more polite and the accents are no harder to understand than the geordies or scots you usually get manning the phones.

If you like consumerism, capitalism, cheap goods in the shops etc, you have no grounds whatsoever to complain about companies shifting production / services overseas.

[dvtimes]

I like Indian call centres. The staff are more polite and the accents are no harder to understand than the geordies or scots you usually get manning the phones.

If you like consumerism, capitalism, cheap goods in the shops etc, you have no grounds whatsoever to complain about companies shifting production / services overseas.
That's true most (not all) are very good.

Most of the people even have a degree.

Often you would not know if it was in the UK or not.

The trouble is some do things on the cheap and employ people who cannot speech English very well.

I remember last year I tried to buy a pda from Dell. I got a call from a girl trying to take my order. I asked her about the product, and it was clear she could not understand English very well. It sounded as if she was reading from the screen. In the end I did not bother.

A few years ago there was a pc company. I forget the name, it was a well known firm (not sure if they are still going) with a logo of a black and white splodge (like the markings on a cows back). At the time they had the no1 reputation for customer care, they were a bit more expensive but well worth it.

Anyway I phoned up about a laptop (it was an 0800 number). The chap told me his name, but I forgot it. But he sounded Irish.

Next day Iphoned back and the girl said who did I speak to. I said I could not remember his name, but it should not be a problem as he had an Irish acent.

She started to laugh, and then told me, that the shop was in Ireland and that "we are all Irish at this place" (I thought 0800 would only work in the UK).

I felt such a twit.

[Geezer]

I like Indian call centres. The staff are more polite and the accents are no harder to understand than the geordies or scots you usually get manning the phones.

If you like consumerism, capitalism, cheap goods in the shops etc, you have no grounds whatsoever to complain about companies shifting production / services overseas.

You are having a grindle of course?

I would love to know what call centres in India you speak to cos the ones I have spoken to have been a fucking nightmare,
It's not just about you understanding them, they also have to understand you.

[daveydude]

A few years ago there was a pc company. I forget the name, it was a well known firm (not sure if they are still going) with a logo of a black and white splodge (like the markings on a cows back). At the time they had the no1 reputation for customer care, they were a bit more expensive but well worth it.

That would be Gateway. Place I used to work at had all its PCs from there. Support was great.

[daveydude]

You are having a grindle of course?

What's a grindle?

[dvtimes]

That would be Gateway. Place I used to work at had all its PCs from there. Support was great.


Thats the chaps. I think at one point they were called Gateway 2000. They even had a shop in Leeds.

Not sure if they went bust. I see that they have a web site:
http://www.gateway.com/index.shtml http://www.uk.gateway.com/