U.S.-based service providers may be improving their bottom line by outsourcing their customer care capabilities offshore, but it comes with the cost of lower customer satisfaction.
According to CFI Group's latest study, call support satisfaction is only 58 percent out of 100 if the call is handled by a foreign customer representative versus 79 percent for U.S.-based representatives. In addition, CFI revealed that U.S. support personnel are 34 percent more likely to rectify the issue on the first call than those handled offshore.
At a time when service providers are trying to retain customers, putting customer care into the hands of a foreign agent could tarnish the consumer's view of the service provider especially if they have a bad experience. "If a customer hangs up mad, it isn't the agent they are going to blame, it's the company that put them in that position in order to save a buck by sending their call overseas," warns Sheri Teodoru, CFI Group's CEO and the report's author.
The study did reveal one glimpse of hope for customers. Only nine percent of consumers reported that their most recent call center experience was handled by an offshore agent, down from 15 percent in 2008.
For more:
- see the CFI release here (PDF)
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