Every few years the name changes. Call Center, Help desk, Customer Care Center, and now Contact Center.

I'm curious to know what your feeling is about the fact that the industry that seems to be booming so much needs to change the way other refer to it?

Lawrence,

I agree there has been a number of different incarnations of the 'call centre' and I am sure plenty more to come. I think that 'call centre', thanks to some rather unsavoury TV broadcasts and general media reporting, became a synonym for western 'sweat shop', thus many organisations distanced themselves from it preferring to call themselves something else. What the public actually believes compared to what the media reports would be an interesting study.

I think we are alreadyseeing Customer Relationship Centres evolving (thanks to CRM), as well support centres etc etc

I don't know what the answer is here, I suppose differentiation from another organisation providing the same product/service may be one answer, but there must be many more reasons behind the almost constant reinvention.

James

Hi Lawrence and James

Interesting post and one which I would have hoped have generated some considerable interest. The reason it interests me is that I see this naming business as potentially a metaphor for the issues surrounding the Call Centre industry. This means it may be able to provide some important insights and ultimately a way out of the mess.

James I really can see where you are coming from but I’m not sure you are quite right. You are spot on when you observe that there must be many reason behind the constant re-invention. It seems to me that the media in general very infrequently break interesting commercial news; in my view they are far more likely to jump on a bandwagon. This means that more often than not they simplyobserve and report what is.

Where I agree with you completely, is that what this can sometimes do is exacerbate problems and cause everyone to be tarred with the same brush. The media on the other hand would probably say there is no smoke without fire and they do not report what doesn’t exist (yeh right!!!)

My own take on this is that there have indeed been instances of the kinds of bad practice reported, but they are very few, are reasonably quickly spotted and do not last long because people will not work with them long term – staff or customers.

In terms of what consumers believe, one only has to talk to people about Call Centres to listen to the negative and derogatory types of words and phrases used to describe the experience: I have yet to meet someone who blames the people at the sharp end though as people seem to recognise that staff are simply doing someone else’s bidding.

I see two issues coming from this. The first is that it is not enough to change the functional name of a centre. People (customers) are not stupid and anyone who thinks that rhetoric (how else can you describe a name change alone) will fool them is deluding themselves not their customers. Secondly, if we are to change the publicperception of Call Centres we have to change our approach. From the existing 'volume at any cost' (unfair I know, but overwhelmingly the public's perception) to one designed to deliver a Customer Experience that is memorable for all the right reasons not the wrong ones.

To go back to your many reasons for reinvention comment. Someone once said to me a definition of madness was continuing to do the same things but expecting different results. By changing the name alone that’s exactly what’s happening.

Lawrence. I guess it must be difficult opening a new centre and wondering what it's all about. In my view, it isn’t what you’re called but the way you deliver that matters ultimately. By providing quality staff and systems and genuinely looking after your customers you’ll soon set yourself far apart from the masses and the worry will disappear because everyone else will be playing 'catch-up'.

David

Thank you both for your comments.

In my opinion a retail store is a retail store and a call center is a call center.

You don't see other companies changing the industry name as often as we change ours.

I believe that we are re-inventing ourselves because of the bad rep we have. When you mention call center immediately the consumer recalls that call they had while they are at home eating their diner and someone calls wanting to sell them a newspaper subscription or wanting to doa survey. Those annoying type of calls. They don't understand we are there to support their needs such as if you have a problem with your television service or telephone.

It's like those people who work in a company and they constantly think about how they can explain to someone when they are asked "what do you do for a living" Try to explain that we are not the annoying callers at diner time, try to explain that we are their support for whatever product we happen to support.

I have toadmit that I much rather call ourselves a Contact Center. "Contact gives more of an impression that someone is contacting us and we are not "calling" someone.

Lawrence,

Lawrence

Sorry, but yet another blinding glimpse of the obvious. How about the title, 'Support Team' or 'Personal Support Team'?

It says what you do - suport people.
It says that the support you deliver is persoanalised.
It says what you are - a team.

Why does anyone have to have thrust in their face that your 'team' is any more than small? Big is certainly not cool these days as it is frequently used as a euphemism for impersonal.

Why does anyone have to know what kind of environment you operate from apart from, "an office somewhere" rather than a 'Call Centre'?

Why should you have to say you are anything other than a small highly personalised team? At the end of the day you are - comparitively speaking - so it's the truth.

Seems to me my friend that we get wrapped up too tight in associating ourselves with the Call Centre Industry (and all its baggage - mostly negative) and simply do not look outside the 'box' often enough.

Hope that helps.

David

Good points, David.

I'd like to add that we, as those in the industry, are the best people to do good work in order to influence and change the public perception of call centres.

In other words, we must work together to improve this industry. Communities like this represent one possible solution, but it will take a general 'paradigm shift' on a large scale in order to improve public perception. The fact of the matter is that big business drives this industry and its motivation is increased revenue, whatever the cost. Therefore, as a collective whole it has created in some cases what might in some ways be considered an artificial 'cartel' of so-called sweatshop mentality. This is picked up by the media which is always sniffing around for good copy, and the actions of a minority tarnish the reputation and good work of the majority.

The big question is what are we all going to do about it?

People like David are pioneers in this industry, extolling the virtuesof a customer-centric weltanschauungen, and they must be encouraged by the industry and by big business. Perception will follow action, not the other way around.

What I ask myself is: What can CallCentreVoice do to help? - and that's a big question indeed... answers on a postcard, please...

John

L

Sorry something else just came to mind.

Some years ago I was asked to take the traditional technical support department of an organisation and turn it into something that was a key differentiator in a cut throat industry.

Once I understood the kind of service we supplied, I realised we were much more than a tech support dept. So, a crucial part of my strategy for international deployment was to rename/brand as 'TechniCare'. Whilst initially seen as a bit soft (it was after all 7 years ago!) it provided a cornerstone for our marketing team to build on to justify our premuim pricing strategy. No one else could touch us for the quality and manner of our support.

This whole strategy was such a success that whilst our 'competition' paid out untold amounts in compensation for the Year 200 crisis, we put tens of thousands on the bottom line through inviting people to formal seminars about the issue and its impact on our products. Because they were conducted by 'TechniCare', the trusted international team I had built, not one person ever questioned either what was said or the fact that they were conducted at all.

My point here is that you have to dare to be different to stand out from the milling throng. YOU CANDO IT.

David

Hi David, you said "you have to dare to be different to stand out from the milling throng".

All I'd like to say is how true! It is so easy to just try to toe the line but we owe it to ourselves and our customers to give everything we can in our jobs. I don't remember who said it but there is a saying "if a job's worth doing it's worth doing well"!!!

I think if staff can identity with a certain kind of responsibility and pride for what they do then half of the battle is won. I really don't mind what we call ourselves as it feels to me to be the last thing we should be worrying about. I think "contact centre" always sounds a bit sordid, like a kind of dating agency thoough!!!

Rob