Re: Another reason to avoid HSBC
 

I know :). If service levels go down as a direct result of outsourcing then that is a different matter (as I said).
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Whoa there! I'm not saying I agree with outsourcing, just saying that's the way the economy now works and pointing out the way we all take the positives we want from it - cheap electronics from China etc - but don't recognise the negatives, which is jobs being lost. We seem to want it both ways though.

Don't forget too all the manufacturing and mining jobs already lost which means we are now more dependent than ever on other countries' goods and resources.

BTW I work for myself so my job's probably under more threat from spending too much time here ;)

Re: Another reason to avoid HSBC
 

It's the old story. In this country we want things cheap cheap cheap all the time. We're our own worst enemy.

Re: Another reason to avoid HSBC
 

Which means the service levels put in place are inadequate, but as I have had poor CS from UK call centres too whats the difference.

I'd like to say no, but if you look back 10 years the tech infrastructure meant you could not offshore call centres. As an accountant I realise there are many talanted accountants in asia and india who can do many of the accounting roles in a business just as well as I could over here, after all they are analysing, reconciling posting numbers in a computer system, why does that have to be done in the UK?

And using tax as a threat, watch these corporates up sticks and move thier head offices to India too and pay their corporation tax to the Indian government not the UK govt. That would leave a huge hole in Mr Browns balanced budget. Quite simply - ain't gonna happen.

Re: Another reason to avoid HSBC
 

There's a difference in culture - if I call to make a complaint I want to know that the person on the other end of the phone empathises with my use of emphasis on particular words. Language and culture barriers prevent this.

I don't want to have to repeat myself over and over again because they don't understand my Welsh accent. That has NEVER happened to me from a UK callcentre.

I don't want to keep asking them to repeat what they say because I can't understand their accents.

I don't want to me met with "certainly please" each time I ask them to do something. I live in the UK and I demand that any company offering me a service here should speak our English.

This isn't just aimed at Indian callcentres - the ones who use americanisms annoy me just as much.

Re: Another reason to avoid HSBC
 

Yeah I know, that Swansea call centre is a bugger isn't it!! ;)

Re: Another reason to avoid HSBC
 

I've never had that kind of problem with a Swansea or any other UK callcentre (with the possible exception of the ones in Glasgow).

Re: Another reason to avoid HSBC
 

Are they planning to move their customers there as well? :dozey:

Re: Another reason to avoid HSBC
 

What I think is dangerous here is that these companies seem perfectly happy to encourage the idea that Indian callcentres are almost 'normal' or 'customery', in the way they've all embraced automated telephone systems.

Re: Another reason to avoid HSBC
 

well it is the Hong Kong, Shanghai Banking corporation.

Re: Another reason to avoid HSBC
 

As discussed in post 11.

Re: Another reason to avoid HSBC
 

Funny how its (generally) always the customer service side thats moved ofshore with all the issues of misunderstandings etc which have been mentioned.
But dial the sales number and you get through (usually) to an english based service.

So they don't mind giving exsisting punters the run around in an offshore CS operation, but aren't prepared to expose potential 'brand new customers' to that level of service#

Wonder why that might be ....

Re: Another reason to avoid HSBC
 

That is quite an interesting point. Mind you dial the sales number and you get answered straight away, dial the CS number, wherever the call centre is, and you get 20 minutes of Greensleeves and an irritating automated woman trying to ingratiate herself by pointing out how important your call is (though obviously not as important as that of a potential customer). If it was that sodding important to them they'd have answered it by now! Have I taken this way off topic ;) Sorry!

Re: Another reason to avoid HSBC
 

Generally sales is only open during British daylight hours, therefore they don't require expensive shift workers, so better value for money to employ British staff.
CS on the other hand generally is open for longer, and with banking, alot offer 24hr CS, as such it's cheaper to base your CS centers where the "best value for money" can be acheived. Remember though, best value for money is from the company's point of view, not necessarily the same as the customer's!

Thankfully I find HSBC's services so good I rarely have to call them. The last time was to tell them of my new address, and it went a bit like this:

me: Leighton Buzzard
CS: Leighton Buzzard
me: Bedfordshire
CS: Bedfordshire, London
me: No, not London, it's no where near london
CS: So that's Leighton Buzzard, London, Bedfordshire?
me: No, just Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire
CS: So that's Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire?
me: yes
CS: London?
me: no, no london, nothing to do with London!

Re: Another reason to avoid HSBC
 

The best customer service I've ever received has been from OneForAll (universal remote controls). A Dutch company with customer services based in Holland -the operators speak better English than you almost ever hear from English centres. Not exactly a low wage economy but for the sake of good service couldn't we move our call centres over there? :D

Re: Another reason to avoid HSBC
 

I don't mean to pick holes here, as I do largely agree with your sentiments...but....

What other reason is there to avoid HSBC? This is one of the few criticisms I've heard about them.

In my experience HSBC offers amongst the best of all the banks when it comes to customer service. I will say it has on a couple of occasions recently slipped a little, but these were UK staff I was dealing with.

Conversely Natwest offers (IMHO) amongst the worst levels of service from all of the banks.

The jobs being outsourced at HSBC are clerical (one assumes data entry) roles. Outsourcing these should not affect customer service.

I should also point out that the statement from HSBC was more generic, not referring to a specific round of cuts or even job losses in the UK. We have no idea whether the outsourced roles will create better opportunities for its UK staff, the cuts will come from natural wasteage or if they will require redundancies.

What? Period? What about manufacturing? I bought a laptop bag today, quality item, UK company, made in China. Do you honestly think I would have only paid a tenner for it if it had been made in the UK?

Which is the point when large companies decide to up-sticks, leave the country and either import to the UK or not bother with us at all.

But it happens the other way around for me (with my BBC Home Counties accent). I often have to ask customer service people with such stereotypically heavy Welsh or Glaswegian accents to repeat themselves becuase I can't understand what they are saying


So would it be OK if an British-Asian said 'certainly please' whilst being based in a UK office?


Whilst I don't like to see any job leave this country unecessarily, sometimes it is needed. It is worth bearing in mind that 90% of customer contact was done face to face 15 years ago, so these roles are not generally long established.

And whilst companies like Natwest spout on about UK call centres, they sub-contract data handling to companies that are not based in the UK, so it's somewhat hypocritical.

And the solution? Well there isn't one really. Corporate greed (and lord knows HSBC makes enough money) will always come first. Performance on the markets is more important than performance to customers, but there has to be a balance to make sure you have enough customers to keep the profits coming in - this is something that HSBC are very good at.