Global Call Centers: Achieving Outstanding Customer Service Across Cultures and Time Zones [Hardcover]

Erik Granered (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2004

Outsourced customer service call centers are something that corporations both large and small have caught on to and are reaping the financial benefits from. So why is it that, despite sound business principles and advanced technology, international call centers are often measured successes at best?The reason is one that everyone is familiar with. All of us have been on the phone, at one time or another, trying to communicate with a call center agent somewhere in the world and reacting, often negatively, to what we feel should be a simple and productive exchange. Those subtle reactions, most often rooted in culture, are significant; significant enough to disrupt the flow of many call centers and to cause some companies to reverse their decision to outsource customer service.Erik Granered, author of Global Call Centers: Achieving Outstanding Customer Service Across Cultures and Time Zones, argues that we are now at a point with outsourcing where we can learn from experience and reduce the failure rate. It is rash to think that customer expectations and agent training should be the same in Amsterdam as in Dallas. And those unrealistic expectations are magnified over the phone, where communication cues are completely lost.Global Call Centers reveals how the syntax and rhythm of a phone conversation is much like a dance that differs from culture to culture. What may be a tango for one is a waltz for another; while one party may be seeking results, the other may be simply exploring, looking for information. Global Call Centers outlines cultural variables that will impact where you locate a call center, what customers are served from that location, and what is the optimal business approach in getting that center up and running. Complete with compelling anecdotes, real-world training tips, and strategies for managers and agents to develop vital cultural literacy, Global Call Centers delivers a way for businesses to effectively cut down on customer service costs and utilize one of the fastest-growing trends in business today.ContentsAcknowledgmentsForeword by J.P. Singh, Ph.D.IntroductionAuthor's NotePart I: Global Call Centers: The Customer Experience1 Outsourcing and Offshoring2 The Customer Experience Dilemma3 Understanding the Media of InteractionPart II: Culture, Communication, and Call Center Management4 The Power of Awareness5 Creating a Customer Service Culture6 A Strategic Approach to Call Center TrainingPart III: Designing a Global Call Center Strategy7 Culture as a Competitive Variable8 English-Language Customer Service9 Spanish-Language Customer Service10 European Cultures and Customer Service Options11 Asian Cultures and Customer Service OptionsConclusionReferencesIndex

Editorial Reviews

Review

This book provides the dos and don'ts to get customer service right. -- Bookseller Magazine, August 13, 2004

From the Inside Flap

Corporations large and small have caught on to the financial benefits of the global services revolution. Central to this revolution is the outsourcing of customer service call centers to places like India, Ireland and the Philippines. Despite sound business planning and advanced technology, the international call center is a measured success at best. The reason is as obvious as it is elusive: culture! All of us have been there at one time or another, trying to communicate with a call center agent somewhere and reacting, often negatively, to what we feel should have been a simple exchange. Subtle reactions, often with cultural roots, are powerful enough to disrupt the flow of many call centers and to cause companies to reverse their decision to outsource customer service. Erik Granered argues that business can now use proven cross-cultural management techniques to reduce the failure rate. He challenges the misguided idea that customer expectations are the same in Amsterdam as they are in Dallas. And those expectations are only magnified over the phone, where important communication cues are lost. Global Call Centers reveals how the syntax and rhythm of a phone conversation differs from culture to culture. The first book of its kind, Global Call Centers outlines the cultural impact on where you locate your call center, what customers are served from that location, and the optimal business approach to getting up and running. Through compelling anecdotes, real-world training tips and country-specific cultural profiles, CEOs, managers and agents alike will achieve much-needed cultural literacy—the new critical success factor in successful global customer service. Granered explains just how fundamental culture is to good business: "In order to create a successful global call center infrastructure, you need a framework for understanding cultural differences. Why? Because if you do not have that knowledge, you will make poor decisions. You will open up a call center in the wrong place with untrained agents talking to your best customers. If you know what you are doing, you will open up a call center in the right place, strategically train your agents with measurable positive outcomes, and ensure that they are talking to the appropriate customer segment. In this scenario, you have lowered your costs, improved customer service, and will be hailed as the customer service hero in your company." At a time when expensive customer relationship management solutions are being questioned, corporations are ready to hear a back-to-basics message about people skill. Global Call Centers delivers the answers, enabling call center managers to coach their people on providing world-class customer service. If done right, the author asserts,"nowhere do we have a greater opportunity for having a positive impact than in the call center, where technology is enabling human interaction on a massive scale—across the globe, every minute of every hour."

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 220 pages
• Publisher: Nicholas Brealey Publishing (December 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1904838030
• ISBN-13: 978-1904838036
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,327,881 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A straightforward guide to promoting quality customer service, July 3, 2005

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Global Call Centers: Achieving Outstanding Customer Service Across Cultures and Time Zones (Hardcover)

Global Call Centers: Achieving Outstanding Customer Service Across Cultures & Time Zones is a straightforward guide to promoting quality customer service even when one's customer call service centers may be outsources around the globe. Erik Granered, communications expert and former course developer and trainer for WorldCom's customer service operations, walks the reader through outsourcing and offshoring, creating a customer service culture, strategic approaches, specific issues pertaining to English-language and Spanish-language customer service as well as European and Asian customer service options, and much more. From taking different national communication styles into account to basic cultural analysis in plain and simple terms, Global Call Centers is a groundbreaking book in its field and a "must-have" for anyone responsible for organizing or maintaining an international customer call service.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read!!, January 26, 2005

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Reed Engdahl - See all my reviews

This review is from: Global Call Centers: Achieving Outstanding Customer Service Across Cultures and Time Zones (Hardcover)

There is nothing else like this book. One of the best I have ever read on the subject. As a former call center manager and sales trainer, I wish I had access to this at the time. If you are running a call center, international or not, this is the one book you will need on your shelf.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Insightful !, March 23, 2005

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Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Global Call Centers: Achieving Outstanding Customer Service Across Cultures and Time Zones (Hardcover)

Author Erik Granered makes a sincere effort to bridge the gap between two distinct bodies of business expertise: what it takes to establish an offshore outsourcing endeavor, and what it takes to operate a successful call center. This is a unique volume because it appeals to the strategic concerns of both corporate decision-makers and call center executives on the front lines. Overall, however, Granered focuses more on practical applications than on strategic issues. He acknowledges correctly that his treatment of broad cultural issues may sometimes sound simplistic. Even so, we find his book a useful addition to any library on offshore outsourcing, and strongly recommend it to managers and executives who are interested in outsourcing or call centers, or both.