[getti]

Orange are due to move some of its CS calls over to India. NOT GOOD if you ask me!!

[Jon3G]

Makes sense really from a Orange global point of view. Wanadoo have both Broadband and narrowband support over their already and Orange are looking for all in one solution for CS

Orange dark days are coming

[Ben]

Mhm, yeah, surely this is the Wanadoo effect kicking in. :(

[Jon3G]

I sadly helped with the Wanadoo transfer to India, however the CS at Wanadoo was already poor to begin with. For Orange this is a big mistake and something they may regret

[Ben]

"however the CS at Wanadoo was already poor to begin with" - that's one of the main things that concerns me about the co-branding. It may be the last nail in the coffin of the Orange brand!

Any idea when this transfer is taking place, what customers it will affect etc? What's the source of your info getti?

[Jon3G]

If Orange follow what Wanadoo did it will more than likely Tech CS and things that cost alot to run over here. Wanadoo kept the billing and and normal CS in the UK at a site in Rotherham

This is a real blow for Orange because overall the Orange CS is very good

Its going to be a dark day

[Hands0n]

It is a real corporate lemming effect! They all can't jump off the cliff edge quickly enough. I agree with the above sentiments, the future is not looking bright at all, not if it is Orange at any rate.

This may well be the way that all CS and back office functions go. Ultimately we may end up having no choice at all. But it does rather seem that the wholesale Customer experience of India-based CS are not very positive, mediocre at best.

How very regrettable.

[3g-g]

Orange are due to move some of its CS calls over to India. NOT GOOD if you ask me!!

Where's this information from?

It isn't Orange being swallowed up by Wanadoo, it's Wanadoo being swallowed up by Orange's operations, and any outsourcing is a big point of contention with UK Orange/FT/Wanadoo staff... AFAIA CS will be kept in the UK as much as possible.

[bsrjl1]

It's more FT trying to avoid duplication in Orange, Wanadoo & Equant. Orange have a national IP network, Wanadoo have a national IP network, Equant provide (inter)national IP networks. Makes sense to bundle the lot together.

It was said several years ago that no CS would move to India, then JT registrations moved. Bit by bit it's being shifted across. If they actually used the centres in the north of England properly they probably wouldn't need to. Darlington's deserted on a night, North Tyneside everyone seems to have their own desk so it's 1/4 full. Birmingham's small centre & the Liverpool outsourced one are by far the best performing.

Vertex have got a press release here http://www.vertex.co.uk/vertex/caseStudies/editorial.jsp?contentURL=EC93.htm & most of the items mentioned have been moved to India now. They've got quite an operation out there & it makes sense they'll eventually take overspill of contract CS, possibly more.

[3GScottishUser]

I'm not saying offshore call centers are a great idea but I have had poor experiencies with Norwich Union, 3, and other offshore call centres.

However, I called 3 this week and had a brilliant experience with an Indian CSA who was working in retentions... so I guess it's all down to the training. The lady I spoke to was charming and conversational, chatted not only about the deals etc but also about the weather and stuff too. That makes things interesting and I felt that particular 3 CSA was actually interested and was not too pushy about sealing a deal, more interested in making me feel comfortable etc, which she did by solving a problem before suggesting deals to retain my custom.

I'm pretty sure the UK is best to look after UK customers but we have face the fact that a lot of stuff can be dealt with offshore. It's hardly surprising that 3 got a hellish reputation for cutsomer service using Mumbai simply because of the volume of complaints.

As far as Orange is concerned we will have to wait and see. If offshore CS is used to deal with billing etc that might not be a problem. Sky employ thousands in Scotland dealing with CS and have tried Indian call centres but have so far decided that the cost benefits dont outweigh employing UK CSA's and as a big commercial company they must have researched that option pretty carefully.

[baston]

that is shame, the best thing about orange was the CS

[Hands0n]

Abbey National has seen sense and is bringing all of its Indian Call Centre operation back to the UK, citing that the Indian operations do not provide a satisfactory level of service to the UK Customer. What a great thing to happen - lets hope this is but the thin edge of a very welcomed wedge!