Tmobile finally turns to the darkside

iRuss · 09-04-2009, 11:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/...al/7991496.stm

After being one of the only networls not to use overseas callcentres, Tmobile finally sells its soul to the devil and announces it's going to do what all customers hate - have offshore callcentres.

So all us Tmobile customers will be treated to poor service and irritating fake american accents when we call them as they've chosen a company in the Philipines

Ricardodaforce · 09-04-2009, 11:04

TMO have had overseas call-centres for ages. Maybe they just haven't been customer facing. But if you've worked in TMO UK retail then you know.....

flagpole · 09-04-2009, 11:06

my favourite thing about call centres in india is the way they always say their name is mike.

heskethbang · 09-04-2009, 12:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by iRuss

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/...al/7991496.stm

After being one of the only networls not to use overseas callcentres, Tmobile finally sells its soul to the devil and announces it's going to do what all customers hate - have offshore callcentres.

So all us Tmobile customers will be treated to poor service and irritating fake american accents when we call them as they've chosen a company in the Philipines

I am delighted to hear this. I worked on ships with philipino crews and they are some of the most educated, courteous well spoken individuals I've ever had the pleasure of working with. You will be pleasantly surprised.

Lawe13 · 09-04-2009, 13:07

T-Mobile have been using the Phillipines for a while now.

What's interesting is the fact that this trend is dying, so a particularly bad time for T-Mobile to suggest this.

Orange, one of the largest culprits for off shore call centres, are reducing their size off shore. All PAYM customer service will be back in the UK by the end of 2009.

When will UK businesses realise that off shore isn't working. Especially at a time when the UK economy could do with the jobs over here.

kyussmondo · 09-04-2009, 13:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lawe13

What's interesting is the fact that this trend is dying, so a particularly bad time for T-Mobile to suggest this.

A bad time but not particularly surprising in the current economic climate. I think at the very least pay monthly customers should get UK call centres. The only real problem I have had has been with 3. Their customer service was terrible and a lot of that was off-shore. T-Mobile are still the best, although I am a bit disappointed they are "turning to the darkside".

flagpole · 09-04-2009, 13:16

i've always said the problem is as consumers we say how much we don't like off shore call centres, but then we still go with the company that offers the cheapest deal.

kyussmondo · 09-04-2009, 13:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by flagpole

i've always said the problem is as consumers we say how much we don't like off shore call centres, but then we still go with the company that offers the cheapest deal.

Depends how you look at things. Some people just base their decision on the initial purchase cost. I am one of those people who are prepared to pay a bit extra for a more quality service which I think pays off in the long-term in both time wasted and money spent (usually).

flagpole · 09-04-2009, 13:38

oh your right, but most consumers then just go with the cheapest out lay.

i read something about higher purchase deals on tvs and stuff that said that the total cost had little impact on sales and it was all about the cost per month. most consumers aren't that long sighted.

paulbeattie87 · 09-04-2009, 15:37

Not a good thing for T-Mobile, I was speaking to the call centre mentioned on my local lunchtime news just a few weeks ago. These guys and gals were dedicated to the job they had. I always had somebody that was helpful, even to the extent they went out of their way to make sure I was happy.

Overseas call centres while not all bad they don't understand whats happening in the UK in the here and now, they aren't using the T-Mobile network, they most likely haven't even seen the handsets. The call centre near Glasgow usually dealt with handset issues, they had a little room full of handsets to try out, I can't see the new call centre having this.

Very disappointed.

callum9999 · 09-04-2009, 17:02

I rarely have problems with offshore call centres personally.

iRuss · 09-04-2009, 19:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by heskethbang

I am delighted to hear this.

You're in the minority then. Educated and courteous means nothing if you can't do the job. When I worked for tmobile it was only the deliveries department that were in Manilla and I used to be ripping my hair out trying to clear up the messes that a lot of them made. So many customer would be commenting that they found the fake american accents to be irritating and distracting.

Not long after I left there I needed to speak to Manilla about the delivery of something and for some reason the agent kept mixing my first name and surname up. Each time I corrected him he kept saying "I apologise for the inconvenience". Well yes that's nice and polite but did he really think it was inconveniencing me?

That's just one small niggle about offshore callcentres but put together all the annoyances build up.

Tmobile were one of the last networks to not have CS abroad. I will now seek help from anywhere else I can rather than give my personal details to someone in a country who's data protection laws I have no idea about.

magikmax · 12-04-2009, 08:21

I've been singing the praises of T-Mobile for over a year now. Thier call centre has been excellent the few times I have phoned them, but I'm simply not prepared to pay a premium price for inferior customer service.

I work in the industry (the call centre one), and I simply refuse where I can to deal with companies that outsort their customer service abroad. Given the uk job situation, it is an astonishingly bad move by T-Mobile, and I'll now be pro-actively looking for a replacement come August when my contract is up.

With the recent decision about the 08 numbers, and now this, along with stories of stingy upgrades, things aren't looking good for a renewal

chris20 · 12-04-2009, 08:36

yea it is bad with they way this country is that they are doing this. i will never go to a network with a international call center the good thing is virgin like there UK call center as it is the best around and has won so many awards plus 02 offer a good UK call center.

toastie15 · 12-04-2009, 10:15

This is really bad news.As soon as my contract is up I will be leaving.I have had loads of bad experinces with overseas call centres.Sky and talktalk spring to mind hopless

seanfitzy · 12-04-2009, 11:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris20

yea it is bad with they way this country is that they are doing this. i will never go to a network with a international call center the good thing is virgin like there UK call center as it is the best around and has won so many awards plus 02 offer a good UK call center.

yeah must admit vrgin mobile has brill uk call centres,(pity about there virgin media side though) i dont mind paying a little extra for good customer serice,although this new tarrif is one of the best
http://mobiletoday.co.uk/Virgin_laun...chType=&terms=

09-04-2009, 11:00	#1
iRuss Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 470	Tmobile finally turns to the darkside http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/...al/7991496.stm After being one of the only networls not to use overseas callcentres, Tmobile finally sells its soul to the devil and announces it's going to do what all customers hate - have offshore callcentres. So all us Tmobile customers will be treated to poor service and irritating fake american accents when we call them as they've chosen a company in the Philipines

12-04-2009, 10:15	#15
toastie15 Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: kent Posts: 2,427	usless call centres This is really bad news.As soon as my contract is up I will be leaving.I have had loads of bad experinces with overseas call centres.Sky and talktalk spring to mind hopless

09-04-2009, 11:04	#2
Ricardodaforce Inactive Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Alacant Posts: 7,773	TMO have had overseas call-centres for ages. Maybe they just haven't been customer facing. But if you've worked in TMO UK retail then you know.....

09-04-2009, 11:06	#3
flagpole Inactive Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 43,524	my favourite thing about call centres in india is the way they always say their name is mike.

09-04-2009, 12:09	#4
heskethbang Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Greater Birmingham Posts: 3,906	Quote: Originally Posted by iRuss http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/...al/7991496.stm After being one of the only networls not to use overseas callcentres, Tmobile finally sells its soul to the devil and announces it's going to do what all customers hate - have offshore callcentres. So all us Tmobile customers will be treated to poor service and irritating fake american accents when we call them as they've chosen a company in the Philipines I am delighted to hear this. I worked on ships with philipino crews and they are some of the most educated, courteous well spoken individuals I've ever had the pleasure of working with. You will be pleasantly surprised.

09-04-2009, 13:07	#5
Lawe13 Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 869	T-Mobile have been using the Phillipines for a while now. What's interesting is the fact that this trend is dying, so a particularly bad time for T-Mobile to suggest this. Orange, one of the largest culprits for off shore call centres, are reducing their size off shore. All PAYM customer service will be back in the UK by the end of 2009. When will UK businesses realise that off shore isn't working. Especially at a time when the UK economy could do with the jobs over here.

09-04-2009, 13:15	#6
kyussmondo Forum Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Ipswich, Suffolk Posts: 1,731	Quote: Originally Posted by Lawe13 What's interesting is the fact that this trend is dying, so a particularly bad time for T-Mobile to suggest this. A bad time but not particularly surprising in the current economic climate. I think at the very least pay monthly customers should get UK call centres. The only real problem I have had has been with 3. Their customer service was terrible and a lot of that was off-shore. T-Mobile are still the best, although I am a bit disappointed they are "turning to the darkside".

09-04-2009, 13:16	#7
flagpole Inactive Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 43,524	i've always said the problem is as consumers we say how much we don't like off shore call centres, but then we still go with the company that offers the cheapest deal.

09-04-2009, 13:34	#8
kyussmondo Forum Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Ipswich, Suffolk Posts: 1,731	Quote: Originally Posted by flagpole i've always said the problem is as consumers we say how much we don't like off shore call centres, but then we still go with the company that offers the cheapest deal. Depends how you look at things. Some people just base their decision on the initial purchase cost. I am one of those people who are prepared to pay a bit extra for a more quality service which I think pays off in the long-term in both time wasted and money spent (usually).

09-04-2009, 13:38	#9
flagpole Inactive Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 43,524	oh your right, but most consumers then just go with the cheapest out lay. i read something about higher purchase deals on tvs and stuff that said that the total cost had little impact on sales and it was all about the cost per month. most consumers aren't that long sighted.

09-04-2009, 15:37	#10
paulbeattie87 Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 1,215	Not a good thing for T-Mobile, I was speaking to the call centre mentioned on my local lunchtime news just a few weeks ago. These guys and gals were dedicated to the job they had. I always had somebody that was helpful, even to the extent they went out of their way to make sure I was happy. Overseas call centres while not all bad they don't understand whats happening in the UK in the here and now, they aren't using the T-Mobile network, they most likely haven't even seen the handsets. The call centre near Glasgow usually dealt with handset issues, they had a little room full of handsets to try out, I can't see the new call centre having this. Very disappointed.

09-04-2009, 17:02	#11
callum9999 Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Wales Posts: 2,932	I rarely have problems with offshore call centres personally.

09-04-2009, 19:31	#12
iRuss Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 470	Quote: Originally Posted by heskethbang I am delighted to hear this. You're in the minority then. Educated and courteous means nothing if you can't do the job. When I worked for tmobile it was only the deliveries department that were in Manilla and I used to be ripping my hair out trying to clear up the messes that a lot of them made. So many customer would be commenting that they found the fake american accents to be irritating and distracting. Not long after I left there I needed to speak to Manilla about the delivery of something and for some reason the agent kept mixing my first name and surname up. Each time I corrected him he kept saying "I apologise for the inconvenience". Well yes that's nice and polite but did he really think it was inconveniencing me? That's just one small niggle about offshore callcentres but put together all the annoyances build up. Tmobile were one of the last networks to not have CS abroad. I will now seek help from anywhere else I can rather than give my personal details to someone in a country who's data protection laws I have no idea about.

12-04-2009, 08:21	#13
magikmax Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Scotlandshire Posts: 786	I've been singing the praises of T-Mobile for over a year now. Thier call centre has been excellent the few times I have phoned them, but I'm simply not prepared to pay a premium price for inferior customer service. I work in the industry (the call centre one), and I simply refuse where I can to deal with companies that outsort their customer service abroad. Given the uk job situation, it is an astonishingly bad move by T-Mobile, and I'll now be pro-actively looking for a replacement come August when my contract is up. With the recent decision about the 08 numbers, and now this, along with stories of stingy upgrades, things aren't looking good for a renewal

12-04-2009, 08:36	#14
chris20 Guest Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 3,556	yea it is bad with they way this country is that they are doing this. i will never go to a network with a international call center the good thing is virgin like there UK call center as it is the best around and has won so many awards plus 02 offer a good UK call center.

12-04-2009, 11:03	#16
seanfitzy Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Loughborough Posts: 532	Quote: Originally Posted by chris20 yea it is bad with they way this country is that they are doing this. i will never go to a network with a international call center the good thing is virgin like there UK call center as it is the best around and has won so many awards plus 02 offer a good UK call center. yeah must admit vrgin mobile has brill uk call centres,(pity about there virgin media side though) i dont mind paying a little extra for good customer serice,although this new tarrif is one of the best http://mobiletoday.co.uk/Virgin_laun...chType=&terms=

DS Forums

Tmobile finally turns to the darkside