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Which mobile phone companies do NOT have outsourced call centres in India?


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Old 11-11-2008, 15:59
jakboi
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As the title suggests...

I'm looking to change phones and I don't care how cheap or competitive they are I am sick to death of ringing 30 times when once would suffice.
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Old 11-11-2008, 16:05
flagpole
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vodafone tell me that their call centre staff are uk based. however, my experience is that the part of swansea they claim to be in must be very asian.
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Old 11-11-2008, 16:14
SuddenImpulse
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It depends - some networks use UK for contracts and India for PAYG (read in that what you will) but as for Vodafone avoid their PAYG as their customer service is outsourced to a company in Swansea called Conduit and quite literally they will employ anyone - a friend of mine worked their and on his team they had a recovering heroin addict who'd been 'clean' for 2 weeks and his treatment meant he was slurring his words, falling asleep and couldn't see straight - and they still put him on the phones. I have nothing against recovering drug addicts but clearly he should not have been doing that job.

Anyway I digress - Vodafone's outsources CS are UK baed but are still the drizzling sh*ts.

3 use India, and so far Orange's contract CS are UK based too.
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Old 11-11-2008, 16:15
chris20
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orange contract have English call center and a very good one to very helpful and friendly the best i have dealt with i would highly recommend them.
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Old 11-11-2008, 16:33
Lawe13
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orange contract have English call center and a very good one to very helpful and friendly the best i have dealt with i would highly recommend them.
Orange's general customer service is based in India, so they would deal with tarrif changes, address changes etc. Billing is based in the UK, as are loyalty, retentions, sales etc.

As of next year all contract customer services will be based in the UK, with only PAYG remaining in India.

Even if you wanted to do a tarrif change, it doesn't always mean you would be transferred to India.

Orange on the UK side of things has a very strong contingent based in the North East (North Tyneside and Darlington) and also some based in Plymouth and receives very high recommendations indeed.
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Old 11-11-2008, 16:37
chris20
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every time i have phoned orange its been British when i had a small problem and when i wanted to find out something about my contract its british never Indian and my friends have never had Indian even when they call back its british
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Old 11-11-2008, 16:47
SuddenImpulse
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orange contract have English call center and a very good one to very helpful and friendly the best i have dealt with i would highly recommend them.
They're not just English, I've got through to Scottish people there too so they must have one in Scotland as well.
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Old 11-11-2008, 17:17
kyussmondo
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T-Mobile and O2 are both UK based as well on contract. T-Mobile are very helpful in my experience, not dealt with O2 much as only been with them since the iPhone 3G was launched, but was helpful when giving them my PAC code which I got from T-Mobile. Not sure about PAYG.
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Old 11-11-2008, 18:09
darkpaw
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vodafone tell me that their call centre staff are uk based. however, my experience is that the part of swansea they claim to be in must be very asian.
I phoned Vodafone customer care yesterday, and spoke to a woman with a broad Scottish accent.
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Old 11-11-2008, 18:20
Lawe13
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T-Mobile and O2 are both UK based as well on contract. T-Mobile are very helpful in my experience, not dealt with O2 much as only been with them since the iPhone 3G was launched, but was helpful when giving them my PAC code which I got from T-Mobile. Not sure about PAYG.
T-Mobile were planning to open a call centre in an Asian country I believe, according to a post on here. Thailand or the Philippines IIRC.
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Old 11-11-2008, 18:28
chris20
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yea t-mobile from 2009 will have call centers in the Philippines
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Old 11-11-2008, 18:30
Aye Up
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T-Mobile and O2 are both UK based as well on contract. T-Mobile are very helpful in my experience, not dealt with O2 much as only been with them since the iPhone 3G was launched, but was helpful when giving them my PAC code which I got from T-Mobile. Not sure about PAYG.
T-Mobile's main centre is based in Doxford (Sunderland) with regards to customer relations etc. However they do have operations in Manila, they were apparently going to expand this. But rumour along the grapevine is they are looking at winding the operation down, it is unclear at this stage whether that will come to fruition. Can't say it for a fact, but I think you will find most of the networks aside from 3 will look towards focussing on a strong customer service ethic over the coming months and years based in the UK or in europe at the very least.

Orange is in transition now from the crap period it was a few years ago, pittling on everyones parade with inconsistent policies. It seems with the new dude in charge he is focussing on customer service rather than an outright sales, money talks but I think in this day and age unless you're a tight sod most people will pay for good service if it means it stays hassle free. Orange has a long way to go but it slowly on the way there.

Mobile communications in this country is starting to reach maturity, networks are finding it increasinly difficult to recruit new customers, so they are having to slash their margins to gain them from rival networks. Three pretty much has a bad rep for Customer Service, there will be many that will argue otherwise but it's a given when you mention Three everyone points to the offshore CS as it's major weak point. O2 and Orange are going through a brand building phase right now, they are about to enter the IPTV market at some point within the next 12 months, on top of that they are not heavily advertising their product portfolio compared to the other networks, just so they can keep service quality in check.

But I am digressing, for UK support you need to go to O2 or god forbid I say this right now Orange, as they will soon allow you to complete basic enquiries instore. Expect within the next 12 months once the changes are complete, O2 and Orange should become the premier networks for CS.
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Old 12-11-2008, 06:44
kyussmondo
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Are T-Mobile mad? I would have thought they would have looked at what happened to companies such as Dell and realise that while Dell did cut costs, it was a huge PR nightmare and has probably played a part in HP overtaking them and in some ways Apple catching them up.

Speaking of customer service, I would like to give props to Apple. When my mute switch came loose last month, I booked an appointment with the in-store Genius, walked in and they replaced it with a brand new phone. They also set it all up for me, activated it, got it working with MobileMe which pulled all my contacts, calendars and bookmarks down to the new phone. When I took my SE W880i back because the screen was bust when I was with T-Mobile, they sealed the phone up and sent it off for repair, meaning I was left with a crappy loan phone for about 2 weeks. I can't help think it ended costing SE or T-Mobile more, after all the shipping costs and repair costs of individual components it must have ended up costing more than the phone was worth, so would have been better off just giving me a new one. Maybe I should have taken it to the Sony Centre and they would have just replaced it for a new phone, but I doubt it.
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Old 12-11-2008, 09:43
SuddenImpulse
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T-Mobile's main centre is based in Doxford (Sunderland) with regards to customer relations etc.
Although they do have a callcentre there, that's not their main one. They also have callcentres in Merthyr Tdyfil and Greenock.

Their Phillipino callcentre staff have really irritating fake american accents which will wind you up to the point that you'll forget why you called....
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Old 12-11-2008, 10:03
Niranjaniz
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Are T-Mobile mad? I would have thought they would have looked at what happened to companies such as Dell and realise that while Dell did cut costs, it was a huge PR nightmare and has probably played a part in HP overtaking them and in some ways Apple catching them up.

Speaking of customer service, I would like to give props to Apple. When my mute switch came loose last month, I booked an appointment with the in-store Genius, walked in and they replaced it with a brand new phone. They also set it all up for me, activated it, got it working with MobileMe which pulled all my contacts, calendars and bookmarks down to the new phone. When I took my SE W880i back because the screen was bust when I was with T-Mobile, they sealed the phone up and sent it off for repair, meaning I was left with a crappy loan phone for about 2 weeks. I can't help think it ended costing SE or T-Mobile more, after all the shipping costs and repair costs of individual components it must have ended up costing more than the phone was worth, so would have been better off just giving me a new one. Maybe I should have taken it to the Sony Centre and they would have just replaced it for a new phone, but I doubt it.
thats pretty cool how much did each situation cost? the Apple one and T-Mobile one?
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Old 12-11-2008, 10:41
kyussmondo
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thats pretty cool how much did each situation cost? the Apple one and T-Mobile one?
I don't know, but I know which one I would prefer and it isn't the T-Mobile one. It wouldn't have been as bad if T-Mobile offered me a loan phone that was of similar spec. Instead they give me a phone which probably came from the early 90s. Black and white screen, no camera, it could text and call but still. I am paying a subsidy for a higher end phone and they give me a piece of history for 2 weeks. Luckily for me I had a few unlocked phones lying around at home so used them instead.

I don't have exact figures, but in something like an iPod or phone then in most cases to repair it under warranty will be more expensive than just giving you a new phone. Maybe SE sent a new phone, but I still had to wait 2 weeks. If I would have went to O2 with my iPhone they would have probably offered the same as T-Mobile. Even if it is costing Apple a bit more just to give you a new handset I think they more than make up for it by keeping customers happy. For something that is so personal and for something that you use everyday then I think it is important that you get a like-for-like replacement as soon as possible, especially if you run a business who pretty much depends on mobile phones to keep in contact with clients and staff. Also, I don't want to be interrogated every time I go in with a problem like I some how abusing the phone, it is a dodgy handset, just fix it or give me a new one.
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Old 13-11-2008, 20:37
plymouthbloke1974
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Oranges Business CS, along with Corporate, Liberate, Handset Faults, Billing, and last but not least, Premier (The middle-top to high spenders) are now all UK based, along with the Number Porting team, sales and retentions.

It is only 150 General Helpdesk that is still outsourced, but will be UK only by the end of the year, and PAYG has a mix of UK/India. PAYG High Value customers are dealt with by the Premier team in the UK and there are still a few of the original PAYG operators about at the moment.

By this time next year... who knows?
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Old 13-11-2008, 21:58
Pencil
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o2 contact centres are 100% based in the UK.
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Old 14-11-2008, 01:09
Aye Up
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Although they do have a callcentre there, that's not their main one. They also have callcentres in Merthyr Tdyfil and Greenock.

Their Phillipino callcentre staff have really irritating fake american accents which will wind you up to the point that you'll forget why you called....
Yes I concede your are right but in terms of customer focus....dealing with complaints etc Doxford is the main site.
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Old 14-11-2008, 12:03
AGNUS_BROWN
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Vodafone used to be Uk based

Belfast
Stoke
Warrington
Scotland
Cardiff
Swansea

But they have just opened a 1st line technical support centre in egypt!
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Old 14-11-2008, 13:52
steveOooo
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ebeverytime ive called virgin payg theyve been ENGLISH!! - think there based in Bath.
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Old 14-11-2008, 20:08
LTT
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As far as i'm aware all of o2 CS is UK based (PAYG, contract, broadband).

I have to say in about 4/5 years o2 PAYG i've never had a problem with their CS at all, very friendly and have always solved the problem. I've also just switched to o2 broadband from AOL and although I switched because it's faster and cheaper, another reason was because AOL cs is Indian based and absolutely awful.
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Old 15-11-2008, 11:40
len112
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This thread would go nicely next to the thread about BBC presenter sacked for asking for non Asian Taxi driver
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Old 15-11-2008, 14:01
Lawe13
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This thread would go nicely next to the thread about BBC presenter sacked for asking for non Asian Taxi driver
It's not exactly the same though is it?

The guy from the BBC was being racist - what should it matter who drives for you?

It's different when it comes to dealing with people over the phone whereby talking is the only form of communication you have, and if a language barrier persists then it makes for difficult conversations. Nobody on this thread has asked for a non asian call centre worker, they are merely asking for UK Based customer services. Totally different.
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Old 15-11-2008, 16:31
len112
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It's not exactly the same though is it?

The guy from the BBC was being racist - what should it matter who drives for you?

It's different when it comes to dealing with people over the phone whereby talking is the only form of communication you have, and if a language barrier persists then it makes for difficult conversations. Nobody on this thread has asked for a non asian call centre worker, they are merely asking for UK Based customer services. Totally different.

Yea Ok my mistake !
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