scholarly journals Co-creating customer experience through call centre interaction: Interactional achievement and professional face

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 257-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piotr Jagodziński ◽  
Dawn Archer
Keyword(s):  
Customer Service ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Customer Experience ◽  
Call Centre ◽  
Frontline Employees ◽  
Holistic Treatment ◽  
Call Centres ◽  
The Way

Abstract Many customer service institutions draw on the (argued over) notion of “customer experience”. Gentile et al. (2007) suggest that, at an optimum, the notion assumes a thinking and feeling customer who co-creates their customer experience together with the service providing institution. This co-creation is believed to comprise interactional involvement, personalization and the holistic treatment of the customer’s needs. Given the latter, we might expect service providers, such as call centres, to view language as a vital means of creating an experience with the customer. The extant linguistic call centre research, including our own, points to the fact that call centre institutions view language as fundamental to their functioning. However, heavy language regulation tends to be the most important - if not the only - means of achieving outstanding customer experience (Cameron 2000; Jagodziński 2013; Archer and Jagodziński 2015). There is a clear mismatch, then, between the tenets of customer experience and the way language is conceptualized, interactionally managed and regulated. Throughout this paper, we argue that the co-creation of customer experience must be accompanied by its linguistic co-construction, which can only be achieved by giving frontline employees more interactional freedom than they tend to have in practice.

scholarly journals Enhanced Customer Interactions through Customer-Centric Technology within a Call Centre

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2(J)) ◽  
pp. 79-91
Author(s):  
Devina Oodith
Keyword(s):  
Service Delivery ◽  
Customer Service ◽  
Simple Random Sampling ◽  
Customer Experience ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Call Centre ◽  
Call Centres ◽  
Self Help ◽  
Public Sector Service ◽  
Sector Service

Customer call centres have become a critical form of service delivery for many organisations hence technological innovations serve as a critical point of contact between the organisation and its customers and can assist in raising the stakes in businesses in terms of customer service delivery (Burgess & Connell, 2004). According to the 2017 Global Customer Experience Benchmarking Report technology has been the number one enabler to positively enhance customer service experience in the last 5 years (Business Tech, 2017). Customers have become so empowered that they expect to have flexibility to contact a business however they choose; either via a telephone, email or Facebook. The key to ensuring satisfaction though is system’s efficiency and ease of use. This study was undertaken in EThekwini (Durban), South Africa and was directed within a Public Sector service environment comprising of four major call centres employing a total of 240 call centre agents. Using simple random sampling, 220 customers were drawn from all consumers subscribing to e-billing in EThekwini (Durban). Data for the customer sample was collected using a precoded, self-developed questionnaire whose psychometric properties were statistically determined. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results specify that in terms of customers’ perceptions of the influence of technology, on call centre effectiveness the majority of the customers found it challenging to use the technology and to understand the self-help options that were provided to them by the call centre. There were problems encountered with logging in customer queries and complaints and most customers were dissatisfied with their overall customer experience. Based on the results of the study recommendations have been made to manage the interactions between the customers and call centre’s more proficiently and powerfully.

Do They Always Have Wounded Selves: Moderating Impact of Job-worth on Burnout and Self-worth of Indian Call Centre Employees

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Tuheena Mukherjee ◽  
Kanika T. Bhal
Keyword(s):  
Customer Service ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Psychological Impact ◽  
Call Centre ◽  
Call Centres ◽  
Self And Identity ◽  
Self Worth ◽  
Customer Service Representatives ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Numerous researches in call centres indicate the negative psychological impact in the form of burnout experiences of the customer service representatives. The present study argues that burnout experiences do not always have a negative impact on the employee’s self-worth. The relationship is, instead, moderated by the impact of job-worth, which acts as a potential individual resource. The results of the present study conducted on 312 call centre representatives partially confirm our hypotheses. Results indicate that representatives who have high job-worth maintain their self-worth, even when emotionally exhausted. The results also show that employees possessing high job-worth, even with low personal accomplishments on their jobs, maintain their self-worth. We discuss the findings in the Indian call centre context from the perspective of self and identity literature and provide broader implications for practice and research.

Calling on Compensation in Australian Call Centres

2003 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 62-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary Crone ◽  
Lorraine Carey ◽  
Peter Dowling
Keyword(s):  
Customer Service ◽  
Negative Correlation ◽  
Employee Performance ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Significant Negative Correlation ◽  
Telephone Call ◽  
Call Centre ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Call Centres ◽  
Significant Difference

ABSTRACTWhile there is a growing body of research on telephone call centre management in the U.K. and the U.S.A., empirical studies in Australia are at an embryonic stage. To date, most of the studies have focussed on the management of employee performance. The principal aim of this study was to provide data on current compensation practices in Australian call centres and to determine the extent of their strategic and best-practice orientation. A second aim was to explore whether the strategic management of compensation can help to balance the tension between commitment to customer service and commitment to employee motivation.Using data collected through a mail questionnaire survey of telephone call centres operating in a range of industries in Australia, the paper explores the effect of compensation practices on employee performance, absenteeism and turnover. Following a review of the literature on call centre management and the literature on compensation strategies, the findings are presented. Key findings include: a) a significant negative correlation between annual salary and the number of calls handled by full-time customer service representatives (CSRs); b) a significant positive correlation between casual CSRs' pay rates and turnover; c) a significant negative correlation between full-time CSRs' pay and absenteeism; d) a highly significant difference between the compensation strategies currently practiced in Australian call centres and the strategies call centre managers think should be practiced and e) Australian call centre managers report their compensation strategies are not very effective in increasing performance or employee satisfaction.

Calling on Compensation in Australian Call Centres

2003 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 62-76
Author(s):  
Gary Crone ◽  
Lorraine Carey ◽  
Peter Dowling
Keyword(s):  
Customer Service ◽  
Negative Correlation ◽  
Employee Performance ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Significant Negative Correlation ◽  
Telephone Call ◽  
Call Centre ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Call Centres ◽  
Significant Difference

ABSTRACTWhile there is a growing body of research on telephone call centre management in the U.K. and the U.S.A., empirical studies in Australia are at an embryonic stage. To date, most of the studies have focussed on the management of employee performance. The principal aim of this study was to provide data on current compensation practices in Australian call centres and to determine the extent of their strategic and best-practice orientation. A second aim was to explore whether the strategic management of compensation can help to balance the tension between commitment to customer service and commitment to employee motivation.Using data collected through a mail questionnaire survey of telephone call centres operating in a range of industries in Australia, the paper explores the effect of compensation practices on employee performance, absenteeism and turnover. Following a review of the literature on call centre management and the literature on compensation strategies, the findings are presented. Key findings include: a) a significant negative correlation between annual salary and the number of calls handled by full-time customer service representatives (CSRs); b) a significant positive correlation between casual CSRs' pay rates and turnover; c) a significant negative correlation between full-time CSRs' pay and absenteeism; d) a highly significant difference between the compensation strategies currently practiced in Australian call centres and the strategies call centre managers think should be practiced and e) Australian call centre managers report their compensation strategies are not very effective in increasing performance or employee satisfaction.

The voice-to-technology (V2T) encounter and the call centre servicescape

2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin P.W. Ellway
Keyword(s):  
Customer Service ◽  
Interactive Voice Response ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Direct Interaction ◽  
Customer Experience ◽  
Spatial Layout ◽  
Service Process ◽  
Call Centre ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Voice

Purpose – Because the voice-to-technology (V2T) encounter remains under-theorised, the purpose of this paper is to overcome this gap by investigating customers use of the interactive voice response (IVR) system and “the customer journey” through the call centre service system. Design/methodology/approach – From an interpretive study of a UK call centre, the metaphorical aspects of language used to represent the service process are analysed, accompanied by an examination of how the servicescape dimensions of spatial layout and signs are constituted in the call centre service process, and the resulting implications for virtual-aural navigation. Findings – Despite no physical movement, customers represent their experience of navigating “through” the service process in spatial terms. Therefore, understanding precisely how servicescape dimensions are reconfigured within the virtual-aural setting of the call centre is necessary to appreciate customer experience of V2T but also voice-to-voice (V2V) encounters. The call centre servicescape lacks a spatial representation of layout and signs that would conventionally support navigation and purposeful movement. Research limitations/implications – Despite observing live calls, direct interaction with customers was not possible. The paper was based upon a single case study, and the hermeneutic focus on understanding and meaning meant that the study did not emphasise the quantification of phenomenon. Therefore, further research on virtual navigation is required. Practical implications – Problematic V2T encounters compromise the quality and efficiency of service provision. A visual representation of the IVR system may possibly support V2T encounters, while encouraging customer service advisors to act as “guides” during V2V encounters may reduce problems emerging from V2T encounters. Originality/value – First, an original theorisation of the customer experience of the V2T encounter is provided through the theoretical notion of spatialisation metaphors. Second, a preliminary conceptualisation of the call centre servicescape is developed, which shows how spatial layout and signs are reconfigured and represented in this virtual-aural setting.

scholarly journals Analysis of Aspects Required to Improve Customer Experience in Indonesia’s Internet Broadband

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 97-101
Author(s):  
Wendy Junaidi
Keyword(s):  
Service Providers ◽  
Customer Experience ◽  
Internet Service ◽  
Broadband Internet ◽  
The Past ◽  
Service Expectations ◽  
Tv Shows ◽  
Watching Tv ◽  
The Way

In the digital age, transactions range from hailing a taxi to watching TV shows on demand that depend on an internet connection. As consumers have more power than ever before, today’s internet service providers face more demanding service expectations from customers than in the past, they recognize the need to improve certain aspects of business, including the quality of the experience they provide to customers. In other words, meeting the demands of broadband internet has its own challenges. The purpose of this study is to provide insights regarding challenges along the customer journey as the opportunities for improvement. The results showed that longer time from ordering to installation and frequent network disconnection are prioritized customer experience issues in internet broadband business and service providers need to focus on improving on the way companies engage the customers through reliable touch points and resetting the way people work in the organization to be more customer-centric.

scholarly journals Exploring predictors of job satisfaction in call centres – The case of Australia

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 376-395
Author(s):  
John Annakis ◽  
Tony Lobo ◽  
Soma Pillay
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Customer Service ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Call Centre ◽  
Personal Privacy ◽  
Call Centres ◽  
Customer Service Representatives

In this paper we examine predictors of job satisfaction within the call centre industry. Using a qualitative methodology, we investigate the nature and extent of job satisfaction of customer service representatives in two large Australian call centres. The findings from the study confirm that monitoring, personal privacy and flexibility correlate to workers’ wellbeing and job satisfaction

The Staging of Contested Servicescapes

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 456-473
Author(s):  
Athinodoros Chronis
Keyword(s):  
Service Providers ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Frontline Employees ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
Tour Guides ◽  
Empirical Context ◽  
The Way

Identifying the abundance of servicescapes whose meaning and identity can be contested by customers, and recognizing the necessity for managing these environments, this study investigates and provides theoretical understanding of the way in which service providers stage contested servicescapes. To this end, ethnographic research was conducted at the Gettysburg National Military Park as an exemplary empirical context of a servicescape that, more than a century and a half after the battle transpired, remains at the center of intense controversies. Analytical attention was focused on the performative practices of tour guides who—as frontline employees (FLEs)—are essential in practices of staging. The contribution of this research lies in (1) highlighting the politicized nature of certain servicescapes and theorizing their staging through three groups of interrelated practices, (2) viewing authenticity as a discourse employed by service providers to legitimize their claims of an undisputed “official” servicescape, and (3) shedding light on current debates on the tension between domination (structure) and resistance (agency) by introducing the strategic notion of metaperformance. Implications for practice are provided in the form of suggestive techniques that can guide FLEs in staging potentially controversial servicescapes and avoiding contestation.

scholarly journals The development of a hassle-based diagnostic scale for predicting burnout in call centres

2009 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Willie A. Visser ◽  
Sebastiaan Rothmann
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Work Environment ◽  
Customer Service ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Daily Hassles ◽  
Call Centre ◽  
Continuous Change ◽  
Call Centres ◽  
Customer Service Representatives ◽  
The Relationship

The aim of this study was to develop a brief daily hassle diagnostic questionnaire that could be used to identify daily hassles for customer service representatives within a call centre environment, and to investigate the relationship between daily hassles and burnout. A crosssectional survey was used with an accidental sample (N = 394) taken from a service and sales call centre. An exploratory factor analysis of the data resulted in a six-factor model of daily hassles consisting of daily demands, continuous change, co-worker hassles, demotivating work environment, transportation hassles and personal concerns. The internal consistency of one factor, namely personal concerns, was low. Exhaustion was best predicted by four categories of daily hassles, namely daily demands, continuous change, a demotivating work environment, and transportation hassles.

SISTEM INFORMASI PENJUALAN DENGAN MENERAPKAN METODE SALES FORCE AUTOMATION

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 214-223
Author(s):  
Vivi Sahfitri
Keyword(s):  
Information System ◽  
Customer Service ◽  
Sales Force ◽  
Sales Force Automation ◽  
Sales Process ◽  
Marketing Area ◽  
Consumer Dissatisfaction ◽  
Product Manufacturer ◽  
The Way

The sales process is the most important part of the product manufacturer or the company being ditributor. Conventional sales system by the way telephone or consumer come directly to know the available or not the product needed to make consumers should take the time to do that. Such conditions can also lead to consumer dissatisfaction especially if the desired item is unavailable. Dissatisfaction with customer service can affect the indication of declining sales turnover. For that, the company needs a website-based sales information system that can be accessed by consumers anytime and anywhere so that it can expand its marketing area, and can facilitate salespeople to conduct promotions to Community. This research produces the sales information system by implementing a sales Force Automation (SFA) method which is expected to maximize the sales and focus of services to customers.

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