Slingshot forced to use Indian call centre

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Posted Thu 17 May 2007 @ 12:58 p.m. by Sarah Putt

After struggling for 18 months to find a local telemarketing service, New Zealand owned ISP Slingshot has contracted its outbound sales to a call centre in India.

Marketing director Mark Callander says Slingshot have employed up to 25 agents based in Bangalore for the past five months to sell their products to New Zealand consumers. He’s concerned that publicity around using an Indian call centre could impact negatively on Slingshot - whose marketing strategy is built around being Kiwi owned - but he says the company has no choice in the matter.

“That is probably my biggest concern. To create an awareness that we’re using an Indian call centre is not a path I want to go down,” says Callander.

“If there are local companies out there that think they can do it we’ll move there today. Like I said, I’ve personally gone through at least 12 call centres in the last 12-18 months. I’ve been involved in one successful one, the others were unsuccessful or tied up with Telecom or Vodafone so there were restraint of trade issues – it’s not like we haven’t tried.”

Callander says it’s isn't cheaper for them to use an Indian rather than a NZ outsourced contact centre, but the sales conversion ratio is far superior. Put simply, the agents in India are better at closing the deal and Callander believes this is because they view telemarketing as a positive career choice.

“The India-based agents are university graduates. You’re getting very well educated people and they’re attitude to work is completely different to the New Zealand psyche where Generation Y is not focused on building career.”

He also cites the local tight labour market as contributing to a shortage in skilled outbound agents locally.

Despite being half a world away, Slingshot are able to monitor the calls out of Bangalore through live call barging – this means that local managers can listen into calls and check that the products, and the brand itself, are being sold correctly.

Callander says in addition to the Indian call centre, he manages 10 outbound agents in New Zealand and CallPlus (Slingshot’s parent company) has an 80-seat inbound contact centre.

Categories: International | Profile | Recruitment and HR

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7 comments

• Steve Smith says:

  I guess with ISPs profit getting wafer thin every day, they have no choice but to save money somewhere..

  Added: 18 May 2007, 12:52 a.m. Flag as Spam  |  Flag as Offensive

• Cass says:

  I actually have no major issue with the telemarketing component gets outsourced (whether in NZ or overseas) as it is shotgun marketing at its best and targeted at potential customers rather than current customers. Let the specialists with the best success rates do it for you. On the flip side, I would be very disappointed if a Service Centre was outsourced. These are EXISTING customers, and as soon as you outsource, you lose control of the customer experience. Gaining new customers is valuable, but retaining existing customers is a much more valuable outcome for any business.

  Added: 18 May 2007, 10:05 a.m. Flag as Spam  |  Flag as Offensive

• Neha says:

  Efficiency and Effectiveness is what really matters...

  Added: 27 May 2007, 10:04 a.m. Flag as Spam  |  Flag as Offensive

• Christie says:

  Outsourcing is all about cost-effectiveness without compromising on the Quality - and that is the only way MNC's can compete globally and survive. Sadly the Quality area is very flimsy in most Indian Call Centres inspite of all the COPC, 6-Sigma and ISO standards they pretend to follow. And I can absolutely vouch for that fact, having worked there in Ops Mngr roles for 1-2 years for different UK companies outshoring to India, and also having dealt with over 20 Indian Call Centres outsourcing work from US, UK and Oze. Their weakest link is low Quality & Training. But their biggest strength is the dedicated manpower who always give their very best to those well-paying Call Centre jobs and can sell ice to the eskimos too! And of course cost-effectiveness. It does make business sense to go there!

  Added: 2 June 2007, 4:34 p.m. Flag as Spam  |  Flag as Offensive

• jacko says:

  I have been pestered by Slingshot over the last few days from Bangalore. Just to prove how efficient they are as per Slingshot above. quote" “The India-based agents are university graduates. You’re getting very well educated people and they’re attitude to work is completely different to the New Zealand psyche where Generation Y is not focused on building career.” unquote.
  They asked me if I had dial up or broadband. I told them I had ADSL and the person in Bangalore didnt know what ADSL was. He kept asking the same question again and I kept giving him the same answer. Then I got pestered again by yet another call and he asked for my Telecom Account number and date of birth. I told him I wasnt with Telecom and he rattled on about other things and yet asked again about my Telecom Account number and I told him yet again I didnt have a telecom account and was with another company. I refused to give him my date of birth and my birth date. I finaly managed to cut him off to get rid of him and yet strike me down I get another call from Bangalore explaining great deals and I told them can I have your phone number so I can get back to you but they said not possible. After the second call I was given all this rubbish about great deals and demanded to see them in black and white first. The deals sounded suspicious. So a check on there website confirmed they were to pricey by far.
  I yet got another call and they told me did I have a look at there wonderful deals. I said I had a look and told them there deals were crap and to dear. They tried to say there price was better and they had the best deal. I told them I dont need your crap and I can get a better deal elsewhere. They also claimed they could offer a better deal but that never happened. They also had the cheek to ask what I was paying but I told them far cheaper than what you were offering. Also the phone conversation has a intermittent cutting out of voice as if parts of words are being left out on all calls. Then I thought do I want to have to deal with Bangalore each time I had a problem and thought again NO WAY. So avoid Slingshot at all costs is my advice.
  P.S I had a look around the net and got a far better deal than what Slingshot are offering so do your homework first.

  Added: 20 November 2008, 5:05 p.m. Flag as Spam  |  Flag as Offensive

• jacko says:

  You would hardly believe it but those Slingshot pests from Bangalore rung me up too night yet again pestering me after telling them I had got a better deal elsewhere yesterday. And also went on about my email address. Considering I had never given my email to them to the best of my knowledge. They wanted to know how my email address was spelt. I told them to mind there own buisness. The calls from Bangalore are of poor quality as voice segments keep cutting out. I have had enough of this harresment from them. Dont they know what the word no means.?

  Added: 22 November 2008, 12:01 a.m. Flag as Spam  |  Flag as Offensive

• bangalore says:

  is it mango season in Bangalore?

  Added: 10 January 2009, 5:58 p.m. Flag as Spam  |  Flag as Offensive

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