It is great to see the launch of the Crimestoppers service in New Zealand. It offers an 0800 number to all New Zealanders who may know some details about a crime and want to use an anonymous system to pass on some information.
Crimestoppers is an independent charity helping to find criminals and solve crimes, with support of the NZ Police.
I like 0800 numbers starting up, as it means that there is another contact centre with job and career opportunities happening in New Zealand. And it means the contact centre industry is strong and it shows that 0800 numbers are still a very important part of business strategies.
What makes me sad about this launch however, is that the 0800 555 111 number is answered in the UK.
Or... maybe it’s lucky it’s the UK so there is more chance that the rep will be able to understand us a bit easier than an Indian or Manila contact centre rep. It was good to hear the charity has given the contact centre staff geography and pronunciations lessons. I hope there is a big emphasis on Maori place names and Kiwi slang.
I assume people who call this line will want to do this as quickly as possible and will not be happy with people that struggle to understand the accent, the place names etc.
I think it’s going to be a challenge in these early weeks and I hope there are no major issues with communication otherwise people won't use the service due to the hassle factor and that would be a shame.
Maybe in the future the 0800 number can be answered in New Zealand by New Zealanders for New Zealanders.
Check out the website Crimestoppers