Majority of UK consumers unhappy about offshore call centres

22 March 2005 | 7676 views | 0 call_centre_3

Over half of UK consumers are unhappy about banks outsourcing customer contact centres to cheap offshore locations, according to research conducted by Fujitsu Services.

The survey of 1000 consumers from regions across the UK found that 62% were 'concerned' about the offshoring of call centres.

Ann Hosford, business development manager for financial services at Fujitsu Services, says: "An offshore contact centre is seen by many banks as a solution to reducing costs. In practise though, there are other 'more customer friendly' ways to manage operating costs."

The research found that over half of respondents (53%) still prefer to visit branches for banking. Fruthermore, almost a third of respondents aged between 16 and 34 want to see branches open 24-hours.

But almost half of consumers (48%) are still struggling with Internet and mobile banking services and find the new technology confusing, too difficult to use or are worried about security.

Hosford says: "Banks must ensure they can provide customers with guarantees regarding the reliability of the service, security of financial information, and provide support and training on how best to use them."