Decline in Call Centre Customer Service

United Kingdom -- According research by Dimension Data, customer service levels at call centres have fallen over the last ten years, with the average time taken to answer the phone increasing from 23 to 38 seconds.

The study, which measured 300 call centres around the world found that customer service levels had fallen “significantly”.

“The increase in demand, coupled with the need to contain costs, has put significant pressure on contact centres” Said Alex George, of Dimension Data.

More and more calls are being dealt with by self-serve automated messages, often without the customer speaking to a human being. The study revealed the best call centres were to be found in the travel industry - and the worst in media and technology.

In an attempt to win back dissatisfied customers, some UK companies have started to bring their call centres back to native shores. In the UK for example, HSBC has relocated its business call centres back to the UK.