An offshore call center is a Call Center that provides service to customers in a different country, usually the US. Offshore call centers are not always upfront about their locations, to the point that telephone operators are sometimes assigned Americanized or English names.
Many North American and European businesses contract companies in countries such as India or the Philippines to run tech support, customer service, or other telecommunication services.
Benefits of Offshore Call Centers
Offshore call centers generally charge much less than a domestic call center company because wages in the other country are much lower.
Additionally, offshore call centers can reduce the parent company’s need to invest in communications technology (since they can outsource the requirements to the call center company). With an offshore call center, a company may be able to afford 24-hour support or services for customers.
Disadvantages of Offshore Call Centers
Despite the cost benefits for the company that uses an offshore call center, customers tend to view offshore call centers unfavorably. In 2008, a survey showed that 91 percent of consumers in the UK preferred companies that did not use offshore call centers. 68 percent believed customer care had deteriorated since call centers moved offshore.[1]
“Offshoring” vs “offshore”
Offshoring refers to a company creating a foreign subsidiary “offshore.” An “offshore” call center is an foreign contractor that provides a company with call center services.
With an offshore call center, a company is outsourcing the work to a foreign contractor. See Offshore outsourcing at Wikipedia.
Outsourcing is a controversial business strategy and has been in decline in the US from 2009-2011.[2] However, there are arguments for offshore outsourcing as a source of efficiency and revenue for the business’ country of origin.[3]
April 7, 2023
Phone System 