Leader: Lazy Indian offshoring blame game

Aside from the job loss issue, one of the main arguments used by those opposed to the offshoring of call centres to places like India is that the customer service suffers.

The unions were up in arms when it was revealed that the National Rail enquiries line was being moved from the UK to India, claiming that Indian operators didn't even know where half of the places were. Here at silicon.com we've also heard of many bad experiences from readers dealing with Indian call centre staff from other online companies.

But it's a cheap shot and, when looked at in the wider context of call centres, the argument is full of holes. Or let's put it this way – how many people have had bad call centre experiences dealing with UK-based call centre staff?

Let's be honest, most of us have spent years berating the service from our utilities and banking call centre staff here in the UK. The point is that service can be bad wherever the call centre is based, as highlighted at an offshore outsourcing debate earlier this week. Solving the problem is down to training and good business processes.

Here at silicon.com over the coming weeks we will be delving deeper into the issues around all forms of offshore outsourcing, talking to the key industry players, the unions and the end users, while trying to dispel the myths and give an accurate insight into what is really happening and what the benefits – and pitfalls - are.