[Brian Turner]

In my opinion outsourcing call center support to India and similar countries still presents an image of low-quality, because is done entirely on the basis of cost to help shareholders, rather than being focused first on the customers.

I originally had a business and personal account at HSBC - but even though the main branch was only a mile-and-a-half away, I was not able to call the branch directly - I had to be routed to a call center in India first, who would take my details, then try and put me through to the local branch.

That told me that:

1. The staff at the branch were too important to be able to talk to me directly

2. The Indian call center was cheap and easy and that's all I was worth

It wasn't a way to *improve* service - it was done as a way to try and preserve basics while slashing costs.

It also served to put up a barrier between the customer and company, which in marketing terms is a great way to lose customers.