EE says its decision to return customer service jobs to the UK has resulted in a 50% drop in the number of customer complaints.
Earlier this year the mobile network and its parent company, BT, announced ambitious plans to ‘on-shore’ all call centre roles in a bid to improve customer service levels.
Like many UK-based firms, the two had shipped front line customer service jobs offshore in a bid to cut costs but suffered a backlash from customers unhappy with the poor levels of service which often resulted from the move.
Customers have spent more than a decade complaining that overseas operatives were often difficult to understand, did not understand the reason for their calls and failed to resolve issues.
Initially dismissed by firms as signs of intolerance or racism, such complaints have damaged many companies’ reputations and bred deep dissatisfaction among shoppers.
In recent years many big firms have started to factor in such brand tarnishing, while others have accepted that some customers’ need to make repeated calls to resolve their issues reduces or wipes out the expected savings from hiring cheaper overseas staff.
More than 500 new customer service jobs have been created by EE which is now answering 100% of all calls from pay monthly customers in the UK and Ireland.
A further 550 new roles are due to be recruited in Plymouth, Darlington, South Wales and North Tyneside over the coming months, with more to follow in North Tyneside, Darlington, Plymouth and Merthyr Tydfil to provide sufficient staff to handle all EE Home Broadband and pay-as-you-go customer services calls.
EE is crediting the new UK call centres with a 50% drop in the number of complaints about its mobile service to industry watchdog Ofcom. The number of complaints now “fall well below” the industry average with fewer than six complaints per 100,000 customers.
EE CEO Marc Allera said: “Earlier this year, we set out ambitions to transform the experience and service we provide our customers, including returning all customer service roles to the UK and Ireland.
“We’ve had fantastic feedback from our customers about the changes we’ve made so far and the number of complaints has plummeted – but we’re not stopping there.
“There’s still more we want to achieve and we’re creating over 550 additional service jobs here in the UK to fully onshore all customer service roles, and provide the best possible experience for our customers.”
