Call centre agents get too personal

13 October 2008

Have you ever got frustrated with a call centre operator being over-familiar with you and repeatedly using your first name? According to new research from Oxford University, the reason is that call centre agents are asked to simulate a personal relationship with the customer to make up for the removal of face-to-face interaction.

Dr Kristina Hultgren, of St Anne's College and the English Faculty, has just completed research into the language used by call centre agents in their communication with customers and the problems that arise from this.

She discovered that call centre agents are advised to create a 'rapport' with customers by a variety of methods, such as engaging them in small talk or by using their name. The concept, dubbed 'synthetic personalisation', aims to make the service transaction resemble more a conversation between friends than a business transaction.

However, the process often backfires. "The problem is that agents are under pressure to process customers as quickly as possible, so they are inclined to opt for ways of creating rapport which can be done speedily," Dr Hultgren says. "This tends to be by using the customer's name as it's quicker than engaging them in small talk. As a customer, we then have the impression of our name being overused and feel uncomfortable."

There are other adverse consequences of call centre communication training. Dr Hultgren says: "Some call centres tell agents not to use 'negative sounding' phrases such as 'unfortunately I can't do that'. This means that when agents are unable to assist the caller for various reasons, they have to communicate this in an elusive and indirect manner, which may confuse the customer."

Her research also found that call centres try to compensate for their bad reputation by devoting considerable resources to teaching their agents how to communicate with customers. During their extensive training programmes, operators are given manuals which indicate which phrases they must or must not use when talking to customers. Their compliance with this is assessed and may have consequences for their salary.

Researching both men and women in call centres in Britain, Denmark, Hong Kong and the Philippines, Dr Hultgren said: "I was surprised to discover that the stereotype of women being able to ask questions and use a range of intonation as instructed was true and that men found it much harder to create that rapport."

According to the research, the communication style taught to call centre operators is the same irrespective of the location and language of the centre. The familiar interactive style is based on a North American style of familiarity which may not be accepted in the countries to which it is exported. Danish call centre agents in particular showed profound dislike of having to simulate a personal relationship with customers.

Dr Hultgren is available for interview. For further information please contact  the Oxford University Press Office on 01865 270046 or press.office@admin.ox.ac.uk