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here are two ways for companies to look at call centers. The first is to look at them as a part of their cost-control strategy — avoid hiring expensive permanent staff, outsource to a low cost vendor, focus on frontline revenue generating sales and relegate servicing to shared pools of back office service staff, use technology to “standardize” responses and minimize flexibility since it results in greater time and effort.

While cost control is an important discipline requiring diligent attention, the problem with looking at call centers as a low cost solution is that the company starts to dilute the customer experience.

When customers open bank accounts, buy electronic gadgets, opt for telecom packages or book airline tickets their initial purchase is only a small percentage of their overall customer experience. The real test for the company, its employees and brand begins when the customers start utilizing the product or service and invariably require clarification, assistance and problem solving. In such situations the experience with cost control driven call centers can be nightmarish for customers.

Teams are insufficiently resourced and poorly trained. Customers are de-personalized and represented as numbers in electronic queues. Responses are read blandly from scripts with operators too ready to say it cannot be done, not possible, not my responsibility or contact someone else. The same operator, who is diligent to demand your verification details, becomes a complete fumbler when offering a solution. Supervisors are missing in action and to try to locate one in the mid of a difficult problem with no solution in sight is next to impossible. Even if by chance you encounter a helpful person you cannot rely on it because of the lack of consistency often experienced.

The second and correct way to look at call centers is by considering them integral to customer delight. In this approach, they are considered critical customer interface points in which the organization’s promises, differentiation and brand values will be truly tested. Even if the operation is outsourced the organization does not lose control over quality, performance measurement and customer feedback and validation. As Jim Bush, executive vice president of world service at AmEx aptly puts it, “we serve customers not transactions.”

Humanizing the customer’s call center experience is therefore the key. This begins with a strong focus on proper recruitment and training. One key aspect is to hire individuals with the right “service attitude”. Such an attitude has five distinguishing characteristics – friendly personality, efficiency in performing routine tasks, communication skills especially listening, genuine concern for customers and problem solving ability. The fifth characteristic is often lacking in call center professionals in Indonesia and without it the service experience becomes ineffective.

Customer delight-oriented call centers create the right climate for problem solving. Even though there are large volumes and transactions involved they ensure that the processes are able to distinguish between different customer requirements and anxieties. Staff is given suitable empowerment and performance is judged not on the number of calls handled but the overall quality of the service provided. Supervisors are accessible and ready to assist when a problem is serious. In such environments humans drive technology for the benefit of the customer rather than becoming bureaucratic button pressers lacking common sense.

Often call center operators need to involve technical teams and here the organization’s internal seamlessness and alignment is further tested. A technician may have to come to your house to install an air conditioner or Internet cable. In such cases the call center operator is expected to demonstrate a sense of ownership – identify the right resource, ensure the technician comes on time and check with the customer on satisfaction levels. Again slippages are frequently experienced. The call center operator will confirm a schedule and then go missing.

Technicians, often contracted on a per diem basis have rudimentary training with no corporate or brand loyalty. They will show up late, take breaks on your time, come without proper tools and often leave a mess – long loops of excess cable, stains on your wall and imperfect installation that might require one or two iterations before you are satisfied.

Since the customer has paid upfront there is little choice but to swallow your frustration and go through the disjointed and poorly coordinated process. If you try complaining you encounter another round of bureaucracy and will realize that the same company whose sales reps were very sweet and helpful during the buying phase have suddenly relegated you to an irritating number during the service phase.

But companies having such a callous approach are taking a huge risk. The spread of social networking and peer group consultation gives customers the power to vent their frustrations and complaints on the net. Bad experiences with call centers and outsourced service providers can quickly go viral, damaging the brand.

Companies operating call centers from the customer delight perspective are well aware that they must manage the end to end experience not just the sales or showroom side. They track every aspect of the customer requirement and ensure activities like installation, activation, troubleshooting, etc. are professionally handled. Strict service level agreements within teams and a focus on closing the customer service loop are maintained.

Importantly, they are able to prioritize customers based on value – high net worth, multiple product users, repeat buyers, loyal clients, etc. They target making every contact an opportunity to positively engage and seek out new business opportunities. On the other hand, annoying customers who are providing regular business should be inexcusable with suitable consequences for careless employees.

The inconsistent standards and mediocre quality of Indonesia’s call centers has also affected its competitiveness at a regional level. The Philippines has emerged as the star in the call center business with a US$15 billion industry and growing reputation internationally.

In terms of English proficiency, efficiency and problem solving, Philippine call centers rank well ahead of Indonesian ones and are also providing valuable employment to a young population.

There is scope for Indonesia to catch up and many existing domestic customers expect to see improvements soon. But in order to do so companies need to seriously overhaul call centers from an integrated customer experience perspective.

The columnist is president director of leading strategic advisory firm IndonesiaWISE. He can be contacted at amoltitus@indonesiawise.com.