Keep your chat agents local

While Many U.S. Call Center Jobs have migrated to offshore providers, some experts feel that foreign click-to-chat agents don’t translate well. Alton Martin, CEO of customer service consulting firm COPC, is one who warns against off-shoring chat services.

“You can really tell when the chat person is offshore and their English is bad,” Martin says. “It’s also obvious when they’re not culturally attuned. The assertion is that though they may have accent issues, their written English is pretty good. But they’re still not culturally attuned.”

Also, whereas customer service representatives — especially overseas — may be scripted to use the customer’s name or call them “sir” or “ma’am” repeatedly over the phone, the technique does not translate well in live chat, says Martin. “It’s one thing on the phone. In chat, it’s just aggravating,” he notes.