Recession in Britain 'at an end' - BBC

dfh

hundredk wrote: »

Cheap Vs Quality is the consumers decision. If you had the choice of buying a 100% quality product for £1 or a 90% quality product for 60p which would you choose? Of course it's difficult to quanitify like this and is about individual choice but companies know a lot will trade off some quality for a reasonable saving. In the example of customer service call cantres, it's only a problem if you need to use them.

I agree businesses know they can get away with it, or at least consider how much flak they may get for £££savings but isn't that a commercial decision?

Oh, I hate foreign call centres!

I suppose I should resign myself to foriegn call centres,foriegn made clothes...................sigh....... where are the good old days !

Cleaver

dfh wrote: »

I know but what if you had to make a claim. it can be a nightmare trying to talk to someone who you cannot understand and who cannot understand you

You've missed my point. You're right that it is a pain making a claim from a call centre abroad but it simply isn't a significant factor when I (and probably most others) chose an insurer, especially if it means my policy is cheaper.

I'm happy for companies to chose the most cost effective option for any part of their business. We're in a global world.

1echidna

Personally I have had mixed experience from overseas call centres as I have from British ones. On balance when the English is good and they understand the systems in use I think an overseas handler with the right attitude can be every bit as good as a UK based one. I feel though with leadership such as Bendix seems to think he can provide it is no wonder a poor attitude pertains often in the UK. He talks about no empathy with people who lose their jobs and it being dog eat dog. I wish a big dog would come and eat him. It can be no wonder that poor attitudes pertain in the workforce and to customers if people who run companies display such arrogant attitudes. Poor management that ultimately impoverishes us all.

dfh

Cleaver wrote: »

You've missed my point. You're right that it is a pain making a claim from a call centre abroad but it simply isn't a significant factor when I (and probably most others) chose an insurer, especially if it means my policy is cheaper.

I'm happy for companies to chose the most cost effective option for any part of their business. We're in a global world.

I guess I am old fashioned.I can understand what you are saying about being part of global trade.But surely in the 70's when we did not have the overseas call centres the country was still functioning ok.When we had branches and you could walk in and talk to a native person.Now all you do is press option 153 and wait listening to music for half an hour.

hundredk

dfh wrote: »

I suppose I should resign myself to foriegn call centres,foriegn made clothes...................sigh....... where are the good old days !

Gone methinks

Or mabe just progess?

30 years ago you'd have gone to a broker for an insurance quote and at best had a few reasonable ones to choose from. Now you can go online, compare, play them off against each other, screw them on price and even have helpful sites like this tell you how to do it, only to moan when they look for savings to pass on to the punter.

lostinrates

hundredk wrote: »

Cheap Vs Quality is the consumers decision. If you had the choice of buying a 100% quality product for £1 or a 90% quality product for 60p which would you choose?

depends, dunnit. And as in all things for me, my bedroom has the answer.

I like quality linen. it makes me feel good and sleep better. For me quality wins hands down. Now..pillows are another thing. I think there is a good chance I dribble when I sleep sometimes. DH certainly does...I've seen him. Our cats sometimes sleep on them (though they don't dribble) and while I freee them four times a year, they go soft and lumpy and flacid. I do not like this at all: yet if I bought expensive ones I would feel very bad about replacing when my pillows no longer were firm and delicious: so I buy cheaply and replace every now and again.


Of course, somethings you can meet in the middle and make a balance of price and quality, neither extreme being met.

dfh

hundredk wrote: »

Gone methinks

Or mabe just progess?

30 years ago you'd have gone to a broker for an insurance quote and at best had a few reasonable ones to choose from. Now you can go online, compare, play them off against each other, screw them on price and even have helpful sites like this tell you how to do it, only to moan when they look for savings to pass on to the punter.

I suppose so.But I fear we may be compromising quality to get the cheapest service.Problem is that lots of cheap insurers hide behind unfair t and c;s and you only get stung when you make a claim.
Another point is new builds.Shoddy work most of them and overpriced hence banks are now so wary of lending on new builds

hundredk

dfh wrote: »

I guess I am old fashioned.I can understand what you are saying about being part of global trade.But surely in the 70's when we did not have the overseas call centres the country was still functioning ok.When we had branches and you could walk in and talk to a native person.Now all you do is press option 153 and wait listening to music for half an hour.

That's because the technology for call centres did not exist then - you were posh if you had a trim phone with buttions rather than a dial. So in the 70's when you called someone you spoke to a person. There are upsides too - I couldn't be bothered travelling to all those counters to pay bills when I can just do so online.

Cleaver

dfh wrote: »

I guess I am old fashioned.I can understand what you are saying about being part of global trade.But surely in the 70's when we did not have the overseas call centres the country was still functioning ok.When we had branches and you could walk in and talk to a native person.Now all you do is press option 153 and wait listening to music for half an hour.

I don't really press 153 and listen to music much.

I tend to pop on to the internet, chose everything through there and generally deal via e-mail.

The thought of being in the 70s (I was born in the 80s, so that is a bit difficult) and having to go to the bank, broker, travel agents etc. to do all the stuff I can now do on the net is strange thought. I'm sure someone 30 years from now will wonder how we coped without teleportation machines and gorgeous robot women, but progress is generally a good thing.

bluey890

Cleaver wrote: »

I'm happy for companies to chose the most cost effective option for any part of their business. We're in a global world.

All those poor children being exploited. Tut.
bluey with his spin hat on