The ring of truth

Technology is essential to getting the most out of a call centre; but customers would much rather deal with another human being than have to battle battle through a sequence of automated menus. Ewan Campbell wonders if it is possible to combine efficient telecoms IT while maintaining authentic customer service

Since call centres were invented, making an insurance claim has - in theory - become much simpler. Clients used to ring their brokers for a claims form and get three estimates before a repair or replacement was authorised. Every party in the transaction worked at its own pace.

Now claims forms have been all but abolished. Claims are validated through call centres and managed pro-actively.

But call centres are far from perfect environments. The people who staff them are usually low-paid, transient