Anna Kristina Hultgren and Deborah Cameron
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195306897
- eISBN:
- 9780199867943
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195306897.003.0015
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Sociolinguistics / Anthropological Linguistics
This chapter, written by Ann Kristina Hultgren and Deborah Cameron, is concerned with questions in telephone interactions between customers and service personnel (“agents”) in a Scottish call center ...
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This chapter, written by Ann Kristina Hultgren and Deborah Cameron, is concerned with questions in telephone interactions between customers and service personnel (“agents”) in a Scottish call center that is part of a large insurance company; the data involve inbound calls initiated by the customers. The company imposes standards on the agents relating to both efficiency and customer care, applying the same closely controlled strategies to both. The inherent tension between the two sets of objectives puts agents in the position of constantly trying to determine what balance will be acceptable to their superiors. The chapter considers how these conditions affect the use of questions between agents and customers. The authors conclude that power in this interaction belongs to neither of the participants but is located rather in the call center system. [129 words]Less
This chapter, written by Ann Kristina Hultgren and Deborah Cameron, is concerned with questions in telephone interactions between customers and service personnel (“agents”) in a Scottish call center that is part of a large insurance company; the data involve inbound calls initiated by the customers. The company imposes standards on the agents relating to both efficiency and customer care, applying the same closely controlled strategies to both. The inherent tension between the two sets of objectives puts agents in the position of constantly trying to determine what balance will be acceptable to their superiors. The chapter considers how these conditions affect the use of questions between agents and customers. The authors conclude that power in this interaction belongs to neither of the participants but is located rather in the call center system. [129 words]
Jane Lockwood, Helen Price, and Gail Forey
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9789622099470
- eISBN:
- 9789882207264
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789622099470.003.0012
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Sociolinguistics / Anthropological Linguistics
This chapter provides an overview of some of the current practices and issues relating to English language and communication, based on research in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry ...
More
This chapter provides an overview of some of the current practices and issues relating to English language and communication, based on research in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry since 2004. It also discusses call center discourse in the Philippines, describing preliminary findings relating to features of these interactions and communication problems commonly faced by customer service representatives (CSRs). It also considers what the language implications are of this globalized movement offshore, and what kind of research could inform the development of language support programs for its workforce, initiatives that can better respond to and accommodate the diversity and complexities of the BPO context.Less
This chapter provides an overview of some of the current practices and issues relating to English language and communication, based on research in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry since 2004. It also discusses call center discourse in the Philippines, describing preliminary findings relating to features of these interactions and communication problems commonly faced by customer service representatives (CSRs). It also considers what the language implications are of this globalized movement offshore, and what kind of research could inform the development of language support programs for its workforce, initiatives that can better respond to and accommodate the diversity and complexities of the BPO context.
