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In recent years the call centre industry has grown rapidly in size and popularity. In so doing the industry has been perceived to suffer from some of the problems associated with industrial mass production. The nature of the requirement to answer a high number of calls in these centres had led to the use of a traditional “production‐line” management approach. Recently, as a result of both customers’ and employees’ expectations rising in relation to service delivery, the trend is for call centre operations to become more focused on staff empowerment, moving away from the traditional production‐line approach. For many companies this has become a difficult management problem. This paper reports on one such company. Following a number of years’ reliance on carrying out surveys of customer perceptions, and a history of subsequent lack of service improvement, this research used an in‐depth case study approach incorporating observation studies, interviews with different levels of managers, and focus‐group discussions with front‐line service delivery staff (agents). The findings identified the service quality issues to be addressed in order to reconcile customers’ and agents’ needs; and the implications for managers.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the explanatory power of the service-profit chain (SPC) model in a context that differs from its original conception. The authors do so by considering whether the main relationships it proposes apply in the context of call centre services, characterised by remote services and cost cutting business models.

The data were gathered from a survey of call centre management with a sample of 937 call centres from 14 countries. The analysis was carried out using structural equation modelling.

Findings reveal that the SPC model behaves somewhat differently in call centres. Although there is general support for most of the links in the model, the results indicate that customer satisfaction in the call centre industry is a separate outcome, rather than a precursor to company performance.

As is common in most research of this type, the present study is based on cross-sectional data.

Managers would be well advised to keep in mind that even minimum investments in human capital can make a difference in customer satisfaction and company results.

This is the first study to examine the main links in the SPC in non-traditional, non-face-to-face services. It demonstrates that the basic logic of the model is upheld, thus providing evidence that the boundaries of the SPC model may be further pushed in line with the peculiarities of the evolving service economy. Also, the authors make a methodological contribution by proposing a series of organisational level proxies for measuring elements of the chain that are typically assessed using individual level data that is expensive to gather.

This paper tested a model to collect the voice of the customer to improve service delivery in call centers using the concept of failure demand. Customer responses are quantified for improvement in service delivery. There are many academic studies reporting effective and validated research methodologies to measure service quality. However, these methods are complex and unwieldy. The purpose of this paper is to adapt the lean service concept of working from the customer's viewpoint – to measure, then improve customer satisfaction, and thereby reduce costs.

A checklist of best practices for call centers was developed from the literature and multiple iterations used to develop a three part call evaluation system to include value demand, failure demand, not able to determine, and value demand as stated by the customer.

The findings indicated that the value/failure demand measurement system was useful and many failure demand occurrences occurred.

This paper is limited to service providers in call centers and their managers. Call center operators logged customer perceptions so it has the potential to lack objectivity.

Service providers need simple tools to assess operations, improve quality, and efficiency. This paper will assist in the development of an easy‐to‐use and generic tool for the continuous improvement of services.

The paper is one of very few studies that use the actual customer voice to measure failure demand and call centers can apply this process.

As the call center services are becoming an integrated part of most organizations, the efficiency of their operations is vital to the competitiveness of the organizations. This paper describes a restructuring effort of a Hong Kong‐based company, which provides technical support services in office equipment, computer and system products. Faced with many process improvement opportunities, a simulation approach is used to explore the different options and to evaluate the results for restructuring the existing call centers. The analysis of the simulated results has confirmed that the greatest improvement opportunity is to merge the existing resources into a single call center. Assured by the simulation findings, management is able to evaluate different tangible and intangible benefits before implementing the restructuring plan.

Call centers are growing at unprecedented rates, yet relatively little is known about customer satisfaction with this method of service delivery. Therefore, a review of the advantages and disadvantages of call centers is provided before reporting on a study carried out with users of a very large human services call center network. The results indicate that customers have slightly higher satisfaction levels with in‐person services than with call center services. Although it was predicted that older customers might be more dissatisfied with call centers than younger customers, this was not borne out by the data. Attributes of a best‐in‐the‐world call center operation are provided to guide those who design and manage call center services.

The purpose of this research is to examine customer satisfaction and service quality measurement practices followed in call centres.

The study uses qualitative methodology involving in‐depth interviews. The respondents were senior managers belonging to quality or operation divisions in four large call centres in India.

It is found that service quality management in call centres disregards customers. The study suggests that call centre managers overly depend on operational measures. Customer orientation in assessing service performance is either low or absent in most call centres.

Since the study has used qualitative methodology, observations and findings need to be validated with empirical data.

The paper suggests that call centres need to develop systematic and comprehensive measurement of perceived service quality in order to provide superior call centre experience to their customers.

The paper is the first systematic study that examines customer satisfaction and service quality measurement practices in call centres in India, a country which has emerged as a leading player in the global business process outsourcing industry.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the quality of service provided by the Stirling Council call centre with a view to determining the essential elements of best practice.

The method involves questionnaires to Scottish local authorities about their use of call centres, interviews with Stirling Council managers and call centre employees and some participant observation to gain a detailed view of both the management and operations of the call centre.

The findings are grouped into the topics of communication, training, quality and systems/technology, with improvements suggested in a few areas. Overall, the approach to service quality in the call centre tends to be more qualitative than quantitative with a good awareness of learning and management related issues.

The value/contribution of the paper lies in the definition of essential best practice call centre management components, presented in a framework involving aims, enablers and results. This model is proposed for generalised use in both the public and private sectors; it would henceforth benefit from some testing and further refinements.

Reported studies on call centers emphasize efficiency and control, with possible implications for service priorities, customer orientation and service quality. However, there is little empirical research to test assumptions from the customer’s perspective. This study aimed to establish whether customers expected (predicted) low levels of service from a call center, how this level compared to the minimum level they considered adequate, and whether the perceived customer orientation of the call center was related to service quality expectations. Data were collected in Australia from two sources: end consumers (n = 289) of an insurance provider, and business customers (n = 325) of a bank. Key findings were similar for both samples. First, customers had very high levels of adequate (minimum) expectations, and adequate expectations behaved independently from predicted (forecast) expectations. Second, customer orientation was associated with predicted expectations but not adequate expectations. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research and managerial implications.

Awareness of inconsistencies and variability in the delivery of health services across the UK has heightened in recent years, leading to general acknowledgement that a move away from “health care by post code” is a strategic priority for the National Health Service (NHS). NHS Direct, a call centre service for patients and their carers, is unique in the NHS in that it represents an entirely new service concept, with a rare opportunity to design a single nation‐wide service from scratch, and to manage and co‐ordinate a delivery system consistently throughout the country. Evaluates the strategic alignment of NHS Direct during the first three years of implementation through an analysis of its service concept, its operational objectives, the design of its delivery systems and its volume and variety characteristics. The evaluation reveals an absence of a central design specification which has resulted in wide variation in the call centres’ service portfolios, resource bases, competences, telephony and clinical expert systems. Contends that variation and variability in the design of the call centres has severely compromised NHS Direct's ability to meet its strategic and operational objectives, resulting in strategic misalignment. Also identifies missed opportunities to learn from the growing call centre literature and from service shops in other industries.

The purpose of this conceptual paper is to examine key operational tradeoffs and challenges that call center managers face.

To support the concepts advanced in this paper, an embedded case study is used from an inbound call center for a regional wireless phone company that operates in the USA. The research involved: a review of available service quality and call center management literature; development of a resource‐based framework to understand key operational tradeoffs; use of a case study approach with structured interviews of key managers and employees; and synthesis of this data in order to understand why and how these managers made key operational tradeoff decisions. The case study was done on an inbound customer service call center for a regional wireless phone company that operates in the Southeastern USA.

This research suggests that there are four key resource management decisions that must be addressed in order to improve service quality and effectively manage call center operations: the efficient deployment and use of labor, effective leveraging of technology, capacity management, and demand management.

The use of a single case approach limits the generalizability of results; however, this methodology is effective in providing rich data and a research framework to both build theory and advance future research in this arena.

It is noteworthy that while technology, capacity management, and demand management systems are essential, labor remains a key differentiator in achieving high service quality. A call center must provide dependable service with knowledgeable, honest, polite and empathetic employees who can efficiently answer customers' questions while also promoting more products and services to improve profitability.

While this research is primarily conceptual, it also uses a case study to explain why and how managers make key tradeoffs in order to compete effectively on service quality in the call center industry.