Outsourcing: Lloyds TSB employees union claims survey shows customers unhappy about outsourcing

Lloyds TSB, has refuted a claim by an employees union that a new survey reveals high levels of customer dissatisfaction with the bank's policy to outsource work to India.

According to the survey:

* 96 per cent thought customers were not happy dealing with staff in India
* 83 per cent thought customers received "'worst service"
* over 50 % of staff claimed they received complaints or adverse comments about the Indian operation every day
* a third said they received them at least every week.
* nearly two-thirds of those questioned reported seeing significantly more errors and mistakes being made by the Indian operation
* 64 per cent said off-shoring had made it more difficult to promote the bank's products.
* 85 per cent of staff thought the bank would lose customers because of outsourcing.

However, a Lloyds TSB spokesman said: "Customer service is essential to us. The call centre in Mumbai has taken seven million calls over the past year and we do monitor the quality and look at customer satisfaction. We have found that levels of customer satisfaction are as high on calls to India as to Britain."

If the union figures are true, I wonder just how many complaints are based on substance rather than preconceived and uninformed views on a cost-effective strategy that few would have the ability to fully understand.