Being First Not Always Best ‘Call’

03.14.2014
Issues & Policies

Last week the legislature’s General Law Committee reviewed HB 5491, which aims to give customers in the state information and options about the sales calls they receive and the service calls they make—such as, are the calls being handled outside of Connecticut?

While the bill may be well intended, CBIA has concerns about the costs of implementing the proposed mandates HB 5491 recommends.

In particular, HB 5491 impacts any telecommunication and cable companies, insurance companies, banks, and financial services firms in the United States that have customers in Connecticut and use an off-shore call center or phone bank to supplement their customer service. 

All of these businesses would have to notify each Connecticut caller or call recipient that their call was being handled by an off-shore call center or phone bank—and give them the option of returning to a Connecticut call center.

No other state in America has passed such notification standards that HB 5491 presents; Connecticut would be the first and only.

Expensive Call Change

Companies with a call center in Connecticut would, were HB 5491 to be approved, have to undertake the expensive endeavor of retraining employees and modifying their day-to-day operations. 

For example, it would likely require taking employees off call center phones, putting them in classrooms, re-training managers, instructors, and frontlines employees.

The unintended consequences of HB 5491 would also be the rewiring of computer software programs, re-writing of operational procedures, and ultimately, longer wait times to serve Connecticut customers.

At Expense of Customer Service

At the risk of sounding like a recorded message, HB 5491 would not be a “business friendly” measure.  In fact, it would be just the opposite. Companies who currently have call centers in Connecticut may re-think their strategy if HB 5491 is enacted. In addition, HB 5491 with its additional notification and request options, would not serve as an invitation to potential and new call center businesses in Connecticut. 

HB 5491 would add another layer of call center requirements that would unfortunately mute Connecticut’s economic development and not provide any better service to call center customers.

For more information, email Faith Gavin Kuhn.

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