Call Centre - Hulger

CALL CENTRE

2008

A common complaint is Indian call centres outsourcing customer support for obvious financial benefits. Rather than dismiss this phenomena we decided to celebrate the idea of outsourced support in an attempt to raise its value, integrity and status and of course to have some fun in the process. So we allowed visitors to our popup store on Carnaby Street to speak to Indian operatives for tips and insights into what was happening on the ground in The London Design festival.

Whilst these design students had never stepped foot in the UK they all had the sites, maps and feeds you needed to be able to guide visitors around London. The permanent Skype connection with a large video image allowed the personality and charm of our operatives to reach our visitors in London.

Here is the original text for the show:

“THE HULGER INDIAN CALL CENTRE
Our call centre attendant based in Bangalore, India is available to direct you around Design Week and give you the latest information, show reviews, locations, timings and parties.
More than that, The Hulger Indian Call Centre gives you an opportunity to play with your expectations of a call centre connection. The dread. The ennui. The guilt. And also to explore that feeling, that odd and unexpected cultural disconnect.

How do you get around the lingering perception, for example, that the cultures that provide these services are somehow subservient? Already people think ‘Indian’ when they hear of call centres’. Bangalore has become a global by-word for technological sweatshops.

As working hours are mapped to UK time, dealing with callers runs long into the night. Weary operators have to deal with ‘irate customers’ whilst their partners and awkward hours affect relationships across India.

But despite the mind-numbing, menial work, the profession is relatively well paid with operators often being chauffeured to and from work. It is estimated that 5.4% of India’s GDP is attributable to IT business outsourcing so it’s not insignificant. By talking to our operator and engaging them in conversation, visitors are encouraged to bridge the gap – physically, geographically, and culturally – that technology and convenience have created between our worlds.

Get to know them. Play around. Ask them whatever em. you like. See what happens. They might surprise you…”