Reports in the Guardian that British rail enquiries may be outsourced to India will prompt confusion and distrust amongst the British public, says services union, Amicus.
The union and Performance House has recently published research which shows that British consumers distrust offshore call centres and believe that they will fail to answer queries satisfactorily.
The research also shows that 62% of consumers take outsourcing into consideration when purchasing insurance and choosing mortgages. Rail users, however will not be allowed a choice over which service to use. The union will be asking passengers organisations to put pressure on ACTO to consult rail users over any decision to transfer rail enquiries.
David Fleming, National Secretary for Amicus, said:
"One of the things that people talk about around the water cooler at work is the spectacular failure of the new directory enquiry systems. I can't imagine why ATOC think that they can maintain consumer confidence by outsourcing rail information thousands of miles away."
Performance House are also investigating and monitoring the new directory enquiries services and providing free information to the public on their website www.118tracker.com
"We have no objection to assisting economies in developing countries but organisations and businesses that are seeking short term cost savings must realise that the total cost of outsourcing in India is growing daily. The must also be made aware that British consumers don't trust companies that outsource and that they are damaging the already damaged brand image of British rail travel."
