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Call Centres And Killer Qualises

It's a new industry and major call centre hubs are yet to understand its ways of working

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Call Centres And Killer Qualises
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"On one occasion, three motorcyclists started stalking our vehicle. They banged on the windows asking them to be lowered and made obscene remarks. Just because our work demands us to be out late at night, many people get the impression that we have loose morals," she laments. Last year, in Chennai, a 21-year-old call centre executive Stephanie was run over by a car with four drunken men late at night when she was returning home. Some in the local press also labelled her as a cabaret dancer just because she wore western clothes and was out late in the night.

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At an MNC-run call centre in Gurgaon, a group of employees felt that one driver was acting in collusion with a bunch of local ruffians, as he would slow down the car deliberately at certain points on the route. The employees lodged a complaint with the administrative manager and the driver in question was never seen on duty again. With an eye to reduce such risks, several large call centres are opting to do away with third party transport operators. Antithetical as it may sound to the very concept of outsourcing which puts a premium on cost-cutting, companies like the Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw promoted Biocon reportedly have an inhouse fleet of vans to ferry its employees and the antecedents of the drivers who are on the company's rolls are thoroughly checked.

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To prevent such unnecessary harassment of employees, Stream International, a Mumbai-based BPO firm which employs close to 1,500 people has installed global positioning systems (GPS in nearly 70 vehicles used by the company. The system enables the company to track the vehicles' movements and spot any unscheduled halts and detours. "It increases our operating costs but, improves employee safety and reduces travel related manipulations," says Vineet Mittal, managing director, Stream International.

Over the last few months, almost all the call centres in and around the capital have institutionalised the practice of sending along a security guard if a woman is scheduled to be picked up first or dropped home last. BPO majors like Wipro Spectramind, IBM-Daksh, Amex and EXL also insist on a list of drivers empanelled by the third party logistics providers. Yet, call centre drivers in Gurgaon are so well known for their road rage that vehicles used by these companies are often called the "killer" Qualises.

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