Current trends and the way forward on call center research in a post-covid world

Abstract

Applying sociolinguistic perspectives, this issue explores the most recent developments in call center research and the impact call center work has on agents. Significant issues are addressed in call center interactions, including web chat, agent stigmatization, agent resistance, agent training and the impact of Covid-19. The essays provide a forum where developments are critically reviewed and future areas of research explored, including how call center work can be improved. The first article by Nielsen addresses the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in India and working from home through the notions of chronotopes. The second article in the issue by Lockwood develops a framework for the assessment of written web chats in offshore call centers. The third essay by Friginal examines how the voice assessment of Filipino agents can be improved through caller clarification sequences. Tovar’s paper, the fourth paper in this collection, focuses on the strain that working in a call center creates for agents and how they resolve this. The fifth paper by Orthaber examines resistance and passive compliance in call center interactions in a Slovenian call center using turn-by-turn micro-analysis of service conversations with a focus on silences. Despite the different angles, the papers share themes of resistance (creative compliance) and the development of a new register of call center speak, while also highlighting agency among call center workers.

The case of task-oriented, <em>polite</em> discourse in intercultural aviation and customer service interactions

“…The outsourcing of customer contact services to more affordable foreign locations also enables a range of businesses to leverage economies of scale globally. By centralizing their support operations, businesses can invest in technology and infrastructure that would be prohibitively expensive for individual support teams (Vashistha & Vashistha, 2006;Friginal, 2022;Tovar, 2022).…”

“…Skalicky et al (2016) reported that 'communication quality' (measured from caller surveys), including agent politeness, empathy, and responsiveness, had a significant positive impact on customer satisfaction and loyalty. More recently, a special issue of the journal Sociolinguistic Studies edited by Tovar (2022) explores current developments in call center research and specifically the impact call center work has on agents. Relevant issues in call center interactions are addressed, including web chat (Lockwood, 2022), agent stigmatization and resistance (Orthaber, 2022), and agent training relative to Covid-19 concerns (Nielsen, 2022).…”