CALL CENTERS (CENTRES) - Faculty of Industrial Engineering and ...

nology, Satisfaction, Discretionary, Effort
6. Henderson, S.G., A.J. Mason, R. Thomson, T. Seabrook and D. Burgess. Heuristics in rostering
for call centres. 33rd ORSNZ Conference, 1998, Aukland, New Zealand.
Abstract. An important new feature on the business scene is the development of call centres,
whereby a pool of staff is used to answer incoming calls from customers. This project develops a
model that enables staffing levels to be determined to meet specified quality targets on customer
wait times.
7. Sarel, D. and H. Marmorstein. Managing the delayed service encounter: the role of employee
action and customer prior experience, Journal of Services Marketing, 12 (3), 1998, 195–208.
Abstract. Despite the increased attention being paid to service delivery, lengthy waits for service
are still common. This paper provides a conceptual and empirical examination of the effects
of perceived employee action and customer prior experience, on reactions to service delays. The
results of a field study of customers experiencing actual delays in a major retail bank are then
discussed. The findings indicate that events and actions taking place prior to, during, and after
the delay, affect consumer response. First, customers’ prior experience with that service provider
is critical. Contrary to much of the literature on expectations, customers who had frequently
experienced delays in the past were even more angered by the current service failure. Second,
perceived employee effort during the delay had a tremendous impact on customers’ reactions.
Irrespective of the length of the delay, when employees are perceived as not making a real effort,
customer anger is high. Third, the impact of an apology is more complex. An apology is not a
substitute for genuine employee effort. An insincere apology may even backfire, especially when
customers experience frequent delays and believe employees are not making a concerted effort
to help. Managerial implications for addressing this problem, before, during and after the delay,
are discussed.
Keywords: Banking, Customer satisfaction, Employee attitudes, Services marketing, Service
Quality
8. Van Emster, Gregory, R. and Albert A. Harrison. Role ambiguity, spheres of control, burnout,
and work-related attitudes of teleservice professionals, Journal of Social Behavior and Personality,
13 (2), 1998, 375–385.
Abstract. Forty-six customer service representatives from financial services and high-tech firms
completed a modified version of J. Singh and G.K. Rhoads’ (1991) MULTIRAM measure of role
ambiguity; D.L. Paulhus’ (1983) Spheres of Control (SOC) scale; components of J. Singh, J.R.
Goolsby and G.K. Rhoads’ (1994) adaptation of the Maslach Burnout Inventory; and an exploratory
Attitudes Toward Telephone Work Survey. High overall role ambiguity was associated
with low overall SOC scores, and all of the role ambiguity measures correlated negatively with
interpersonal control scores. Role ambiguity correlated positively with depersonalization and
emotional exhaustion, but not with reduced personal accomplishment. High role ambiguity was
associated with relatively unfavorable assessments of one’s personal performance on the telephone,
and both depersonalization and emotional exhaustion were accompanied by unfavorable
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