ABSTRACT

This chapter begins by providing a brief introduction to the case study company and the methods deployed in the research. It focuses on the introduction of quality customer response initiative that followed from consultation with call centre staff after a day of industrial action. By using the terminology of 'the beautiful call that delivers customer satisfaction', at both management fora and site briefings the centre manager created a linguistic artifact that appealed. For the duration of the Quality Centre trial, the volume of calls taken by the call centre became less of an issue as calls were only taken from one regional database in order to facilitate the evaluation process. The resistance of Customer Service Advisors was then primarily targeted at managements' preoccupation with retaining a rigid control over staff and the service encounter. The chapter argues that within certain well-defined limits, staff may resist management controls partly by transforming their work into a more aesthetic, pleasurable and creative experience.