John Lewis Call Centre Kids in Background - AIBU?

[scaredfriend]

AIBU to think that John Lewis ‘call centre’ staff should not be working from home with their kids running riot in the background. Due to a delivery issue, I’ve had to call several times this week to try and resolve my problem. Each time, the call handler (different one each time) has clearly been working from home and you can hear their kids (and in one case, the dog as well) running riot in the background.
As a customer it’s very off putting to try and converse with the employee whilst hearing their family commotion in the background and I strongly felt that they weren’t able to give me proper attention and kept having to put me on hold presumably just to wallop the kids. One even cut me off when doing so!
This practice was understandable during the pandemic but tbh I’d expect more professionalism from a company like John Lewis now we’re not having to make do.

So AIBU to this that JL should have proper call centres or mandate that homeworkers do so in a professional manner?

This happens with a lot of companies its bloody annoying

I mean you can expect it, but obviously it's not something they want to deliver to their customers, probably because it costs the company more to have premises and they'll probably need to pay people more so they can afford childcare and the costs associated with a commute so people can actually afford to work for them and stay afloat.

Increasing prices isn't a popular choice amongst customers, and they're highly unlikely to take a hit on their bottom line to pay for it. So we have what we have.

Unfortunately there's not an endless supply of people willing to be paid less than it costs them to live to provide service to other people, and companies will always look at where they can save money so I guess if better service is wanted, then paying more for it is what needs to happen. But as said, that's not a popular choice.

Why does it always come down to blaming the consumers for wanting lower prices? It’s not like we actually have the option to pay more and get better service - and I’d consider if I were shopping at John Lewis that I WAS paying more already to try and get a higher level of service! Where are these mystical companies who pay great wages and therefore provide amazing service or great products? Certainly nowhere to be found within the average person’s shopping experience.

Whilst I agree with everything here, I’m really surprised that a company like JL allow it. How can you be on calls all day whilst not minding the kids? It gives a very poor impression to the customer. I’d rather not be able to call and have to make do with email / web chat than phone up and feel like I’m interrupting a family occasion!

There's a good chance JL isn't aware and the call handler just hasn't arranged appropriate childcare over the summer.
Ref: Many threads on MN where posters are planning to WFH without childcare in place.

People want ‘English call centres’ but this costs the company more money than they are willing to part with. So there’s no ‘call centre’ just people in their homes. I was on a call with a customer service representative from Barclays the other week and she had about 4 parrots squawking away in the background. Amusing and she did sort my issue in a friendly manner but it was a bit off putting.

It’s v unprofessional

It’s happened on every call I’ve made this week. 3 or 4 times, definitely a different call handler each time. I’d understand if had happened just the once, and would assume the poor worker had been let down with childcare as a one-off and was having to make do. But given that it’s happened on every call, I therefore assume that it’s commonplace across the company - I can’t believe that JL aren’t monitoring their staff’s calls intermittently and aren’t aware that this is happening, so assume that they’re ok with this.

Why would you assume that? Just send an email to JL that it has negatively impacted your customer experience, especially with being cut-off. Then they can investigate and may well give you compensation

Do you know though, that they are actually doing the childcare, as opposed to having someone else there who is actually caring for the children but living, as many do, in a small box of a house with nowhere sufficient to get away from them? Noise travels and sometimes the kids might be in another room with another supervising adult but you can't keep them THAT quiet all the time.

I don't care, I'd rather people were allowed to work at home and have calls with a UK based person. Do a webchat instead if it bothers you. I haven't phoned someone about a consumer issue in five years.

I don't get worked up over this, I'd imagine the employee doesn't have an alternative option and is probably stressed to hell trying to bring in money and look after their kids. Childcare is so expensive in the holidays if you dont have family around to help.

Completely agree with you OP

I’m in two minds on this. On one hand it’s extremely unprofessional, and if your complaint isn’t handled effectively, it’s inefficient.

on the other hand, I like to see companies being flexible with the employees and giving wfh options.

So I think it boils down to the age of the kids. If it sounded like older kids, the employee likely wasn’t trying to look after them at the same time - but they do need to arrange a quiet spot to work in. If we’re talking toddles/babies/young primary that needs an adults attention, that’s a different matter.

Ultimately I want to see businesses doing what it can to help working parents stay in employment so I applaud JL for allowing this. However they have a responsibility to ensure it isn’t affecting customer service as well - I would therefore consider mentioning it if they ask for feedback after the calls. Given the amount of posts I see on this site where women say that all childcare falls to them to arrange and pay for with the fathers washing their hands of it all, I’d hate to be pushing back to policies which may force women back to being a SAHM with no independence or access to her own money. That’s the risk of we insist as consumers that customer service calls should all take place in a call centre. There has to be a middle ground we can accept.

No, I don’t know for sure. But I suspect in at least one case they were, as they kept putting me on hold and not necessarily at a point in the conversation that you would expect it which also coincided with the kids sounding like they were murdering each other, so I presume that they were doing so to deal with the kids.

JL operate a combination of remote and office based work. If you have a complaint about background noise, feel free to contact them and make your complaint. They’ll look into it.

They may not allow it and it still might happen.

Exactly. Before Covid we all considered childcare as a mandatory bill, such as supermarket and rent/mortgage. Now people seem to resent having to pay for it, especially when working from home. The need is still the same though.

I find it incredibly frustrating. But also loud call centres where you can hear the conversation of the agent in the next cubicle.

For me the minor inconvenience is more than outweighed by the benefits that flexible working has on helping women maintain their careers and stay in work.

I’m also in two minds about this. I do think it’s unprofessional and it would irritate me as a customer to be constantly put on hold etc., but I do like to see people in jobs instead of opting out of employment because their wages are sucked up by childcare, which this kind of arrangement allows for.

I mean just because you can hear children in the background doesn’t mean the person you’re speaking to is minding them all day while working.
Occasionally our children will be playing and making general kid noise in the background while my DH. Generally when he’s a home he doesn’t have any hugely important client things but will casually speak to them on the phone or contractors etc
The kids aren’t completely silent because it’s their home not an office, but them existing doesn’t mean he’s minding them.

Because it saves them money. Its either that or outsource it to another country. Clearly your need to not hear a child in the background does not trump the profit margin.

A company I worked for years ago looked at outsourcing it's customer support overseas - 60+% cheaper than keeping in the UK.

If a bit of background noise is the price we pay for keeping these people in work, so be it.