Other Middle East and Africa Frequent Flyer Programs - SAA outsourcing its call centres

Received this email from SAA today about them outsourcing thier call centres.

Hopefully they are being outsourced to a south african call centre - which generally aren't that bad compared to the indian call centres of many other airlines!

Dear Valued SAA customer

We would like to inform you that South African Airways (SAA) will be outsourcing its call centres, with the intention of improving productivity, efficiencies and ultimately the service offered to you, our valued customer.

As SAA’s reservations and Voyager call centres are part of this process, you may experience some delays with queries relating to reservations and the loyalty programme as the airline continues its discussions with labour on implementation.

We ask for your understanding and support during this transitional phase and assure you of our commitment to provide you with the most effective service possible.

In order to ease the impact it may have on our service to you, contingency plans are in the process of being implemented.

I sincerely thank you for your continued loyalty and trust that you will appreciate the benefits of this development once implemented. We will keep you briefed on any further developments regarding this process.

It does rather make me tremble with trepidation, though.

Yes, I got that email as well. My first thought was that they are having labour problems around the transition, therefore the (current) call centres are not working as they should and they are asking us for indulgence in this matter....:rolleyes:
I have not used the flysaa.com call centre (or the Voyager one) for a few weeks, so I don't know what the current situation is. Has anyone else got recent experience? To be honest, my experiences with the SAA call centres are generally - on average - not all that bad! :)

I normally dread phoning any call centre in South Africa. But come to think of it, thijsseh, you're right. I've generally had very good experiences with Voyager's call centre. All the more reason to hope this transition does not degrade the service.

And the wording really does suggest labour issues.

The one time I had need to call an SAA call centre (in the UK) - the call was answered immediately, there were no problems understanding my request and it was dealt with quickly, professionally and correctly.

If they outsource to India, they may answer quickly - but that's it! As a bmi customer who frequently flies SAA - I'm worried!

It must surely be unthinkable for SAA, who survive thanks only to copious injections of taxpayer money and are owned by a goverment committed to empowerment and job creation, to outsource any operation to another country?! And anyway South Africa is trying to attract that business from abroad - so what message would it send if SAA went to India?

I cannot imagine that that is what is being considered. Much more likely it is being given to a local private entity. In which case it would have to have "empowerment credentials" (read black ownership) and it may or may not have credibility in the business of call centres. The results could be dire or good - we'll have to wait and see. The staffing issues would then be around how many will be taken up by the new entity and what the conditions of service will be.

It must surely be unthinkable for SAA, who survive thanks only to copious injections of taxpayer money and are owned by a goverment committed to empowerment and job creation, to outsource any operation to another country?! And anyway South Africa is trying to attract that business from abroad - so what message would it send if SAA went to India?

I cannot imagine that that is what is being considered. Much more likely it is being given to a local private entity. In which case it would have to have "empowerment credentials" (read black ownership) and it may or may not have credibility in the business of call centres. The results could be dire or good - we'll have to wait and see. The staffing issues would then be around how many will be taken up by the new entity and what the conditions of service will be. Dimension Data got the contract, great pity I have had brilliant service from SAA call centres and from what I understand a lot/most of the staff were retrenched.

Dimension Data got the contract, great pity I have had brilliant service from SAA call centres and from what I understand a lot/most of the staff were retrenched.How can they get rid of staff like that? It just doesn't make business sense to lose all that training and knowledge. :confused:

I will probably be booking a *A award sometime soon. Hope that isn't too challenging for the call centre. Anyone had experience of doing this?

My friends in South Africa have said that the SAA employees currently in the call center are being offered employment opportunities at Dimension Data.

My friends in South Africa have said that the SAA employees currently in the call center are being offered employment opportunities at Dimension Data.

some more news about it here:
SAA fires call centre workers (http://www.fin24.com/articles/default/display_article.aspx?ArticleId=1518-24_2420441)
On Friday SAA asserted that it had told the unions on Monday that it would be outsourcing the general reservations call centre.
....
SAA's general manager for human resources, Bhabhalazi Bulunga, on Friday declared that the services of the SAA's Voyager call centre staff were also no longer needed.

"About 250 SAA workers are directly affected. These include both permanent and contract workers. The aim of the process is to improve efficiency and productivity," said Bulunga.
The workers will not be summarily dismissed, but will be transferred to the consortium that will be operating the call centre. The consortium consists of Dimension Data, Quest Flexible Staffing, and staffing agency NT Ngidi.

Bulunga explains that the process will be in accordance with Section 197 of the Labour Act and that the workers are being offered the option of voluntary severance packages. The option expires on November 12. He adds that Voyager staff are not part of the staff-transfer agreement.
seems a bit odd that this apparently also affects the Voyager staff - but that they are not part of the tranfer to Dimension Data!