Outsourcing call centres 'wrong' - Key

Prime Minister John Key says companies choosing to send their call centres to other parts of the world "are making the wrong choice".

He wants other New Zealand companies to take note of Canon's new call centre on the Shore.

Mr Key told the North Shore Times it is a positive move to open call centres in New Zealand because it creates employment for people of different age groups and ethnicities.

He attended the official opening of the new Canon Oceania contact centre along with Northcote MP Jonathan Coleman.

Mr Coleman agreed with Mr Key's comments, saying it is a business's decision to locate call centres overseas but the government  wants to encourage them back or to stay here in the first place.

Local people understand local customers' needs, he says.

"It is nice to know if you are calling from Northcote you are talking to someone just down the road", says Mr Coleman.

The centre has created 80 new jobs on the North Shore and serves customers across four different time zones, from Gisborne to Perth in Australia.

New Zealand IT company Datacom will run the centre for Canon, which makes cameras, printers and photocopiers.

Canon's country manager Mike Johnston says superior "customer service is a priority and a point of difference for the company".

"New Zealand and Australia also have similar cultures and expectations and with so many Kiwis living in Australia hearing a New Zealand accent is not unusual for an Australian customer."

It makes good business sense to manage the contact centre in house, rather than sending it offshore, Mr Johnston says.

Many companies, especially in the banking and telecommunications sector, have come under fire for outsourcing jobs to countries such as India and the Philippines in recent years.

- © Fairfax NZ News