AA Call Centre Staff Bullied By CHT

AA Call Centre Staff Bullied By CHT

The GMB complained to the AA management in October 2005 that staff are being bullied and disciplined through a process of performance management.  They have pointed out that staff in call centres receive little if any support from Management during the course of their shift, and are normally left to their own devices, except for reminders of the sales and upgrades targets.

GMB have also complained that this same ethos of increasing revenue to AA now pervades the work of the AA patrol staff.

The new targets are causing great stress to staff and having a negative effect on customers according to the Union. In a strive for more revenue the AA have reduced call handling times for breakdown reports to 236 seconds.

In the GMB press release issued 5th Jan, Paul Maloney GMB National Officer for the AA commented on an incident caused as a result of the new call handling targets and accused the AA of speaking with "forked tongue"in relation to the incident in Sheffield where the AA refused a breakdown service to a member who had died at the wheel;

"On one hand the AA apologised to the family for their negligence. At the same time they are putting staff in call centres who deal with breakdowns under extreme pressure. They have reduced the average amount of time staff have for each breakdown call to 236 seconds. They have introduced a performance management system which forces staff to sell membership upgrades and to get new members to join during these 236 seconds. If staff do not increase the revenue to the AA during these calls their pay is affected and they face disciplinary action. The prime objective is not for staff to help the public with broken down vehicles but to increase income for the AA."

The AA issued a new Directive early January to all staff instructing them to seek advice from a Manager is respect of untoward incidents.  The staff have complained to the GMB that this is mere tokenism in order to protect the AA whilst staff are left to suffer if they do not bring in more money for the AA.

The GMB website encourages customers of the AA to e-mail the company direct with your views of the current situation and about the fact that the venture capitalists who last year bought the AA, plan to out-source to India call centre work - see GMB Website

Source: GMB News release