When comedian Chris Rock made fun of Will Smith’s wife’s medical condition, he took things too far. After Smith realized that Rock was poking fun at Jada Pinkett-Smith’s alopecia, which results in hair loss for many Black women, Smith rose from his seat in the audience, climbed up on stage, and delivered a slap across Chris Rock’s face that was heard around the world.
But could Smith’s slap have been faked? Sources are now coming forward with evidence to suggest that Smith and Rock might have staged the incident for publicity’s sake.
According to a report by Rare, “slow-mo video pretty well shows that Rock was ready for this entire thing.” In the video below, you’ll be able to see Smith’s Oscar slap in slow motion and determine for yourself whether Rock was prepared to take the hit on national television or not.
One image that has been floating around the internet that may or not be real has some people casting doubt on whether or not the Oscar slap was faked.
If the doctored image of Chris Rock is to be trusted, it appears that the comedian is wearing a cheek guard that would have helped him absorb the impact of the slap that Smith delivered with his right hand. However, it seems that this image was edited to purposely cause confusion and spark rumors.
Critics argue that Smith was simply defending his wife’s honor. Rock had made a joke about Pinkett-Smith’s disease called alopecia which causes her to lose hair on her head.
The disease is a prominent problem within the African American community as Black women all over the world have to deal with the struggle associated with alopecia and face the world with thinning hair or bold baldness.
Rock joked that Jada Pinkett-Smith looked like G.I. Jane with her shaved head. In the movie, Demi Moore shaves her own head to better fit in with the Army. It was her choice to shave her head. Pinkett-Smith did not have a choice to go bald. She was forced into baldness by a disease that affects her hair follicles and causes them to thin and stop growing.
Although Smith initially thought the joke was humorous – he was filmed laughing at Rock’s dig – his wife was not happy about the joke about her disease. As soon as Smith realized that the joke had hurt his beloved wife’s feelings, he did the honorable thing of rising up and challenging Rock with a slap to the face.
But writers for Rare suggest that Smith and Rock might have cooked up the ploy from the beginning.
“But defending his wife against a longtime friend? Nah. These guys are boys.”
But if the incident was indeed faked, who benefited from all the publicity? In truth, the entire movie industry received the benefit because people were finally paying attention to the Oscars after so many years of boycotts and disgruntled viewers.
Although there is some speculation that the slap could have been faked, most people agree that it was as real as real can be. Smith was simply defending his wife’s honor – it just so happened to occur while the event was being recorded for national television.
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Top 10 Customer Support Outsourcing Companies in 2023 | Helpware
Outsourcing customer support is a great way to provide affordable but reliable service to
your clients. Whether for voice or non-voice applications, there are plenty of excellent customer support…
Written by Dana Mahoney
Sunday, Jan 22
Table of Contents
Outsourcing customer support is a great way to provide affordable but reliable
service to your clients. Whether for voice or non-voice applications, there are plenty of
excellent customer support outsourcing companies that fit every requirement.
But then again, why even think about outsourcing?
Isn’t local talent good enough to provide the
service needed by a company’s customers? Plus, wouldn’t it be a disservice to customers if
a company farms out its frontline operations to contractors?
What Is Customer Support Outsourcing?
By now, the best customer service companies should know the value of customer support and why it’s an essential cog in an organization. Like
sales and marketing, customer service should already be in play during a company’s first day, as
they are the group that comes into direct contact with clients.
The main goal of customer support is to keep customers happy by attending to their needs and responding
to their questions. However, it’s also a way to instill loyalty and generate additional sales.
To do so, an outsourcing company must have its support team available whenever the customer needs it.
Outsourcing customer support allows companies to maintain an around-the-clock
service team managed by industry veterans and experts.
Advantages of Customer Support Outsourcing
Admittedly, not all company startups have leaders who
are experts in every facet of their operations. Given their many responsibilities, many startup founders accept that they can’t do
everything themselves. Non-core competencies such as customer service
can benefit from outsourcing.
Turning the service over to competent experts lets companies benefit
from a bigger source of talent from all over the world.
At the same time, companies that outsource customer support enjoy reduced
payroll without sacrificing service quality. Other benefits of outsourcing include:
More Opportunities to Grow the Business
By assigning customer support to expert outsourcing service providers, leaders can instead turn to
scaling the business. Overseeing the day-to-day operations can already take much of management’s time, and customer support is equally demanding.
To help executives focus on the big picture, they’ll need to partner with the best service companies that know what they’re doing.
Enhance Customer Experience
Given the opportunity to communicate and interact with customer
service, many customers will express their satisfaction in getting their voices heard.
If customer service companies and their team address customers’ issues in a satisfactory way, they’re more than likely to remain customers.
A pleasant customer experience will almost always
lead to longer retention and a significantly higher
customer lifetime value (CLV). This isn’t to say a stellar customer
experience is only possible through outsourcing. Rather,
the chances of improving customer satisfaction come with a continuous
and consistent level of service. Providing a highly specialized, dedicated team of
professionals from day one is a great way to achieve this quickly.
Top 10 Customer Support Outsourcing Companies
We’ve narrowed down the list of companies with great customer service to the
top 10 most prominent ones in 2022. We’ll also provide a brief description and
highlight the main strong points of each outsourcing company.
1. Helpware
Helpware started in 2015 with the initial goal of
providing support to startup companies. Over the years, the company has grown big
and is confident enough to provide both enterprise and small business customer service outsourcing solutions.
Providing back office, technical, and customer
support, Helpware specializes in assisting companies in various support areas.
This includes Omnichannel Customer Support, Technical
& IT Support, Content Moderation, CX Consulting Services,
Back Office Support, Data Labeling, Digital
Marketing Solutions, and Cyber Security. The company provides only dedicated agents, in-house training, and equipment to help its clients boost their productivity from
day one. Now it’s one of the top customer service companies in the US
and European markets with numerous awards and positive
reviews from satisfied clients on Clutch and other reputable platforms.
Helpware’s people-focused culture seems very attractive to businesses sharing the same philosophy.
Pros:
Shows outstanding flexibility when providing for clients’
specific needs. This means its support can scale along with your company’s growth.
Offers turn-key solutions, so you don’t have to look for either option separately.
Helpware’s focused on developing its people and their
skills and it pays off handsomely, especially in customer
support outsourcing contracts. Some global brands are
happy to have their customer support outsourced to Helpware.
2. Sykes
U.S.-based Sykes is one of the pioneers of the BPO industry.
Established in 1995, the company trailblazed its way to the
top and was one of the first BPOs to open multiple locations.
In 2021, the Sitel Group acquired Sykes to widen its reach and increase its capacity.
Sykes is one of the top 10 service companies and leading
service providers of demand generation and customer engagement services,
with clients included in the top 2000 companies worldwide.
At the core of Sykes’ business are its staple services: outsourcing, customer experience, service to sales, digital
transformation, and brand extension.
Pros:
Sykes maintains a pool of service agents from its clients’
home countries.
The company is well-versed in matters concerning data privacy.
Specifically, Sykes follows various privacy guidelines, including HIPAA compliance and
Payment Card Industry (PCI) data security certification.
3. Ascensos
Founded in 2013 in the UK, Ascensos is one of those outsourced customer service companies that wanted to change the customer experience by applying a personal touch to customer care.
The company is now Europe’s number-one customer support outsourcing company, providing bespoke customer
experience solutions to clients around the world.
In addition, its contact center operation locations include the UK, Romania,
Turkey, and South Africa.
Pros:
Ascensos is more nearshore than an offshore support center,
so location and time zone differences aren’t as pronounced as
operations in Asia and South America.
Companies that outsource customer service to Ascensos value the fact that
it supports diversity and inclusivity among staff while focusing on promoting happiness as a key asset
among its workforce.
Although there aren’t any published pricing rates, instead,
Ascensos will individually respond to requests for quotes, the prices of this outsourcing customer
service company are more than affordable.
4. Teleperformance
With more than 40 years of experience in the BPO industry, Teleperformance is an established leader in solution design, business optimization strategies, and front-office customer support.
It also offers back-office services such as finance and
accounting, collections, and technical support.
Pros:
Teleperformance is a truly global service provider.
It operates in 80 countries and employs more than 330,000 agents speaking over 265 languages
and deservedly belongs to a league of good customer service companies.
You won’t find it difficult to get support in the language and location you require.
Clients also appreciate the company’s expertise in providing
omnichannel solutions.
5. VXI
VXI Global Solutions is one of those outsourcing agencies that offer customer care and customer experience (CX) solutions to some of today’s major global brands.
In addition, the company offers contact center and BPO
services, omnichannel and multilingual support, software development,
CX innovation, quality assurance (QA), and infrastructure outsourcing.
VXI employs more than 35,000 workers in 43 countries throughout North America, Asia, Europe, and the Caribbean.
The company also prides itself on its ability to
help clients resolve major CX and employee experience
(EX) pain points and take their customer service
systems to the next level. Like any modern BPO, VXI employs omnichannel support services to enhance communication coverage for clients.
Also, VXI provides additional analytics and insights generation services so clients can learn as
they go.
Pros:
High CX expertise leads to enhanced customer and employee experience.
VXI displays an uncanny ability to scale up or down to fit its
client’s capabilities.
6. InfluX
In its quest to build the world’s first remote-only CX team, InfluX managed to recruit employees from more
than 120 cities worldwide. This strategy also lets them provide 24-hour customer support outsourcing solutions within the client’s time zone.
In addition, InfluX creates specialized customer experiences that reflect the client’s vision, voice, and values.
Pros:
Less dependence on automation and more on human interaction make for a better customer experience.
Having employees in every time zone solves the common offshore problem of mismatched time schedules between clients and outsourcing companies.
Pay-as-go pricing may be attractive to some clients who prefer flexible packages.
7. Skycom
Skycom is also on the list of nearshore outsourcing companies that specialize in multi-continent support services.
The company employs native English contact center agents with
experience in multiple industries. Skycom also offers a full range of
services, including business process outsourcing, telemarketing and sales, customer support,
and healthcare. With more than 15 years of experience,
Skycom also employs over 2,000 workers assigned to 35 clients in five countries.
Pros:
Nearshore operations mean fewer problems dealing with time zone and distance differences.
Skycom covers a wide range of industries, including healthcare, travel,
utilities, IT, finance, retail, and telecommunications.
8. Integra
Integra’s differentiator is its focus on training its workforce in customer psychology.
This means company-provided support agents are
more sensitive in detecting changes in the customer’s voice or tone.
As a result, they can respond to these changes to defuse
any tension and lead the customer into a more positive mindset.
Starting with four employees in 2004, Integra currently employs more than 1,400 workers
stationed across four countries. It handles customer service duties over the phone,
email, live chat, or social media.
Pros:
Integra offers some of the most cost-effective solutions in the industry.
Sales psychology is also an incredible asset to have if you work in a
customer support outsourcing company.
9. Telus
Telus International is one of the world’s leading digital CX innovators.
In particular, it designs and produces next-generation digital solutions for
brands all over the world. This is one of the Canadian top IT
outsourcing companies that provide IT services and
multilingual customer service to industries such as technology,
media, communications, eCommerce, financial technology, travel, hospitality, automotive, healthcare, and games.
Pros:
Telus International is a premium multilingual contact center.
It is one of those IT support outsourcing companies that offer
top-tier customer support services in various countries and more than 50 languages.
Telus is famous among IT services outsourcing
companies for organizing an annual charitable initiative called “Telus Days of Giving.” In particular, the
company taps 225,000 volunteers from its offices to complete various service projects across its many host countries.
10. Arise
Arise is a 25-year-old United States-based company that specializes in providing
support outsourcing services across the USA.
It employs more than 60,000 remote agents in the U.S., Canada, and
the United Kingdom. Unlike a traditional BPO, Arise utilizes a network of service partners to provide the needed customer service experiences.
In addition, the Arise Platform helps companies lower expenses.
As a result, Arise clients report an average 25% reduction in contact center
service total costs, which is why clients want to outsource customer service small business really needs.
Pros:
Arise deploys a tiered security approach in its communications with clients.
This ensures they preserve the confidentiality of
documents or files sent over. It also means Arise conforms to widely accepted data privacy regulations such as HIPAA, CCPA, and
others.
Arise also focuses its employment on local talent, hiring
residents of the U.S., UK, and Canada. This means stable employment
for the company and an easier method of hiring or replacing staff members.
Choose the Best Outsourcing Companies That Fit Your Needs
Deciding which outsourcing providers to contact for your customer support outsourcing needs?
Perform the necessary research before settling on your choice.
For instance, some customer service outsource companies on our
list might command a pricing structure higher than what your budget
holds.
In addition, consider your company’s specific
requirements and areas for improvement. Do you need a customer
support team focused on CX? Or, do you prefer having sales psychology-trained outbound callers who can close deals?
Finally, does the appeal of higher-cost nearshoring resonate better than offshore talents a few time zones away?
No one-size-fits-all solution exists when it comes to customer support outsourcing.
However, if you want a highly flexible and secure customer service solution that utilizes modern technology throughout the various stages, try the best companies for customer service.
These largest outsourcing companies not only supply the best talent,
but also the best equipment and training to prepare them.
Introducing Tyler Wagner: Allstate Insurance, the
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