Why Holedo Will Never Outsource Customer Service

Early in my career, I learned a crucial lesson as a hotel apprentice: only the General Manager would say “no” to a guest. Requests escalated to him, ensuring guests never heard a flat “no” but rather, “Let me see who can help you.” This guaranteed phenomenal guest experiences.
Recently, I had a contrasting experience with a mobile phone company where I’ve been a loyal customer for 20 years. I paid for an eSIM activation, but a week later, I still hadn’t received it. Needing the number urgently, I persisted. Despite identifying a technical problem, I was met with scripted responses and a lack of ownership from outsourced agents. For three days, I was repeatedly told to fill out the same form, only to have my concerns dismissed.

Finally, an agent took the time to investigate and confirmed my assessment: the activation emails had broken links. This highlighted a significant issue with outsourcing customer service: the lack of ownership and rigid adherence to scripts over problem-solving.
Even top brands with resources struggle with outsourced staff. Ownership instills motivation and responsibility, crucial for excellent customer service. Cutting costs by outsourcing might look good on paper, but the real expense shows up when customer satisfaction plummets.

At Holedo, we believe in ownership and a personal touch in customer service. This is why we will never outsource our customer service. We are committed to ensuring our customers always receive the best experience directly from our dedicated team who truly care about resolving issues and providing exceptional service.

To be clear, we do outsource many non-core functions, like web hosting. But customer service directly impacts our customers’ experience and satisfaction, which is why we keep it in-house. It’s important to identify what is core and what isn’t.

Our customers include corporate clients and individual members using our platform. We run a freemium model, and this commitment extends to our free accounts. Every customer, regardless of their account type, will always interact with a Holedo team member. Our team members have a clear career pathway, participate in the company’s success, and are motivated to provide excellent service. When employees are part of the company, they have a vested interest in its success and are driven to help customers effectively. This is why we’re adamant about not outsourcing core functions – our customers deserve nothing less.