Showroomprivé's triple win in Novi Sad

What makes one e-merchant specialising in special sales different from another? The well-known brand(s) whose stock or unsold items it manages to sell at a good price, and its ability to deliver and manage customer service requests. For the past few months, Showroomprivé has had its multilingual customer service managed by Novi Sad, a bold gamble that has paid off.

Why OceanCall Group?
After working with a number of different BPO specialists, from world leaders to smaller players, Jérôme Caplat chose OceanCall Group, founded by Benoit Foillard, after a serious call for tenders. "We've worked with a number of service providers over the last few years, some of them before I took up my post. Ocean Call is a committed, young player, and one that we sensed during the selection process would be motivated to progress and support us. They fit in with our vision and DNA. The challenge has been met, and it's an impressive one at that. The first time I visited the site, in Serbia, it was empty. Now, less than four months after opening, it employs more than 120 people and manages requests from Portugal, Italy and Spain," explains Jérôme Caplat, Customer Experience Director. When we chose them, however, there were players who were cheaper, from a pricing point of view," he adds, a sign that Serbia should not be seen as a low-cost destination. Labour law is complex, and employers' contributions are high.

Why Novi Sad and Serbia?
As the country's 2nd largest city, if you leave aside Chicago (the 2nd largest Serbian city in the world after Belgrade), Novi Sad has all the advantages of Belgrade but none of the disadvantages. Here, people are well educated and speak several languages very well, but they can get to work by public transport without wasting too much time. The city is dynamic, with nature nearby, and is full of places to go for a coffee, as well as quiet spots. Transcom has made no mistake here, setting up a customer service centre with over 500 employees. Nikola Stakic and Odette Stanivukovic are both Transcom transferees who have come to bring their expertise to the BPO start-up (see attached video).

It's a bit like Europe here, without all the behaviour I don't like any more in Western Europe," says the 50-year-old: all those people who spend their lives on their mobile phones and can't even talk to each other or help each other out. I wouldn't live in my native Netherlands for anything in the world," says Odette. 

Sophie from Boulogne-Billancourt, Ibtissame from Villers-Cotterêts.
But if the gamble has paid off, to the extent that Showroomprivé recently won an award for its customer service, it's also thanks to the unfailing commitment of the team assisting Jérôme Caplat. Three experts regularly fly out on Air Serbia to train teams, check language levels and constantly monitor the progress of performance indicators. "The Italian market is already on target, and Portugal is well on the way to achieving this", says Ibtissame Bouhali, one of the three specialists. The number of incident tickets handled per hour, the personalisation of the response - these are just some of the precise indicators being monitored. 

Having cut her teeth in the world of luxury, Ibtissame has imported a few good reflexes and rigorous habits from this demanding world (where she wanted to work and where she managed to launch her career). "You can make a customer service call or request memorable," smiles the young Customer Service Manager.

The hard work has paid off: a few weeks ago, Showroomprivé climbed to the top of a rigorous podium by winning the Qualiweb trophy in the e-commerce category. It took Sarenza's place. 

Top photo: Ibtissame de Villers-Cotterêts, Jérôme Caplat and Sophie de Boulogne-Billancourt