In-source customer service

Customer service is a highly personal component of your customers experience with your company and contributes greatly to the emotions that a customer feels towards your company [your brand]. So why do some companies outsource major components of their customer service?

It truly doesn't make any sense to me. DSTv are a broadcast company and a highly successful one at that. They sell the decoder and monthly subscriptions but they have washed their hands of the entire installation process. Fair enough, they may have decided that this customer requirement wasn't profitable enough to internalise, but the cost of this decision is that DSTv cannot control the customer service element of the installation process.

DSTv now face these problems:
1. New customers walk out of the DSTv offices with a decoder and a carelessly typed list of installation companies - abandonment of your brand new customer
2. DSTv cannot unfairly recommend any one installation company so the customer needs to rely on luck in choosing a quality installation company
3. When something goes wrong, the installation company blames DSTv and DSTv blames the installation company, leaving the customer in complete limbo
4. The customer does not know where to turn and will tend to blame DSTv because it is their product that isn't working
5. Instead of DSTv handling the customers complaints directly and having the opportunity to immediately solve the issue, the customers only option is to complain to everyone they come in contact with - bad news for DSTv

The complete customer experience has been put in jeopardy by DSTv not wanting to take responsibility for all the stages involved in using their product. If you want to have control over your customers experience, then you need to be responsible for every customer contact point and not leave it up to someone else.