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You’re Speaking with ACC – ASEAN Contact Center

ACC Contact Center

By now, most people are used to the idea that when we ring a large company, the call could be answered by one of many people.

Gone is the old image of a single person sitting at a flashing switchboard. Nowadays, all over the world, there are rooms filled with rows of people murmuring in various languages into headsets.

And now, Laos is no exception, with the country’s first dedicated call center now in full swing.

Asean Contact Center, or ACC, is the brainchild of Canadian expat Kevyn McGraw, one of the many foreigners who fetch up in Laos and find themselves unable to leave.

Originally from Montreal, McGraw had always wanted to live and work in Asia; after studying journalism and computer science at Concordia University, he travelled to Laos.

After his first year here, he began working for Canadian software developer Aheeva, where he had family connections.

“They assigned me to be their business development manager for Asia, with the plan for me to go back home in June,” he says.

That was in 2013, and he is still here.

“That plan didn’t work,” he says, laughing.

“I still really enjoyed living here, so I phoned up my boss in Montreal and said, ‘I’m not coming home’.”

He arranged a new contract that enabled him to stay in Vientiane, and in the meantime, the company’s chief executive in Canada asked him why he wasn’t selling any contracts in Laos.

“I told him there were no call centers in Laos. And he said, ‘Well, start one’,” he says.

So, he did, organising a partnership with Lao IT company Datacom and Aheeva to create ACC.

That was in 2014, and the company began with three staff and a handful of clients. Today, McGraw works alongside his wife Khammone; ACC employs 130 people and has more than a dozen clients, including Unitel, Pizza Company, Ford, Lao Airlines and Unicef.

   

The company also has plans to expand outside of Laos – its market encompasses all of ASEAN – but is steadily building a reputation closer to home.

“We offer two main services. Either we help companies in Laos build their own call center, or you can outsource the service completely to us,” McGraw says.

When helping another business, such as Lao Airlines, build a call center, ACC will supply and maintain Aheeva software, and train the company’s own staff. Or, as is the case with Pizza Company, all calls to the business are taken by someone in one of the many rooms in the non-descript four-storey building in suburban Vientiane.

With a 24-hour service and many multi-lingual staff, it’s not surprising that businesses that choose to outsource to ACC see an increase in sales almost immediately – up to 20% from the very first day, according to Pizza Company.

But when a company is devoted to only one thing – responding to calls from customers – it’s much easier to do it right.

“We have very strict KPIs in our contracts with our customers, and if we don’t follow those KPIs we can get a penalty,” he says.

“We have the team, we have people listening to phone calls, we have an IT guy who knows how to manage the software in case it breaks. Here we can get it fixed within 15 minutes.”

And unlike in many western countries, where call services are outsourced to foreign countries to save on staffing costs, Lao clients have different reasons for choosing a call center – to increase sales or improve the quality of its service.

It has also been surprisingly easy to find willing staff to operate the phones; ACC has a staff turnover of around 5 percent, and attracts many students because it offers both full-time and part-time work.

“We don’t have any problems finding Lao staff. It takes more effort to find staff who speak two languages very well,” he says.

“But we’re actively expanding our languages and services, and starting in 2018, we’ll be doing customer service via social media, so that’s huge.”

 

 

Champa Meuanglao
Written by:  
Sally Pryor
Photos: Phoonsab Thevongsa
Originally Published in: Champa Meuanglao,  official Lao Airlines in-flight magazine, 2017 January-February Edition

Mongolia to provide Sheep to Lao People’s Army

Mongolian Sheep in Laos

The Mongolian government has agreed to provide 1,000 sheep to the Lao People’s Army battalion in Xieng Khouang Province.

A meeting was held between Mongolian Deputy Minister of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry Janimkhan Saulye and Governor of Xieng Khouang Province Somkot Mangomek last week. The two ministers discussed socio-economic development projects being undertaken in the province, as well as poverty reduction efforts.

Governor Somkot expressed his gratitude to the government and people of Mongolia for their assistance provided to Xieng Khouang Province over the years, which has included construction of the Lao-Mongolian Friendship Hospital.

Xieng Khouang Province is making efforts to boost its agricultural output with an emphasis on livestock, and Mongolia will provide basic training in sheep farming techniques along with the first shipment of sheep.

Meanwhile, the Lao-Japan Agro Development Xieng Khouang Company Limited is a joint investment between Laos and Japan which farms cattle. Over 300 Australian cattle were donated to Laos by Japan in 2015.

Minimum Wage Increase Planned for This Year

Garment Factory Worker
Garment Factory Worker

From 1991 to 2015, the minimum wage has increased a total of 7 times in Laos. According to the Department of Labor Regulation, an 8th change is set to happen within this year. The proposed minimum wage increase is substantial: from 900,000 kip to 1,200,000 kip per month.

Phongxaysack Inthalath, Director General of the Department of Labor Regulation, recounts the history of the Lao minimum wage dating before Asian Financial Crisis times.

“In 1991, the minimum wage was 26,000 kip per month. In 1997, it increased to 36,400 kip. In 2000, it became 93,600 kip. Then in 2005, it more than doubled to 290,000 kip. In 2009, it was 348,000 kip. In 2015, it was bumped up to 900,000 kip.”

Workers at a garment factory, Vientiane Capital (Photo Credit: KPL)
Workers at a garment factory, Vientiane Capital (Photo Credit: KPL)

After a three year stint at its current rate, the minimum wage is set to change once again. According to the collaborative findings of three governmental bodies, namely the LNCCI (Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry), the Lao Labor Union, the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, and others, the primary factor that has led to this wage hike proposal is rising living costs due to the country’s relatively high economic growth. The aforementioned entities are currently discussing with other state bodies about the potential impact of such a hike on the country’s economy.

Seventy-seven officials have been appointed to inspect workers in select factories, large scale construction sites, power plants, and other businesses totalling 85,056 people, of which 67,524 are Lao and 17,532 are foreign. Of the businesses inspected, 2,787 were industrial, 425 were agricultural, and 1,963 belonged to the service sector. Industrial workers received an average of 1,200,000 kip per month. Agricultural labor received 1,100,000 kip per month, and service sector employees were paid an average of 2,500,000 kip per month.

Source: Lao Economic Daily

Plain of Jars to be Submitted for UNESCO World Heritage Status

Plain of Jars, Xieng Kuang
Plain of Jars, Xieng Kuang

The Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism plans to nominate the megalithic archaeological landscape known as the ‘Plain of Jars’ in Xieng Kuang for UNESCO world heritage status.

The documents and the master plan are expected to be submitted to the World Heritage Committee for consideration of the ‘Plain of Jars’ as a new UNESCO world heritage site, this year.

“The government and UNESCO have attached importance to the nomination of the ‘Plain of Jars’ as a world heritage since 1998. Both sides have collected data, deliberated on and planned the sustainable protection of this heritage site to ensure that this tourist attraction will best benefit the tourism industry in Laos,” said Bosengkham Vongdara, Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism.

Plain of Jars, Xieng Kuang
Plain of Jars, Xieng Kuang

Since 2015, the ministry has, in cooperation with local authorities, listed 11 sites of jars in Xieng Khuang for the world heritage application, formulated conservation and protection area plans and management rules for provincial, district and village authorities.

The chairman of the meeting asked relevant sectors to deliberate on the master plan and related documents making sure they are complete before they can be submitted to the World Heritage Committee for consideration.

“We plan to submit the application to UNESCO for the world heritage status for the ‘Plain of Jars’ this year so that it will be the third world heritage of Laos, and we will do the same for the Hin Nam No in Khammouane next year.

“All aim to fulfil the strategic plan of the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism 2016-2020,” said the Department of World Heritage Director General Khambay Phothisane.

The ‘Plain of Jars’ in northern Laos is home to a 2000-year-old mystery. It is a group of fields containing thousands of stone jars cut out from rock thousands of years ago.

Source: KPL and Bernama

4th Annual Japan Festival to Be Held February 2-4

Poster for Japan Festival 2018

The 4th Annual Japan Festival, which features events that highlight Japanese culture, will be held on 2-4 February at Lao ITECC.

Sideline events of the festival include Japanese Products Exhibition, One Piece Meet and Greet, Company Presentations, Sylvanian Families Characters Dance Show, Cool and Kawaii Japan 2018 (Cosplay & Anime Song Contest), J-POP Cover Dance Competition, Dance Man Concert (performance by Mortal Combat and Lao dancers), Kimono show, and Japanese traditional dance and Lao lamvong.

Poster for Japan Festival 2018
Poster for Japan Festival 2018

The Japan festival aims to promote relations and cooperation between the two countries of Laos and Japan. Meanwhile, it is expected that the Japanese Products Exhibition will provide Lao and Japanese companies the opportunity to network and build partnerships.

This upcoming cultural exchange event will be organized by the Japanese Embassy to Laos in cooperation with the Association of Japanese Residents in the Lao PDR, the Japan Alumni of Laos, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Vientiane, the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) Vientiane Office, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Laos Office, the Japan Foundation Asia Center, the Vientiane Liaison Office and the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

 

https://www.facebook.com/4thJapanFestival2018/videos/568895490119402/

 

For more information, please visit the official facebook pages of Japan Festival 2018 or the Japanese Embassy in Vientiane.

Source: KPL

Lao-Thai Railway to Begin Phase II (Thanalaeng to Khamsavath)

Lao Thai Railway Extension

The Lao-Thai Railway Construction Project, Phase II (Section II), which will run 7.5km from Thanalaeng Station in Hadxayfong District, to Vientiane Station in Khamsavath Village, Saysettha District, is to go ahead after a consulting company has been chosen to oversee the project.

A ceremony was held in Vientiane on Tuesday for the signing of a contract between Director General of the Railway Department, Mr Sengthavixay Malivanhon, and Chief Executive Adviser of the ASEAN Engineering Consultant Corp (AEC), Dr Sobchoke Srisakorn.

The ceremony was attended by the Lao Minister for Public Works and Transport, Dr Bounchanh Sinthavong, government officials from both Laos and Thailand, the Neighbouring Countries Economic Development Cooperation Agency (NEDA) of Thailand, the Lao-Thai Railway Project, and guests from the Lao-China Railway Project.

Construction of the next phase of the railway must be completed within 46 months. It is valued at about 235.6 billion kip.

The first phase of the railway project commenced in 2013 and was completed in 2015, officially opening in March 2017. It has seen trains run from Thanalaeng Station in Laos across the border to Thailand.

Source: Lao Post

La Khone Pheng to be Site of Sixth Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge

La Khone Pheng 6th Friendship Bridge

La Khone Pheng, a small town in Salavanh Province is to be the site of the sixth Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge, according to reports from Thai media.

A Thai committee appointed to select the location for the next bridge chose Tambon Natan in Ubon Ratchathani on the Thai side, which is close to large communities and can be easily linked to existing roads.

Meanwhile, Ban La Kone Pheng is one of the largest settlements in Salavanh Province, which neighbors Thailand to the west, and Vietnam to the east. The province also borders Savannakhet in the south, which now boasts the highest population in Laos.

No start date for the project has been yet been announced, however it has been stated that an environmental impact study will be unnecessary. 

Source: Nation Multimedia

Lucky Winners Take Home Special Prizes thanks to The Pizza Company

The Pizza Company

A lucky draw was held at The Pizza Company, Vientiane Center branch yesterday, in celebration of the new year, attended by the media and special guests.

Mr. Boutsavanh Vongpaseuth, Marketing Manager of The Pizza Company, said, “we have held this lucky draw to show our appreciation for our customers and as a new year’s gift.”

“We began with coupons for free meals starting from 07/12/17 until 15/01/18. There are over 20,000 coupons in total.”

The Pizza Company Lucky Draw

The names of the lucky draw winners are as follows:

1. Ms. Piyapha Phoumivong, from Hatsady Village, who won a TVS motorbike
2. Mr. Vansavang Phandanouvong from Phakhao Village, who won a Karcher vaccum cleaner
3. Mr. Wang Bin, who won a Karcher high pressure washer
4. Ms. Souphansa Tanlamany from Saphanthong Neua, who won a Karcher high pressure washer.
5. Ms. Ker Her Her from Nongniang, who won a 32″ television
6. Mr. Maxie Phanouvong from Phonepapao, who won a 32″ television