Customer service outsourcing to a hire on your own team

What offshore customer service covers, from enquiry to resolution

Missed calls and slow replies cost NDIS providers, property businesses and online stores goodwill, and sometimes the client. If you outsource ecommerce customer service, the same applies to order queries, returns and delivery chasers. A dedicated representative handles each enquiry through to the end:

• First contact: answer calls, emails and chats using your scripts and tone.
• Triage: log the enquiry in your helpdesk or CRM with clear notes, and resolve routine questions on the spot.
• Hand-off: route anything they cannot resolve to the right person, with the full story attached.
• Follow-through: keep the customer updated until the issue is closed, and report recurring questions each week.

For real estate and property businesses, that means tenant enquiries, maintenance requests and inspection questions. For NDIS providers, participant and family enquiries, booking changes and messages for coordinators.

What stays with you onshore

• Decisions on complaints, refunds, fees and exceptions
• Participant support decisions, tenancy decisions and anything needing a licence or a qualified worker
• Urgent safety or wellbeing issues, which follow your escalation procedure immediately

A good brief spells out what can be resolved directly, what needs approval and when to escalate.

How we test customer service candidates

Each search typically starts with 1,000+ candidates from job advertising, direct headhunting and referrals through vetted local networks in the Philippines. Of that starting pool, about 40% pass CV and quality screening and 20% the video screen, where we hear how they speak. About 10% pass the practical assessment, 5% the structured interview, and around 2% reach finalist review. You receive a shortlist of 3–4, usually within about 2 weeks.

The practical assessment could include sample tickets from your industry and a role-play call with a frustrated customer. When you interview, ask a finalist how they would handle a caller who is upset about a repair that is three weeks late. Look for a calm tone, an accurate record of what was said, a clear next step for the customer and a sensible decision about when to escalate.

The cost of outsourcing customer service through an agency

When you outsource customer service through a managed agency, you pay a fee every month on top of the representative’s salary, for as long as the role runs. Staff Domain, for example, publishes $1,099 per person per month, about $13,188 a year, plus $1,200 per hire (checked October 2026). Over two years that is about $27,576 in fees.

With Tarino you pay a one-time fee, and your representative keeps their full salary because you pay them directly. Compare agency fees with a one-time fee, or see what the markup would cost your business.

Planning cover and the first month

Customer service is about being there when people call, so plan the roster before the offer. Check the Philippines public holidays for 2026 and decide who covers those days. Start with one channel and your top twenty questions, then add channels. If most enquiries are clinic bookings, a medical receptionist is the closer fit; for listing and inspection work, a real estate assistant. Customers notice when the voice on the phone keeps changing. More than 95% of Tarino placements are still in the role at 6 months. Read how the hiring process works.