Last Person You Talked To At A Call Center Probably Wasn't Faking American Accent
from the still-the-800-lb-gorilla dept
Judging by stories in the media, you might think that India dominates the market for call centers, and we're probably a little guilty of feeding this perception as well. But the actual numbers paint a different picture; the US still dominates this space, as 62% of all global call center jobs are in the country. India's share is just 5%. And while the percentage has declined in the US, the net number of jobs has actually risen; in the past four years, the economy has created 183,000 new positions. It's not surprising that these numbers aren't often told. Layoffs make for a much better story than hiring. And while it's been noted plenty that Indian economic growth doesn't hurt our own economy, it's interesting that even this one specific industry isn't a zero-sum game.
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Re: sprint
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Frist pots?
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Let's just hope my newest job in support for the IP NOC for one of the major backbone providers doesn't get outsourced.
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That doesn't make any sense...
Am I just the stupidest American that only buys products and uses services that use Indian call centers? To say that only 5% of calls are handled by Indian call centers and that 100% of customer service/tech support numbers that I call are handled by Indian call centers just doesn't add up. To me the odds seem astronomical!
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Re: That doesn't make any sense...
Yay America.
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I have the same problem.
I haven't bought a product that didn't have an Indian help desk. Maybe I just pick the wrong products?
I gotta say that when I bought an Acer notebook... and that's Chinese, right? But the service was in Texas and they all spoke fluent English. It's was a shock to hear it ... and not only that, the service was super fast to replace a failed HD.
Sooooo, the Chinese hire US help desk/service and the US hire someone in Asia.
Hey, it makes sense to me dude.
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Re: I have the same problem.
And this is why the US voted in an a**hole like Trump.
Big companies were ripping it out of US citizens (same here in the UK by the way) for long enough that they got greedy and complacent. Now they complain about tariffs.
I don't agree with tariffs but I do think if you buy a product in a certain country then they should offer support in that country.
This is why an iPhone is so expensive, not because it costs more to make but because you can go into an Apple store in whatever country you live and get real time assistance.
How many Acer, Lenovo, Netgear, HP stores do you see around?
You want the best on offer then you pay the best price, simple.
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Attempting to assure him we did not have any outsourcing to India he complained that the tech he just spoke with had such a think Indian accent, he couldn't understand a word, so he hung up and called back. I asked for the tech's name, which he gave me (apparently he understood that), and then pulled up the customer's account. Yep, it was a co-worker of mine that sat 2 cubes from me, and had a Master's degree in IT Networking. I explained that to the customer, and he went off on a different tangent about immigration. Kind of let that one slide without comment, as I don't have any animosity towards immigrants if they are in the U.S. legally.
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Numbers DO NOT add up
DirectTV, VISA, Dell, Microsoft, etc.
I don't believe the odds are that I am only getting that "lucky 5%:.
They might be opening call centers in the US, but they are forwarding the calls to other countries.
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Re: Numbers DO NOT add up
A given nation's global market-share isn't going to translate directly into a given company's use of that nation's call centers. Take Microsoft for instance. Simply because they have call-centers doesn't mean that 62% of them will be in the US and only 5% in India. They'll contract out to whoever is cheaper, or does a better job or what not. If the person (wait, we're speaking of microsoft, it's probably 2 or 3 inept committees) who manages the contracting of call-centers decides that they should go with 98% india and 2% canada, that's what they'll do.
Even that's over simplistic, different company divisions will have different call-center routings, and in fact even seperate products may have seperate call centers.
This isn't even taking into account the fact that some Microsoft engineers are Indian. Which again is probably concentrated in certain products or line-ups.
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Re: Numbers DO NOT add up
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Re: Numbers DO NOT add up
Or I could be completely wrong.....
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Re: Re: Numbers DO NOT add up
Kraft
Kitchen Aid
Oyster
Char Broil
Etc, etc etc.
Keep in mind there are still cheap states in the US to farm call centers. OK, TN and FL lead the pack.
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Re: Numbers DO NOT add up
Those jobs suck, so usually the darker skinned, immigrant variety get stuck with them.
The hard work immigrants show is why I don't mind them at all.
They may be Indian, but that doesn't necessarily mean you're speaking to someone IN India
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Re: Numbers DO NOT add up
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Re: Numbers DO NOT add up
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Outsourcing... or Indian Insourcing?
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depends when you call
but I try to call during regular business hours and most of the time i get a US call center. Sometimes they only outsource after hour calls.
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Re: depends when you call
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Oh how I would love to have indian tech support...
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Damn scripts
Like this little chat with Dell:
Them: "What is the error code you are seeing?"
Me: "I don't have it now, but the HDD goes *CLUNK* *CLUNK* *CLUNK*, I need a new one."
Them: "But what is the error code you are seeing?"
Me: "It's not showing it now, I just need a new HDD, this one is failing."
Them: "I'm sorry sir, but without the error code I cannot send out a replacement HDD. It could be a fan or CD drive."
There was no getting out of the script he had in front of him. They expected me to sit at my client's site for the next 2 hours and wait for them to call me back asking if the drive made any more noise.
Now compared with a chat I had with an HP technician up in Canada: While looking up info and part numbers the tech was telling me about his late night poker game and the massive hangover he had. I started to feel sorry for him figuring he'd probably be fired and it was the most entertaining call to tech support I had been on. But he then went on to say it was ok because his boss was playing too.
I'm not saying Dell's support is always bad and HP's is always good. Heck, one time it took an HP tech 15 minutes to find my info to start the call, I had already figured out the problem while waiting but wanted to see how long it would take this guy to ask what the problem was.
I guess it's just cheaper to pay people to read than to think.
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Re: Damn scripts
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Duh
That's why the odds of reaching one aren't so "astronomical".
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Speaking English
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this type of argument misses the point
It's a total accountant solution, displacing an engineers view.
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All "aboot" scripting, eh?
Granted, we have Pakistanis, Iranians, Indians, Chinese, Japanese, Koren, English, Scottish, Irish, Frenh, Jewish, Catholics, Protestants, etc ALL working in Call Centers in CANADA.
Yes, we do use phone scripts. Do you think I want to hear your life story when all I asked was if you had firewall software on the computer that I believe is blocking your crappy AOL software from connecting? No. The reason ANY call center (even in the good ol' US of A) uses script is to keep the call on topic, so that customers have the issue resolved a soon as humanly possible.
If I ask you to click start and go to the control panel, and you reply "so I'm in Outlook Express now," do you really think it would help troubleshooting browsing issues if you started to rattle off Microsoft error codes for Outlook Express (0x800ccc19)?
To be honest with you all - us "Techies" or "Help Desk Agents" generally refer you to a PC Tech or OEM for two reasons; 1. PEBUK or 2. DFU.
Think before you speak. If asked for a 'commonly used Email address" and you reply "123 Any Street, Buttf**k, USA 30318 or the best answer ~ "Do what now?" chances are we've got you on speaker and we're laughing our collective asses off.
So, when you're expected to take 50-60 calls in an 8 hour shift (including 30 minutes for lunch), yes - we use scripting to stay on topic, so that we can keep our sanity and fell to great an urge to disco a call because the modem is in standby (what the button on the top that says STANDBY" didn't clue you in??)
BTW - here's a little something for anyone with a sense of humour:
http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-7466442083227549651&q=joe+canadian
This post wasn't meant to flame anyone (race, religion, ethnicy or country of origin). If you have hurt feelings, please feel free to call me at my desk: 1-877-328-7448, ext 70682
Again, My name is Joe, Thanks for calling the National HeLL Desk, ave a nice day!
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Re: All "aboot" scripting, eh?
As an independent IT contractor (do-it-all tech) getting connected to a call center canbe a truly frustrating experience. However, I have noticed a massive increase in the efficiency, knowledge and short hold times for some of the major companies - notably SBC, MS and Dell.
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Re: All
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Oxford Mississippi tech support
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Toshiba
Sharp
Eureka
SBC
Dex Media
Wrigley (gum)
Oh so many more that I cant even think about.
Some people in the call center are rude to customers, but to be honest they are young, and think they own the world. Dont hold it against the company they are trying to get rid of the bad ones, turnover is huge there!
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Abraham
then he says...'abraham...lincoln'. i don't reply.
he asks, 'so..you know abraham lincoln?'.
i say i do.
he says, 'they told us to pick names americans will like. so..you like this abraham lincoln?'
i say i have heard good things about him.
he seems pleased and we continue with my problem.
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Re: Abraham
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I think I know why
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here's more funnies
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Those numbers dont add up or do they?
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Re: Those numbers dont add up or do they?
Don't forget - most TWC local offices are closed no later than midnight - and then all calls get funnelled to the NHD
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This ability lead to me receiving several hundred dollars in Starbuck's gift cards in reward from being praised by the callers.
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following a script
and the level 2 techs are pushed like made to stay with the script
quality assurances is litening man and a couple of bad scores and the boss is on your case...
dont forget 14 minutes average call time.
most of the agents try to move the questions through so they can asked questions on the side.
once the basic questions are done than maybe they can right a ticket o move you up to level 3 agent that has more scripts. of course if your yammering on and lowing them down what do yu think they are going to have you do to get off the call .???. maybe like unpug the phone to check the filter ...opps lost customer.next call.
So if you want help ..learn the questions be ready to move through the troble shooting fast... rember may that last call the agent had was a stay at home parent wih kids yelling or maybe some very old that moved slow.
to my boss we are just a ### and we are judged on our numbers..
try to help your agent help you
-t
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Call center jobs increase
The net effect of the closures and openings in the last four years has been more than 183,000 new call center jobs, with about 25 percent of those in the U.S., according to Butler.
That's only 46,000 new jobs in the US. Beats nothing, but nowhere as good as you indicated.
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Call Center
Interestingly, I work on a help desk that ONLY takes call from US Post Office employees. Figure that one out!
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American Companies
Like any thing else if you work in that market then you have to be aware of the market your in, if you sale car's would you rather sale Chevy's or Toyota's? One of the things is that the companies can move these phone banks to another country like Canada and get much cheaper labour. Verizon try to once closed a new york call center and a court order blocked it.
In my opinion some of these places was paying out way to much money to some of these people and it was hurting profits big time. If you can hire some dude in india for $2 bucks per hour not give him blue cross blue shield and you compare that to some one here for $17 dollars per hour then you are saving your company from being taken over or going out of business. Even state governments are using foreign people for their call centers face it that is CHEAPER.
But not only that, these workers over there in places like india is a market that you can sell things too. Cell Phones, digital cameras, tv, DVD's, CD-ROM, Computers, Internet, Clothes you name it now they can afford it, some one in america has a job because of those people over there buying merchandise. The people here on the phones just might have to learn more as in speak spanish or get a better job. The thing that bothers me is that the government made the call list, which many now home less people lost their jobs over. Also let me point out that in america you can't listen to employees in a phone bank with out some legal paper work or your breaking wire tapping laws, you could get sued by a worker in america for millions and insurance is high here. There could be a million reason to move the phone bank to india and there could be a million different jobs here for these people if they really wanted it or worried about it.
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Call Center: Is this just the tech sector?
Nice try putting your slant on things.
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Indeed...
And, like others, anytime I call a major company for tech support, I talk to some little Indian who barely speaks English. I just called HP the other day to get a replacement digital camera (warranty swap). I talked to two people, both heavy Indian accents. When I call DirecTV, same thing. When I call the phone company, same thing. There's no way 5% is accurate. Sorry Joe, but you need to do some more research. This article is plain wrong.
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he said that it's cheaper to buy support from india. plain and simple. what he said tho, is that the corporate purchases were upset that they had indian tech support, and said they would pull business if they didn't change. so guess what, dell listened. so if you have corportate needs, you're fine coz you bring in tons of money, if you buy a dinky dell for 299, like hell you'll get good american tech support. it's all about the benjamins.
i've also called tons of places, multiple times. like when i was setting up my home network, calls to verizon and linksys. i got a wide variety of people from ghetto to old lady, to southern to indian to chinese. kinda scary. but hey, that's life
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View from the other side
None of you guys want to accept the fact that customer satisfaction improved a billion times after customer support was outsourced to India. Don't believe me? Just try talking to anyone from Dell, AOL, Microsoft, HP...
Everyone here is b*tching about Indians' "thick" accents and them reading out of scripts.
This is just plain nit-picking. The fact is no American call-centre worker is as motivated, qualified or patient as the average Indian call centre worker.
Americans simply don't consider working in a call centre a 'real' job.
The bottom line is: apart from a few whining Americans that post in forums, politicians desperately looking for issues and journalists who love to sensationalize everything, Americans are extremely happy with Indian call-centre support.
Those of you who are lamenting the loss of American jobs, wake up to the 21st century! A job for life was something only your grandfathers enjoyed(?).
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Re: View from the other side
as for thick accents, and nit-picking...HELL YES. if i'm paying for a product, and it's based on a GREAT tech support, then i expect to have a tech junkie who know's their stuff and can tell me, w/o me having to have it repeated like 7 times then be spelled out. if i want to hear thick accents' i'll go to the kwik-i-mart.
as a college educated individual, i'd love to work in a call center. i believe i have the background to properly solve questions about different computer issues. the problem lies in the fact that i can get a call center job for about 10 bucks/hr or make 70k doing even less work. so, tell me what's the better job? until cc pay well, we won't get a decent helper.
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Re: View from the other side
NOT MOTIVIATED? I WILL TELL YOU THAT THE HOURS WE PUT INTO LEARNING DIFFERENCE SYSTEMS AND 6 WEEKS OF JUST BASIC TRAINING FOLLOWED BY UPDATED CLASSES AND CONTINUED COACHING FOR THE NEXT SIX MONTHS DOESN'T SOUND NOT BEING MOTIVATED TO ME!!! WE ARE ALSO VERY MICROMANAGED AND THERE ISN'T A MINUTE FOR PRIVATE IDLE CHIT CHAT WITH FELLOW WORKERS AS IN A REGULAR WORK PLACE. EVEN THOUGH IT SOUNDS GREAT 'WORKING AT HOME' BELIEVE ME WHEN I SAY IT IS HARD WORK AND NOT A SECOND TO SPARE.
TRULY WHEN A CALLER CALLS IN WITH PROBLEMS AND TROUBLES WE ARE MUCH BETTER ABLE TO RELATE TO OUR WESTERNED CULTURED CALLERS BETTER THAN SOMEONE IN INDIA. THE SAME GOES FOR ME HANDLING A CALLER FROM INDIA; I WOULDN'T KNOW BANGALORA FROM SINGAPOR.
CALL CENTER JOBS FOR MANY, THE DISABLED, THE RETIRED, AND THOSE WHO HAVE TO STAY AT HOME HELPING OTHERS FOR EXAMPLE ARE DELIGHTED TO FIND THIS WORK AND ARE PLEASED TO THE AN OPPORTUNITY TO FILLED POSITIONS AVAILABLE. MORE JOBS LIKE THESE WOULD CERTAINLY HELP TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN THAN TO SHIP THESE JOBS ELSEWHERE.
SO LET US THE CHIPS ON THE TABLE. EACH COUNTRY IS BETTER AT HANDLING THEIR OWN COUNTRY'S CALLERS. LET INDIA TAKE CARE OF INDIA AND WE WILL TAKE CARE OF US.
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Win-eee Cooop-Ahhh
In my case I got a phone call from a gal with a VERY VERY thick Asian accent and stilted engrish trying to offer me DISH network.
Oddly enough i was just cancelling DirectTV for being morons, and said let me call you back tommorow.
She said OK and that her name was Winnie Cooper.
All I can think is some jack like me devised that name for her in a cube next door.
"Win-eee Cooop-Ahhh"
lols... i'll take win-eee cooop-ahhh over the automatic phone call recordings any day tho.
Tom
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American Companies
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4663484.stm
All of these companies as you know make their cell phones, monitors, computers, keyboards what ever it is in asia most of the time. Not only that but their is a growing market in those nations with billions of people in them. That means millions of people NEED HELP with their computers in their own nations. I recall one story that there is more people online in asia then in the United States, so there is a huge market worth BILLIONS.
After reading more about the subject if the manufacturing facility was in India that Dell has I'm sure american workers would want $35 plus per hour. The way they churn out their computers.
http://www.zdnetasia.com/insight/hardware/0,39043471,39199103,00.htm
Some thing I don't understand if you want a product that doesn't have foreign phone support, then why did you purchase a product made in a foreign nation? As far as I'm concern I don't have to have any of those products made in Asia. I have a nokia and I bet you your cell phone bill that a Finland person couldn't handle the call load if their english call center was based in Finland. You know you couldn't really understand them, but who doesn't love their N gage?
I also recall a story about credit cards. If you have like a $50,000 dollar limit then your phone call via computer programs goes directly to an English speaking person. If you have bad credit and a limit to $500.00 dollars then that call goes directly to some foreign nation.
To me that sounds like good business for the company it self. There is one company that wants you to spend about $25,000 dollars every year on their card and I'm sure if you do that you expect the very best, and they probably get paid very well!
But of you just use your credit card at the local 7 eleven for gas. Your going to get a foreign person not paid much to wait for you on the phone. They are not going to pay some one over $10 bucks to help you with a minor problem or to call you to make you pay your mastercard bill? When they could pay some one a h*ll of a lot less.
Now the problem with some people is that they are all against jobs going to foreign nations but a lot of these same people want to welcome foreigners from Mexico and other places with open arms.
They want to give them green cards and drivers licenese, section 8, free health care and offer them YOUR JOB.
Which one are you more worried about? People in some phone bank job in India or millions of people coming here in such a large number american phone workers lose their jobs because they can't speak spanish.
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Comcast
This was all in Washington state. ATT and Comcast used centers in Tacoma and Everett.
I don't work there anymore though.
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DISH Network
But whether in India or the U.S., I shouldn't have to speak with DISH 7 times to get a DVR upgrade that I am paying for.
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Call Centers
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Oh, **** you DT.
We don't just read from computer screens, all we do on the computer is log everything you did, or failed to do correctly.
Yes, companies have strict guidelines as to what we can and cannot do... get over it.
Can you at your job simply decide, "Hey, without having any board meetings, lets just suddenly start giving away free stuff, and making legal decisions that in the end will either A) Get the company sued into bankrupcy, or B) Deplete the companies funds, bankrupting the company anyways.
I have to say, 95% of my customers make completley stupid claims as to what we 'should' do.
Most of these customers get on the phone hopping mad because of some retarted thing they did to their own equipment... they wont give me a moment to speak, then absolutely freak out when I inform them it was in fact their fault.
You expect us to be all smiles, and happy go lucky, while you little pricks can berate us, and tell us we're useless, after refusing to do the one thing that would resolve your issue?!
UP YOURS!
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Blended outsourcing Solution services
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what about Argentina?
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Inbound and Outbound Call Center Services in India
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