For $12.95 A Month, No Call Center Accents
For frustrated customers needing Dell computer help, there is now a $12.95/month or $99/year upgrade available, that insures your call is answered “in North America”. No more hard-to-understand, underpaid operators in Banaglore if you’re willing to shell out some dough.
Occasionally, “we’ve heard from customers that it’s hard to understand a particular accent and that they couldn’t understand the instructions they were getting,” said Dell spokesman Bob Kaufman. “This illustrates Dell’s commitment to customer choice.”
Is it too much to ask that you shouldn’t have to pay extra for a tech support person you can understand after you’ve invested in a company’s product? Is it now a luxury to be able to work through a problem with someone who is communicable? So, computer help is free; computer help with someone who you can understand: extra.
Occasionally…..Did someone finally slap Dell in the face.
Finally, outsourcing american jobs is comming back to bite them.
“speaking english is a luxury”
How about charging an extra $.25 to get your order right at wendys.
December 11th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
“So, computer help is free; computer help with someone who you can understand: extra.”
Computer help from someone who actually fixes the problem?
Dream on.
December 11th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
I’ve worked in U.S. call centers for about 20 years – either directly or remotely dealing with call center staff in New York,Connecticut, Chicago, Winnipeg, Toronto, Florida, Houston, India, Sydney Australia, Singapore, the U.K. and Germany . If you think sending the call to a U.S. call center is going to guarantee better service from someone who can speak perfectly enunciated and grammatically flawless English, you have obviously never called a U.S. call center. Competition for these jobs in India and the Philippines is tough and they don’t give out positions to anyone – unlike I must say – the U.S. where call center jobs are given to anyone who is willing to accept the relatively dismal working conditions and near minimum-wage pay scales. “You get what you pay for” does not just apply to customers, it also applies to employers.
December 11th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
Having to talk to someone in India to sort out a computer problem is the price we pay for cheaper products.
December 11th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
What is wrong with speaking to someone in India to sort out a problem with your computer which was made in China?
December 11th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
Look folks- if we want these call centers to be located here, we have to pay the price. Bottom line. (that’s an intended allusion to the bottom line of corporate balance sheets… they can get the service CHEAPER elsewhere. Locating it here costs more.)
December 11th, 2008 at 5:13 pm
Jake~ call center jobs are NOT always given out to just anyone. I’ve been in the insurance industry for 6 years, and always worked out of a call center. Each center uses a different format. It all depends, man. It’s like any other customer service format. It just depends on the company, training, etc.
December 11th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
Well, I’m unable to log into the chat stream. Anyway, just noticed this: Chat stream is powered by
Vladimir Prelovac. Interesting.
December 11th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
Alan has been outsourced to Bangladesh.
December 11th, 2008 at 6:34 pm
Cheryl – I didn’t say the jobs are given to just anyone – but you must admit – when the salary offered is a consideration, you are lucky to get anyone with anything beyond a high school education. This may change sooner than we all think – the U.S. pool of unemployed workers is growing with people with high levels of education, experience and language skill. Meanwhile the workers in Asia and elsewhere in outsourced call centers are no fools – many are getting demanding as their experience grows and some are attempting to unionize – India is a vast country and unions have great strength in some states. Also there is a backlash from consumers in the U.S. which Dell apparently is acknowledging and others will too. I would not be surprised if once again it becomes cost-effective to have call centers in the U.S. but with greatly reduced benefits from those enjoyed before.
December 11th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
[...] Would you pay extra to talk to a tech support rep who’s not based in India? Alan considers the offer. Posted in [...]
December 11th, 2008 at 7:05 pm
cheryl,
is it simply the cost of wages being higher here or also the idea that employers HAVE to offer certain benefits to their workers?
December 11th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
Will Dell employ U.S. citizens who have “foreign” accents – and I would be one of them – in this new role?
December 11th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
$12/hr call center jobs?
The UAW autoworker’s backup employment.
“Occasionally, “we’ve heard from customers that it’s hard to understand a particular accent and that they couldn’t understand the instructions they were getting.”"
Occasionally?
December 11th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
This makes Beatle George Harrison’s trip to India to find truth that much more confusing? Just call him on the phon!
December 11th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
Bangalore happens to be my hometown and I have several friends and family working in these call centers. It makes a HUGE difference for companies to outsource call centers. The cost is reduced to almost one tenths. You cannot have cheap computers and complain about understanding “accents”. Infact the Indian accent is a lot easier to understand than some of the other Asian accents since we have grown up studying English.
December 12th, 2008 at 8:38 am
Nikhil,
My brother in law, from Mumbai has had HIS job outsourced to China. He has been forced to go to Dubai for work.
I think it’s great that India did not sign the trade agreement in July.
Most of my Indian relatives believe that ALL nations should protect their own workers first.
December 12th, 2008 at 8:52 am
I do housekeeping work striping and waxing floors. I am asst. hskp suv. My supervisor loves Mexicans and claims they do better work. I work in a nursing home where English is vital. I don,t understand is said to me 24/7. I have seen AMERICANS apply for jobs where i work at with nursing home experince and my supervisor will not hire them,but the next few days i see another person from MEXICO. I don,t understand.
December 12th, 2008 at 9:08 am
Interesting. My husband knows a couple of Mexican restaurant workers who are thinking of heading back to Mexico, since the economy’s tanked here. It’s better South of the Border, currently.
Loverly!
December 12th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
Sarah,
Yep, Mexicans are returning to Mexico in droves. I know a guy in construction (first generation American of Mexican decent), he says they can’t find work here so are going back home.
December 12th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Contrary to the Wall Street propaganda, the rising tide of globalization isn’t lifting all boats.
As the tide rises in one place, it naturally goes out in another. As some boats are lifted, others are left stranded on the newly exposed mud flats.
While moving some call center work back to the USA might seem like a good thing, the fact that Americans will line up to do this kind of work for $10-12/hr is a sign of the times and nothing to be proud of.
December 12th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
Interesting, Um Cara!
I guess this is how Republicans “solved” the illegal immigration problem.
They seemed to take a long way around to do it, but looks like it’s pretty effective…
December 12th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
I know some that went back. I also feel they help drive our economy over the cliff as well. SARAH the Republicans caused this open border problem under Reagan. The trickle down economy as well has trickle down this country.
December 12th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
Latest update:
The world’s premier hotel company, Chicago-based Global Hyatt Corporation, has outsourced part of its financial and accounting transaction services to India’s Genpact. The Hyatt agreement is a trend-setting move in the hospitality industry and follows in the footsteps of other global banking and insurance giants who outsourced a large part of their processes to India’s BPO sector to save costs.
In the other major deal, the $30-billion global pharma giant AstraZeneca has outsourced its end-to-end maintenance services for a variety of corporate services (such as human relations, finance) to Bangalore-based Infosys. While the values of the two deals have not been disclosed yet, both envisage increasing the scope of the work over time.
December 15th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Вы знаете, что всякое следствие имеет свои причины. Все бывает, все что происходит все к лучшему. Если бы не было этого не факт, что было бы лучше.
December 18th, 2008 at 12:36 pm