Author Topic: Boycott US Companies that Out-source to India  (Read 2562 times)

Offline GtoRA2

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Boycott US Companies that Out-source to India
« Reply #15 on: December 21, 2005, 12:00:02 AM »
Most companies make noise about customer service.


None want to pay for it.


Tech support is not cheap, even to india.

It is a very easy place to cut costs to make your investors happy with you.

Hell your stock will jump up a few points the second you tell them you are laying off 99% of your customer survice and Support people and sending it to india.

They care about the bottom line, support and customer survice do not generate cash, they are always the first targets to increase margins.

It is a big problem in Public corperations, when the VP has to answer to the board, and the board only cares about the bottom line RIGHT NOW THIS QAURTER.

Offline capt. apathy

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Boycott US Companies that Out-source to India
« Reply #16 on: December 21, 2005, 01:37:18 AM »
Quote
Originally posted by Ripsnort
Its tough at first, but after speaking with them, you'll understand them perfectly well.  


is it really too much to ask for an American doing business with an American company, while using a product bought in America, for use in America to be able to get a hold of someone in tech support who can speak fluently with an American?

here's a concept, let the company adapt to their customer base instead of having your customer bang their head against the wall until he finally learns to communicate with your tech support.

**this isn't a slam on the tech support employees themselves.  they speak way clearer English than I could ever likely reach in their language.  however I'm not trying to make my living doing business on the phone with them in their language**

BTW- Rip, where you gonna work when they figure out they could just have one of those efficient Indians do the outsourcing that you are doing?

Offline Rolex

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Boycott US Companies that Out-source to India
« Reply #17 on: December 21, 2005, 02:39:37 AM »
Customer support is a crappy job even in the best of circumstances.

This isn't a two-sided coin issue - it's multi-sided. Boycotting the American companies will only put more Americans out of work and financially strain the company, and the stockholders and investors, and doesn't solve the problem... if you accept that there is a problem in the first place.

Where do you think most of the parts for computers and electrical devices come from? It's rare to find them made in the US anymore. The inevitable push of technology and associated support downward from advanced econonies to lesser advanced economies cannot be changed. It's something you have to accept and learn to live with.

For what it's worth, non-English speaking countries are just as frustrated with the lack of support in their language for US products. Everything works both ways.

It's hard to evangelize that free trade and open economies are the path developing countries should take, then in the next breath, support protectionism.

The long-term reality is that the freerer markets become, the more democratic their governments become. And the more intertwined economies become, the greater the chance that differences will be softened due to those mutual economic ties.

Offline Saintaw

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Offline beet1e

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Boycott US Companies that Out-source to India
« Reply #19 on: December 21, 2005, 05:02:16 AM »
Midnight, it's the same here in the UK. We are plagued by call centres. I often feel as if I'm talking to a school leaver who's sitting in front of a computer screen with a series of Q/A on a flowchart - which probably isn't so far from the truth. "have-you-checked-the-fuse-in-the-plug?" - might as well be talking to a freaking robot. :mad: I had an Indian answer my call the other day - I had called the bank to make a general inquiry about one of their services - nothing to do with my accounts, but the guy insisted on knowing letters 2 and 4 of my account codeword, plus he had a very thick accent which I couldn't understand. I did what I always do in this situation, and it has always worked so far: Hang up, redial, get through to someone else. This time, the call got routed to someone I could understand and who didn't need codeword ID.

By the way, English is one of the official languages of India, but I think it's the second language, the first being Hindi.

Offline Dinger

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Boycott US Companies that Out-source to India
« Reply #20 on: December 21, 2005, 05:17:32 AM »
most tech support calls are made by complete idiots who are incapable of reading clear directions and need another complete idiot to read a script for them to understand.
You want to live in a global economy fine, but those living in "developing" part of the world, who breath air choked with burning wood, cowdung and industrial waste, drink contaminated water, have crappy roads, and abject poverty, will outcompete your industrialized ass.
Of course, computer manufacturers bring many tech problems on themselves. Check out this review of a Dell "Gaming PC" that's so loaded with channel partnership bloatware that it won't run the most popular games people play.

Offline wrag

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Boycott US Companies that Out-source to India
« Reply #21 on: December 21, 2005, 07:30:28 AM »
Quote
Originally posted by Ripsnort
Good point. I don't believe I've ever had to deal with customer service when troubleshooting something, or been just damn lucky with our two Dell laptops.

If you have trouble understanding them, just ask them to repeat it slow. They will be more than happy to without taking offense. Its tough at first, but after speaking with them, you'll understand them perfectly well. Its that thick british accent combined with their native accent that screws it all up. If they'd learned English in America, they'd learn to properly pronounce words that aren't butchered with accent.


Sorry I disagree here...........

Tried it and still didn't work.  The person spoke slower by seperating the words more but still said the actual words at the same speed and was still not understandable..... geeezzzz!!!!!!:furious

Complained to company via email and snailmail.

Nope don't want or need this.  Had one even question me wanting more and more information including passwords.  I objected and informed him he was becoming to interested in my personal business.  He tired to tell me he was only trying to protect me.  Ask to speak with his supervisor and he real quick started jabberin then I told him I wanted someone else to do this with and that 1st I wanted his supervisor.  Sucker hung up on me!   :furious

Had to start all over again.

NO THANK YOU!

Again Complained to company via email and snailmail and since then only get what sounds like Americans from Texas :D

MUCH MUCH MUCH BETTER!!!!!!!
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Offline Midnight

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Boycott US Companies that Out-source to India
« Reply #22 on: December 21, 2005, 08:17:04 AM »
A point that several of you have highlighted in your reposnses.

"Ask them to talk slower" or "Ask them to repeat what they said" or "Hang up and call back to talk to someone else"

All of that is part of the problem. Why waste OUR time to deal with them? My time is worth $$ too, especially when I am at work. It shouldn't take almost an hour to find a solution for a basic problem.

---------

Just remember, the more outsourcing that is done, the less jobs there will be in the US that pay decent wages. Then less people in the US to buy the products, so the execs will cut more expenses and send more labor overseas...

It seems that eventually, the US will be a land full of service workers because there will be no manufacturing and no local telephone-based service. Before you know it, we'll be the third world country.

Offline indy007

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« Reply #23 on: December 21, 2005, 08:30:35 AM »
There's some subliminal tricks they use in outsourced customer service too. Language lessons every day, and fake american names. The "Steve" that answers... yeah, his name is most definately not "Steve'".

I don't particularly care about any of this. If I have to call support, the problem is not simple. I don't want to talk to a script or knowledge base. I need somebody on the phone not afraid to put the script down and apply a bit of logic to the problem solving. It's a problem universal to all call centers for the most part; however, it's alot more prevelant in outsourced centers because of the training regime.

I've been outsourced, but the practice really isn't a bad one. It's simply the way things will be until the standard of living raises the outsourcing costs beyond viability. It's silly to even point fingers about it. We built the tool (the intardnet) that laid the blueprint for global communication, and this is the result of it. We can either make ourselves more valuable, or we can slide backwards into parity with the rest of the world that's quickly catching up. Good reading on the subject is The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century by Thomas L. Friedman

Offline Ripsnort

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Boycott US Companies that Out-source to India
« Reply #24 on: December 21, 2005, 08:40:33 AM »
Quote
Originally posted by Midnight

Just remember, the more outsourcing that is done, the less jobs there will be in the US that pay decent wages. Then less people in the US to buy the products, so the execs will cut more expenses and send more labor overseas...

It seems that eventually, the US will be a land full of service workers because there will be no manufacturing and no local telephone-based service. Before you know it, we'll be the third world country.


FYI, I've heard that customer service pays less than a laborer in construction.

Also, I remember hearing the same scare tactics when the Steel industry, car industry and television/electronics industry moved overseas...people found other jobs.  As in my specific case, we didn't want to hire a load of IT folks only to lay them off in two years when the 787 rolls out. India is relieving us of our tasks that we do not like to do, or is too burdensome with our current workload.

Offline BigGun

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« Reply #25 on: December 21, 2005, 10:02:01 AM »
Quote
Originally posted by GtoRA2
It is a big problem in Public corperations, when the VP has to answer to the board, and the board only cares about the bottom line RIGHT NOW THIS QAURTER.


As an investment person, I don't view this as a big problem. It is the Board's responsibility to shareholders to worry about the bottom line, increase earnings and roe.

Offline Eagler

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Boycott US Companies that Out-source to India
« Reply #26 on: December 21, 2005, 10:52:26 AM »
Americans just have to be happy making less and living on dung heaps in cardboard boxes .. then support can be moved back into the states...

Rip
you a developer? how do you know how hard they are working if you do not know what exactly they are doing? How clean is their code? did they tell you they are working very very hard?

the problem is the american worker has priced himself out of a job but the question is what is the price??
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Offline GtoRA2

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Boycott US Companies that Out-source to India
« Reply #27 on: December 21, 2005, 11:03:47 AM »
Quote
Originally posted by BigGun
As an investment person, I don't view this as a big problem. It is the Board's responsibility to shareholders to worry about the bottom line, increase earnings and roe.


Gee who would have thought.

Try working at one of the companies and see how it effects the product.  The see how that effects profit.

Offline Hangtime

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« Reply #28 on: December 21, 2005, 11:07:00 AM »
(moves rip up on the list of hypocrite americans that work for, advocate or offer up BS excuses for selling the american worker out for cheap overseas job markets)

Take a look at the Man in the Mirror, Rip. Yer just sellout whoring himself to yet another part of the corporate based anti-american disease that's killing this country.

Merry Christmas, ya sellout scab.
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Offline Ripsnort

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« Reply #29 on: December 21, 2005, 11:18:16 AM »
Quote
Originally posted by Eagler
Americans just have to be happy making less and living on dung heaps in cardboard boxes .. then support can be moved back into the states...

Rip
you a developer? how do you know how hard they are working if you do not know what exactly they are doing? How clean is their code? did they tell you they are working very very hard?

the problem is the american worker has priced himself out of a job but the question is what is the price??


Eagler, can't say too much about the specifics of code in my job, but I analyze the results of testing done overseas. Its 3rd party code, off-the-shelf software that we use. They do some specific testing for us. They are always on schedule, and within budget when they complete their tasks. I could only wish our American counterparts were as thorough, but we've (America) have become fat and lazy. Hang's reply is a perfect example of this. Folks who are displaced from a low paying job that is shipped overseas usually finds better opportunities out there.  FWIW, no one has been released from their job for the offloading that we do. We've even hired 6 additional college grads within the last year, in addition to offloading our work, and yet we still can't keep up.  The younger college grads work as hard as their indian counterparts.  The "old timers" that have Hang's attitude are the ones that don't produce.  My job is to make sure everything gets done so I have to analyze the results on a weekly basis, both offshore and within our org.

I might add that alot of the old timers around here had Hang's opinion at first. Now they realize what an asset we have, and can't imagine life without our offshore team.
« Last Edit: December 21, 2005, 11:20:19 AM by Ripsnort »