Question by edaem: How do you feel when you call a company for customer service and the person answering is in another country?
I have a friend whose customer service job was outsourced to another country so whenever she needs to call customer service for phone, credit card, etc. she first asks what country they are in. If they are not in the USA, she asks to speak with an American or a supervisor. She gives them a really hard time. I dont like the outsourcing of jobs and my home has lost value as a result of a large computer company outsourcing many jobs to Asia so USA employees lost their homes or sold them below market. I retailiated by not buying their computers when I needed a new one even though theirs are much less expensive.
Best answer:
Answer by rltm_9999
It’s called competition. As long as they can answer my questions, I’m happy.
What do you think? Answer below!
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Tags: another, answering, Call, company, country, customer, feel, person, service
#1 written by Julie Ann F January 8th, 2012 at 13:17
Yeah. Most of them are in India now. I don’t know what to tell you. It sucks. I know.
#2 written by mass.brain January 8th, 2012 at 13:17
It sucks
#3 written by or_bill68 January 8th, 2012 at 14:03
It’s not just overseas. I live in Oregon and called my local, small town, ISP. I got someone in Georgia.
#4 written by Amanda January 8th, 2012 at 14:44
I’m fine with it as long as they help me out and I can understand them. Its a win, win… well except for the people’s jobs they took.
#5 written by gsschulte January 8th, 2012 at 14:57
my dad works tech support and all the companies that out sourced everything refuse to talk to people in another country its in there contract that they get to talk to an english speaker. pretty funny huh.
#6 written by rayk469 January 8th, 2012 at 15:29
Thoroughly disgusted!!!! They can’t even speak clearly. I hang up, or demand a supervisor.
#7 written by dharma_claire January 8th, 2012 at 15:44
it only bothers me when i can’t freakin understand them
it’s a simple fact of economics, nothing we can do about it…. the people in those countries are willing to work for much less so until the pay scales for similar work have a chance to level out the wages in United States will have to go down while it goes up in other countries.
#8 written by maggiemae26327 January 8th, 2012 at 15:59
I’m sorry if I sound intolerant, but it infuriates me when I get pushed through to someone with a fuzzy connection and a barely understandable accent. Competition, shmompetition, these companies are looking to make a buck, save a buck and who cares about genuine customer service anymore. It’s not service if you can’t understand what the heck the guy is saying! Good for you for boycotting! (for all the good it will do)
#9 written by blue_id_baby05 January 8th, 2012 at 16:47
If they can speak and understand English perfectly (or even well), which is EXTREMELY rare, fine however, if not (usual customer rep) I find it frustrating, annoying, and unacceptable… however, this the the country we live in. They continue to “outsource” and move jobs out of the US to make a buck. What ya gonna do???
#10 written by cirque_de_lune January 8th, 2012 at 17:36
that’s what American companies are all about. if it will save them a dollar, they’ll ship it elsewhere in a heartbeat.
then the jobs that are left, we’re told immigrants are taking them because “Americans aren’t willing to do it.”
I applaud your friend for speaking out. if more people started boycotting outsourced jobs, and buying stuff made in America, our economy would be better off.
but American consumers are all about saving the almighty dollar. they complain because their job just went to China, then they go to Wal Mart and buy stuff and all of it says, “made in China” what’s up with that.
#11 written by dcgirl January 8th, 2012 at 17:50
You are absolutely right that the best way to retaliate is to not buy those computers. We as a society are used to an abundance of goods. We expect a wide variety of merchandise at low low prices. Lots of people consider price before anything else when making a purchase. And when the cost of materials is going up, and price wars prevent manufacturers from increasing prices, the only way to keep the profit margin up is lowering labor costs. Which pretty much means outsourcing.
If more people thought like you, and spent a little more for something that is not outsourced, there would be a lot less outsourcing.
#12 written by asking-a-question January 8th, 2012 at 18:14
I really do empathize with you, however, if we are not competitive, the jobs will continue to be outsourced. Think of it this way: Americans want to pay the least amount they can for a product or service, yet we want to get paid the most we can. The two ideologies simply do not mesh.
As long as the person can understand me and can solve a problem or provide an explanation that is understandable, I’m fine. If the person is not able to do this, I cause a fuss. The sad thing is that many American/Canadian call centers hire such pathetic reps, I’ve actually gotten better service from overseas.
#13 written by Yishan January 8th, 2012 at 18:53
If you have a problem with the outsourcing of customer service, just remember that it was done to save the company money, so that they could pass on the savings to you and sell you the item you’re calling about at a low, low bargain price you love so much.
You are absolutely right to buy the more expensive one if you don’t like this, but just remember that those people deserve the jobs every bit as much as Americans do – they are hard-working people looking to make a living for their families, and it’s pure racism to suggest that they don’t deserve to chance to compete for the job if they’re willing to work for less.
Also, I do appreciate the global call centers, as I tend to stay up late and call customer service at midnight, and am glad they have a center full of people in India rather than my having to wait on hold for the 2 people who would be working the graveyard shift in the U.S.
#14 written by Misch January 8th, 2012 at 19:12
A few years ago I worked at an Internet company while going to school and I lost my job since they did outsourcing too. It was great for me because I got a nice severance package and finished getting my degree.
Although, I think its a horrible decision for a company to make. They choose to outsource to keep prices down and stay competitive. What most don’t realize is people in the U.S. do not want to talk to someone in a foreign country. Accents are horrible, they give people English names like “Bob” or “Sally” and try to teach them English (although its not very good). As a result most companies end up loosing customers and end up pulling out of foreign companies. (Dell is a good example). Also, when placing bids for government agencies many times companies are required to prove that they are local and will limit the amount of outsourcing of projects that they will do.
Just a couple of days ago I came across an article on Internet about the company I used to work for and they are loosing customers at an all time high! Great job folks!