# I'm tired of call centers in India **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 31, 2006, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-call-centers-in-india/386244 "2006-12-31T21:03:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-call-centers-in-india/386244/41 "2007-01-01T16:26:05Z")
[Indian Tech Support](http://www.cobaltflash.com/displaycontent.php?name=India_Tech_Support) N 100% SFW because of bad language, but otherwise okay. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-call-centers-in-india/386244/42 "2007-01-01T18:40:52Z")
I think I talked to [this guy](http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/374/mstechsupportbig9nh.jpg) the other day. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-call-centers-in-india/386244/43 "2007-01-01T19:03:34Z")
[QUOTE=Rick] I think I talked to [this guy](http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/374/mstechsupportbig9nh.jpg) the other day. [/QUOTE] Tacky, Dude, tacky. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-call-centers-in-india/386244/44 "2007-01-01T19:11:34Z")
Ask them where they are located. If they say India, or some other country, ask to be transferred to a tech rep in the USA. When you get connected to them, get their direct phone number and call it from now on. ---
**Author:** ![Martha\_Medea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@Martha\_Medea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martha_Medea)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-call-centers-in-india/386244/45 "2007-01-01T19:19:53Z")
A woman I know here (Dominican Republic) worked at a call centre where they were told to say, if asked, that they were calling from a particular small town in a particular state of the US. She said that they did get people who would claim to know it well and put her on the spot by asking specific questions about the town. I can’t remember where she said it was, but I don’t think it’s in an area of the US that is known for a high Latino immigrant population. While all these call center operators speak English well, they all have strong Spanish accents. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-call-centers-in-india/386244/46 "2007-01-01T19:52:14Z")
I’d appreciate Indian reps who have enough command of the language to know bad words when they hear them (and I’m sure they’ve heard plenty). After getting the runaround for over an hour regarding a particularly difficult problem, I was admonished by the rep after sighing and saying “I’m getting really sick of this crap.” “We don’t tolerate profanity, sir,” he abruptly replied in a very stern tone. “The word ‘crap’ is not considered profane in the English language.” “Oh. Sorry.” ---
**Author:** ![blinkingblinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@blinkingblinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkingblinking)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-call-centers-in-india/386244/47 "2007-01-01T22:36:36Z")
[QUOTE=Cartooniverse] I lost it. I said, " David huh? That’s a beautiful name, David. Do you know that David was a King, a Jewish King? Lots of Jews in your home town, huh? " Thundering silence. So I called him on his shit. I said look, you clearly know what you are doing and are resolving this, so why don’t you tell me your REAL name so I can address you with some shred of respect. I talked to a Kevin today and I promise you the fellow didn’t have a drop of Irish in him. He told me his real name, which stunned me. I promise that it was not David. I detest the calculating methods used to mollify ignorant Americans by overseas tech centers. Gateway finally called it what it is, and has stopped using all overseas tech support. About time, I say. Cartooniverse [/QUOTE] Still sounds racist or stupid. Surely you realise there are millions of people in the world who do not know what thier name means. I have nephews Kevin and a friend David. Their parents are Cambodian, they are Buddhist, They live in Australia. If you said this to my friend " David huh? That’s a beautiful name, David. Do you know that David was a King, a Jewish King? Lots of Jews in your home town, huh? " , he would assume you were a nutjob ---
**Author:** ![blinkingblinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@blinkingblinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkingblinking)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-call-centers-in-india/386244/48 "2007-01-01T22:37:03Z")
[QUOTE=Cartooniverse] I lost it. I said, " David huh? That’s a beautiful name, David. Do you know that David was a King, a Jewish King? Lots of Jews in your home town, huh? " Thundering silence. So I called him on his shit. I said look, you clearly know what you are doing and are resolving this, so why don’t you tell me your REAL name so I can address you with some shred of respect. I talked to a Kevin today and I promise you the fellow didn’t have a drop of Irish in him. He told me his real name, which stunned me. I promise that it was not David. I detest the calculating methods used to mollify ignorant Americans by overseas tech centers. Gateway finally called it what it is, and has stopped using all overseas tech support. About time, I say. Cartooniverse [/QUOTE] Still sounds racist or stupid. Surely you realise there are millions of people in the world who do not know what their name means. I have nephews Kevin and a friend David. Their parents are Cambodian, they are Buddhist, They live in Australia. If you said this to my friend " David huh? That’s a beautiful name, David. Do you know that David was a King, a Jewish King? Lots of Jews in your home town, huh? " , he would assume you were a nutjob ---
**Author:** ![blinkingblinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@blinkingblinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkingblinking)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-call-centers-in-india/386244/49 "2007-01-01T22:37:14Z")
[QUOTE=Cartooniverse] I lost it. I said, " David huh? That’s a beautiful name, David. Do you know that David was a King, a Jewish King? Lots of Jews in your home town, huh? " Thundering silence. So I called him on his shit. I said look, you clearly know what you are doing and are resolving this, so why don’t you tell me your REAL name so I can address you with some shred of respect. I talked to a Kevin today and I promise you the fellow didn’t have a drop of Irish in him. He told me his real name, which stunned me. I promise that it was not David. I detest the calculating methods used to mollify ignorant Americans by overseas tech centers. Gateway finally called it what it is, and has stopped using all overseas tech support. About time, I say. Cartooniverse [/QUOTE] Still sounds racist or stupid. Surely you realise there are millions of people in the world who do not know what their name means. I have nephew Kevin and a friend David. Their parents are Cambodian, they are Buddhist, They live in Australia. If you said this to my friend " David huh? That’s a beautiful name, David. Do you know that David was a King, a Jewish King? Lots of Jews in your home town, huh? " , he would assume you were a nutjob ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-call-centers-in-india/386244/50 "2007-01-01T22:53:20Z")
[QUOTE=Gadarene] Well, for me (and for **RTFirely** , according to his OP), the problem is that it’s often difficult for me to understand the help staff—and for me to be sure that they’re understanding my (sometimes fairly complex and nuanced) problem—even if they’re doing a great job at providing service. It’s just a barrier that I’d rather not deal with when I’m stressed out enough to necessitate the call in the first place. [/QUOTE] Same here. I work with a woman who recently migrated from India. Lovely person, great at her job and we get along really well. But I do have a lot of trouble understanding much of what she says. It’s not just the accent; I guess it’s the different cadence. If I was speaking to her on the other end of a phone instead of the same room, I doubt I’d be able to understand her at all. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-call-centers-in-india/386244/51 "2007-01-01T22:57:39Z")
[QUOTE=Gadarene] Well, for me (and for **RTFirely** , according to his OP), the problem is that it’s often difficult for me to understand the help staff—and for me to be sure that they’re understanding my (sometimes fairly complex and nuanced) problem—even if they’re doing a great job at providing service. It’s just a barrier that I’d rather not deal with when I’m stressed out enough to necessitate the call in the first place. [/QUOTE] Communication is an essential part of tech support, so if I can’t understand the staffer, I can’t be helped, no matter how knowledgable the staffer might be. Similarly, I’ve switched doctors if I can’t understand them by the third or fourth restatement of instructions. A doctor will do me no good if I can’t understand what s/he’s telling me. I can deal with accents. I do deal with accents. However, if I can’t understand what someone is saying, then I’ll try to get my help from somewhere else. ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_the_Impaler)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-call-centers-in-india/386244/52 "2007-01-01T22:59:47Z")
Look, I love a bitch session as much as the next person, but I still don’t get why some of you don’t get that this is not the fault of the person on the end of the line. You have a problem with your rep not being a) allowed or b) able to deviate from a script? That’s the fault of the people who train them and monitor their calls. You have a problem with the use of Anglicized names? That’s the fault of the management that either requires it or strongly suggests it. You have a problem with the accents? That’s the fault of the companies that pulled their centers and put them there. And you know what? I doubt very much that these companies are in some kind of bubble and are unaware of how much Americans hate dealing with Indian call centers. And you know what that says? That they don’t give a shit about you, the customer, more than they care about cutting costs. So bitch all you want, but what it comes down to is your company x doesn’t give a crap about satisfactorily servicing their customers who pay them good money. The company doesn’t care, and if you take out your frustration on some poor schlub just trying to do a job then you’re a cunt, right and proper. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-call-centers-in-india/386244/53 "2007-01-01T23:01:33Z")
[QUOTE=blinkingblinking] YI never said ‘call centers in India are generally giving bad service to customers like me’. I said nothing like that. Try actually reading my post. I said it does not matter to me where the call-centre is as long as you get good service. [/QUOTE] One of these days, I’m gonna give a tutorial on the difference between ‘what you said’ and ‘the implications of what you said.’ ---
**Author:** ![Tinkertoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f19dbf/32.png) [@Tinkertoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tinkertoy)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-call-centers-in-india/386244/54 "2007-01-01T23:04:51Z")
I work in a call center in Idaho for a company that takes calls for a satellite tv company. It’s in a college town that depends alot on college students for manpower. Christmas eve I took a call from a woman who had called 23 times in a day and a half. Each time she informed the csr who answered that she wouldn’t talk to someone outside the US and hung up. When I answered she ranted for 20 minutes at me that we needed call centers in the US so she didn’t have to speak to people with an accent. I looked around at my team mates who are from Somalia, Scotland, Jamaica, Nepal, Australia, and Japan all of whom speak very good English are quite intelligent and well trained. Then I informed her she had been calling our center all in Idaho all along. She said “See what I mean I don’t even know where that is.” :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2007, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-call-centers-in-india/386244/55 "2007-01-02T00:02:15Z")
[QUOTE=blinkingblinking] Still sounds racist or stupid. Surely you realise there are millions of people in the world who do not know what thier name means. I have nephews Kevin and a friend David. Their parents are Cambodian, they are Buddhist, They live in Australia. If you said this to my friend " David huh? That’s a beautiful name, David. Do you know that David was a King, a Jewish King? Lots of Jews in your home town, huh? " , he would assume you were a nutjob [/QUOTE] We have to agree to disagree, since the man immediately admitted that his name- and the names I’d been handed all day were complete and utter bullshit. Calling someone on their bullshit made-up name is not racist. It is called “honesty”. Try it some time- it’s neat !!! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2007, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-call-centers-in-india/386244/56 "2007-01-02T02:07:02Z")
My company recently fired all of its PC support people and replaced them with an Indian call center. More than a hundred people were told “hit the road, ASSHOLE” and walked out by security. No, folks, I’m only very slightly exaggerating. I don’t think they said “asshole.” We were told that the new call center would be held to the Strictest Possible Standards of performance. We all had nooooooooooooooo reason to worry, whatsoever. Our calls were guaranteed an answer on the third ring, we were guaranteed that we would be given prompt response to 2nd-line detailed support, and that the language would be “perfect grammar school English.” It started out grim, and got worse. Some people reported that they could not get in for simple problems (“the printer has died”) in DAYS of calling. An e-mail came out from our CIO, saying in essence: > [@](#): > > “We apologize for the occasional delays in answering the phones, we’re working on that.” Then, the problem was when they did get through, it took additional DAYS for any response, sometimes with no response at all. Another e-mail came, which apologized again, but told us that: > [@](#): > > “…we can’t expect that every problem will have immediate response. Problems need to be prioritized.” Then people complained about the language of the call center folks. They said they often had to hang up because they could not, after many times of trying, even communicate such minor details as their name, location, PC ID number, and company. Another e-mail came out, saying that: > [@](#): > > “…special language consultants are working with the call center to improve communication.” Finally, after another few months of shitty performance, resulting in a measurable decline in the standard of business, a terse e-mail from the CIO came out, saying in essence: > [@](#): > > “Stop complaining about the call center. Complaining about the call center is a workplace offense and will be counted against you at review time. Thank you for your understanding and support of this cost-saving measure.” So there we are. Oh yeah, the call center, which I was forced to use after my laptop was replaced recently, is manned by the dumbest, most ignorant, butt-fuckingly gob-smacking stupid timbertools that I have talked to in PC support. They are the sort of people where I say: > [@](#): > > Me: “Yes, I need the print queue on GE1023 reset so our print jobs will come out and we can do work.” > > Them: “OK…please tell me computer ID is?” > > Me: “This doesn’t involve my computer. The print queue needs to be reset. You need to contact the Level 2 Servers and Systems folks.” > > Them: “You are calling about a problem on computer not yours?” > > Me: “It’s the print queue. It impacts many computers. But it’s a server problem. I’ve told you the queue, now contact them and tell them to do so.” > > Them: “We can not work computer that not yours. Please have owner of computer call us back on this number and we can help them.” > > Me: "Look, this is not a computer issue - " > > Them: “Then you called wrong number. Please do not call this number.”(click) I typed the above up because I sent it in to my Vice President as an example of why hundreds of people were paralyzed from working due to the idiocy of the call center. His response was, essentially: > [@](#): > > “God damn it Una, don’t fight this battle. The CIO says we will save costs by using an Indian call center and that’s all there is to it. If you can’t print at work and you have to print, then _drive home and print it there, and charge the time to the project._” That’s working smarter in America today. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2007, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-call-centers-in-india/386244/57 "2007-01-02T02:29:15Z")
[QUOTE=Una Persson] …that the language would be “perfect grammar school English.”… [/QUOTE] That should have been the first clue there’d be language problems. In American English a “grammar school” is only an elementary school that goes up to 8th grade :smack:. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2007, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-call-centers-in-india/386244/58 "2007-01-02T03:19:10Z")
To a certain extent, I think the Indian call center industry (and the whole Indian IT sector) is a victim of its own success. I suspect that there were a small number of competent folks with good English language skills available when the idea first arose to outsource telephone sales and support but now that this has become so popular, they hire anyone with some English language abilities. ---
**Author:** ![blinkingblinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@blinkingblinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkingblinking)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2007, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-call-centers-in-india/386244/59 "2007-01-02T04:14:13Z")
[QUOTE=RTFirefly] One of these days, I’m gonna give a tutorial on the difference between ‘what you said’ and ‘the implications of what you said.’ [/QUOTE] I can only hope that you mean take a tutorial. Because you have no idea what you are talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2007, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-call-centers-in-india/386244/60 "2007-01-02T10:17:25Z")
[QUOTE=don’t ask] I have worked with many Indians and have never met one with a traditional western sounding name. I doubt very much that many Indian Christians are working in call centres. Most of them live in rural communities and are Dalits (formerly “untouchables”). They suffer much persecution. [/QUOTE] I know a Joseph and a Lucas. Both are Catholic. The Lucas worked in the US branch of one of the biggest consulting firms in the world, I can’t remember the name but it starts with a D and ends in oite; he used to get heat from his also-indian coworkers because of his religion and low caste. They wouldn’t even talk to him. The Joseph is one of my current coworkers and goes to lunch every day with the other Indians in the building, all of whom have non-western names. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-call-centers-in-india/386244.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-call-centers-in-india/386244.md?page=4)