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Chennai We've all talked to "Jennifer," the girl who calls you up on Saturday afternoons trying to offload a Direct TV subscription, or "Alan" who answers the tech support line when your HP printer busts again. Ever wondered who these people really are and what they think of you?
Twenty minutes from the center of Chennai, down a narrow ally on the second floor of an old yellowing building, the Call Center InfoSearch buzzes and the phones never stop. Sixty Englishspeaking employees call Australia in the morning, England in the afternoon, and America all night. "Jim," about their experience braving the toughest but most lucrative shift: America overnight.
Straight out of college, the two went into BPOs (Business Process Outsourcing) because they could earn more money faster than in any other industry. Their starting monthly salary was 10,000 rupees, a little under US $300. Every three months they stayed on the job, monthly pay grew by 3,000 rupees. There's a big incentive to start young and hang out as long as you can stand it. The average call center employee is 22. And it doesn't take too long to rise through the ranks. In about seven years one of 60 callers can realistically become one of four managers.
It's a tough life. They stay up ten hours a night calling Americans, who are generally annoyed. They only get a few scattered fiveminute breaks to rush to the bathroom, and then return to their desks to discover another 50 calls blinking on their service queue.
"We hate phones," Vimesh says. They complain of back, neck and stomach pain, partly caused by hunching over a computer, and partly caused by irregular sleeping patterns. In the summer, it's tough to sleep during the intense heat of the daytime. "It's not simple working in a call center," says Saravama.
Talking to the Americans, I'm told, is the good part of the job. Sure, there's some abuse now and then, but thankfully most Americans save these callers time by "hanging up right away if they're not interested," rather than lingering on the line. "I'm proud of talking to Americans; I can sell them anything," a 22yearold call center employee named Rakesh Kumar tells me. He lives with his parents and spends the bulk of his salary on designer clothes, clubs, and music electronics. He would love to see America, but the goods will have to do for now.
It's all about "building rapport" with American callers, they tell me. The key to the sell is not just the product, but the personal connection. Culture Training." Vimesh is so successful at this that some elderly people tell him they wait for his calls. He wishes he could call them more often, but their phones are run by a machine that automates whose number gets dialed and when. On top of this, they aren't supposed to be on any one call for more than 5 minutes. They have to make their friends fast.
Speed is of the essence. These callers need to make 30 sales a month, one per day. They dial 700 numbers each day to accomplish this. Machines answer 300 of those calls. 200 people just hang up. 195 say their parents or the homeowners are gone. Of the remaining 5, only one pulls through. Lots of talk. Little love.
Yet these men embrace their proximity to America, the land of opportunity. The same things that drew them to the call center life the ability to rise through the ranks fast based on merit (sales) also attract them to America. Vimesh and Saravama both see America as a place where "money flows" without getting trapped in the hands of a few corrupt elite at least better than in India. Vimesh tells me, "it's a place where rules must be obeyed" and no one is beyond the law. In Chennai, they complain, the rich stay rich because they break the law and horde wealth.
Spread the wealth. That's their motto. But some Americans resent just that: spreading their jobs overseas. I ask Vimesh and Saravama what they think of objections to outsourcing. Vimesh's response is: these are "American companies" and "American customers" so "why shouldn't they benefit?" Saravama adds, "We say the customer is god for us because they pay for our product. If they buy a product, normally we're going to get benefit. The company will benefit. Everyone will benefit."
Others may debate the political implications of their work. But at the end of the day, as Saravama says, "It's our job."
Because of poor customer service and general loss of decent jobs in my area I have come to hate the indian people. (left lowercase on purpose) They steal many jobs, but I suppose they are the patsy in the situation. The real blame goes to the shortsighted businessman who short sells his companies future to make a few extra hundred thousand for himself. Soon all the customers bail and boycott his company and it tanks, meanwhile he gets off with a multimillion dollar severance package. I see it everyday and it has aggrivated me on so many levels. They do not give the same quality of service and they are not understandable. To the post 'why don't they use their real names' who the hell can pronounce those crazy names? Who wants to? I just call them subpar indian 5003 and go with that. They just nod and say yes sir and go on with their scripted reply.
I am associated with BPO industry for over 4 years now, based out of India presently. I have handled many roles and have been active member of ops team. I can understand every individuals view points or were you all coming from however we all are failing to see that this industry is relatively new and is gaining grounds for the benefit of the developed economies and its own, to say the least. This is a normal transition, which we are seeing in this industry. Shot falls/ gaps are bound to be there however if we look at all the challenges as one which can be resolved/ ironed out over a period of time then I strongly believe the synergy created would overcame all challenges .
As a career IT tech who has been dealing with OEM's (manufacturers) and their tech lines for over 11 years,[url=http://www.sport.fr/business/louisvuitton.html]sac louis vuitton[/url], I can honestly say that once the large call centers for Dell, HP, and Compaq went over to India, the quality of the support suffered greatly.
There is a language barrier there, but more than that, I usually knew I was speaking to a junior level tech. Mostly, (from my experience, and after speaking to many of my customers who had called before bringing their unit to me) I found that the calls were just too frustrating for most, and many had the feeling that the person on the line did not understand them. Most importantly, they could usually not diagnose or resolve the customer's problem.
I figure not only did these companies decide to outsource to India, but also to look for the absolute cheapest workforce possible in India on top of it. I am certain that skilled techs are plentiful in India, apparently they have better jobs and don't work in the call centers.
Strangely, all 3 companies named had good to excellent support before their moves, especially HP/Compaq. Many OEM's, like Dell, are now or already have moved some call operations back to the US due to blowback from US customers.
I hate telemarketers of any nationality. I pay for my telephone as a convenience to me, not as a cheap sales tool for others. I make it a habit to NEVER buy anything from telemarketers. In fact if I stay on long enough to get the name of their company I boycott that company, even if in the past I have purchased from them.
But I get few calls as I have unlisted number. Best money I ever spend.
Plus Indians are hard to understand. I hate when I place a call for information and an Indian answers. Seems like more and more credit card companies are using Indian call centers for "customer service". I wish the Brits had taught them better English.
"Vimesh and Saravama both see America as a place where "money flows" without getting trapped in the hands of a few corrupt elite at least better than in India. Vimesh tells me, "it's a place where rules must be obeyed" and no one is beyond the law. In Chennai, they complain, the rich stay rich because they break the law and horde wealth."
snicker Those poor, misguided souls. Perhaps it's best of they don't get to come here, it would probably break their hearts to see that we are just as they think we're not.