How About an American Call Center Worker calling India or Phillipines for a change?
In my line of business providing outsourcing services to Fortune 500 companies in the US, I frequently hear customers stating - "I want all customer facing activities to be delivered from onshore due to customer perception ..."
It leads me to think what if the tables were turned and someone tried an experiment of having a US call center worker call Indian or Filipino customers. What would be the "customer perception" in this flip scenario?
So imagine Greg from a US call center in Delhi, Caifornia calls Satish in Delhi, India to sell a cel phone plan. The conversation might go as follows:
Greg: Good morning sir this is Greg from Global Cell calling to inform you of our our latest paisa-prepay plan ....
Satish: I am sorry I can't understand you, what state of India are you calling from?
Greg: I am calling from Delhi, California, USA sir but the call originates from our head office in Mumbai ....
Satish: Oh so you are another one of those offshore callers planning to take away jobs from Indians! My son just got laid off from his semi-conductor factory in Bangalore because they decided they can make the chips cheaper in the US.
Greg: I am just doing my job sir. Let me tell you a little bit more about how you can save money on our paisa-pay plan.
Satish: Oh so you want to tell me about paisa pay, tell me first about the tariff structure imposed by the DOT on cel operators during the month of Holi.
Greg: Uhh, I am not trained to answer that sir but can I transfer you to my supervisor who can answer this question.
Satish: And where may I ask is your supervisor at?
Greg: In our Mumbai office sir.
Satish: Oh so are you telling me you have no sense of lateral thinking. The moment I ask you a question off-script you start mumbling in your American twang about transferring me to your Indian supervisor. What good is it to talk to you if you do not understand the basic aspects of Indian life anyways.
Greg (stuttering): Sir our paisa pay plan can really save you money..
Satish (fuming): I am going to petition my Chief Minister, Lok Sabha representative and United Nations about the loss of Indian jobs to Americans. Put me on your Do Not Call list and don't call me ever again .... (click)
What opinion would Greg the US caller just doing his job have of Indians and India after this call? Not unlike the reaction thousands of Indian and Filipino callers have today after another hostile call from a US customer. Maybe we should record a few of these "flip" calls and play them on Lou Dobbs anti-outsourcing show for a change.
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