Posted on 01/12/2005 1:50:55 AM PST by CarrotAndStick
MUMBAI: "Q: I'm curious as to what kind of responses you have been getting. Do you use curse words at them?
A: I made an Indian woman cry and promise to quit her job in 60 seconds. You can do it too!"
This is only a random (and printable) selection from the thousands of messages in cyberspace calling for a campaign to harass Indian call centre operators, to put an end to the offshoring of jobs. The same person goes on to describe some more of his experiences while calling these call centres, an activity to which he promises to devote "one hour every day".
"Actually the usual response is confusion...I get the impression these are not the brightest bulbs in India's chandeliers. Often, they give me a 'courtesy laugh' as if I were joking and ask how they can help me. Usually, I limit the calls to 60 seconds anyway, so I can call back and really hammer them. I've been doing this about 20 minutes a day. It's great fun!" The person goes on to give the names and numbers of some popular MNCs with Indian call centres.
In the last few months, and particularly since the US presidential elections, people working in call centres in the country say that they are receiving more abusive and racist phone calls than ever before. "Earlier, people would get abusive if we didn't answer their questions satisfactorily. Now, I get calls—on some days up to five a shift—from people who are calling only to abuse," says Shalini J, a 22-year-old engineering graduate who works in a major call centre in Malad.
In fact, call centres are even training their employees specifically for this. "There is a 'mute' button on our system which we have been trained to press as soon as we get a call," says Aslesha M, another engineering graduate who works in a call centre in Pune. Aslesha says the button mutes any sound from their end so that inadvertent responses to abusive language are not heard by the caller. "When the person has finished saying all he/she wants to say, then I press the 'talk' button and reply," she says.
While earlier, abusive calls would usually come from drunken callers, now they come from sober people who are calling only to vent their feeling about their jobs being offshored, or 'Bangalored' as it is now called, says Suneet V, a Mumbai call centre executive. Suneet says that they have been told never to hang up on the caller. Instead, "de-stressing, yoga, and special training on how to deal with this is given to us," says Suneet.
Most call centres have caller-ID systems, and habitually abusive callers, they say, are sometimes screened out after 12 to 15 calls. But they're up against people who are not only angry, but also smart. Take this post, for example:
"I have inside knowledge of call centres, having worked in several. It's crucial that the agents be efficient. Barraging them with 60-second calls will ruin their stats and also lower their morale. Eventually, they'll start thinking 'another damn rude American a******' every time a call comes up. All of this will have a cumulative effect. If 100 people across the US would commit to spending 10 minutes a day, we could cripple them, and bring those jobs back to the US."
P.S.: The brightest bulbs on India's chandeliers don't do calls.
Ugly American II. Award.
Disgusting.
"I made an Indian girl cry, you can do it too!"
What a brave man
And pay $100 a year, for each gizmo we buy, in customer support that most won't need.
That', that's certainly going to burnish our image abroad.
The idea of somebody in another country to whom English is a second or third language and to whom American customs and language usages are foreign working at a computer help desk is basically a bad idea and a bad way to try to save money.
This is a perfect example of why these jobs went overseas. Idiots like this are disgusting.
"Why you say? Why you say? I help you. I no need understand what you say, just read from screen."
And he did it anonymously, over the phone. A veritable Congressional Medal of Honor candidate.
Turning allies into enemies! Brilliant! [apologies to Guinness]
What a brave man
The union mindset? Strange solution to "the huge sucking sound."
check this site:
http://www.edrants.com/reluctant/001697.html
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1318974/posts?page=4
NARRATOR INTRO: Wakeup with Star and Buc Wild in the mornings of Power 99 FM.
STAR: I'm going to play this call from earlier before we get out of here. This is the, uh, call that I made to -- I thought it was a company here locally. Not that I was surprised.
(laughter)
STAR: I saw this infomercial about, uh, what are these things called again? Oh, the, uh...
FEMALE VOICE: Bead? Oh shoot.
STAR: Anyway, let -- let's just play the call. I was surprised when I got somebody on the line in East India. These little beads that I saw. Little white kids, uh, a little machine that puts them in their hair.
FEMALE VOICE: Mm'hm.
STAR: Play it.
(tape begins)
STEENA: This is Steena. How may I help you?
STAR: Hi, Stain-a, you say?
STEENA: Yes.
STAR: (in fake Indian accent) Yeah, I called and I just got hung up on. I'm calling from America about the quick beads for my daughter's, uh, hair. Quick beads.
STEEA: Okay. May I have your ZIP code please?
STAR: 10274.
STEENA: 10274?
STAR: Yes. Get it right. Now are you in India? Because I just spoke to someone in India who hung up on me.
STEENA: Thank you. I am from India, ma'am.
STAR: Okay. So my call is being outsourced to India.
STEENA: That's right.
STAR: In... in regards to my six year old, white American daughter who wants to get the quick beads like Serena and Venus Williams.
STEENA: Now. I'll definitely place an order for that. See...
STAR: What's that?
STEENA: ...in the ad, she called to place a quick bead of counier. To ensure proper handling...
STAR: Ma'am, I don't know what the hell you're saying. Hang on a second. Let me try and get something straight here. The quick beads, like Venus and Serena Williams, that to advertise to -- to the white kids on television. This call has been outsourced to India?
STEENA: That's right.
STAR: Well, ma'am, what the eff would you know about an American white girl's -- uh, uh -- hair? And quick beads.
STEENA: Just to inform you, ma'am, we're a national chain services company. And we're just taking calls on the opposite...
STAR: Listen, bitch! Don't get slick with the mouth! Don't you get slick with me, bitch!
STEENA: Now if you continue to speak this language, I will disconnect the call.
STAR: Listen to me, you dirty rat eater. I'll come out there and choke the eff out of you.
(laughter)
STAR: You're a filthy rat eater. I'm calling about my American six year old white girl. How dare you outsource my call? Get off the line, bitch!
(laughter; end of tape)
STAR: Pull it up.
(laughter)
STAR: Heard they listen well out there.
And this years Oscar Award for the best comedy goes to Star and Buc for their outsanding performance in.........
Speaking of Dell...
I've had the dubious pleasure of dealing with some of their offshore technical slurpport staff, and almost without exception, their solution to every problem was "You will need to reinstall Windows", to which I always responded "I don't think so", which illicited the predictable "what you say?"
Hah-Hah-Hah. All your call centre belong to us.
But I don't endorse making Indian girls cry. They have enough to cry about, they don't need anybody adding to their burdens.
This thread should be pulled.
Why blame the call center guy, when U guys designed that crappy little software called "Windows" to work in that stupid way. I dont work for call center but should any one call me for that kinda problem, my answer would be "You will need to uninstall Windows and install Linux if not anything else"
In a perverse way, this reminded me of the joke about the donkey in a bar and the free drink offer.
Like I said, perverse.
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