Posted on 01/05/2008 8:11:48 PM PST by blam
Insulting British callers make operators sick
By Amrit Dhillon in New Delhi
Last Updated: 1:43am GMT 06/01/2008
British callers may be infuriated when they discover that the company they are telephoning has moved its customer service centre to India.
But their frustration is as nothing compared with the heart attacks, ulcers and insomnia afflicting those on the other end of the line.
Staff in call centres say they have been shocked at the ferocity of the verbal attacks they encounter
Research carried out by India's booming call centre industry has found the 1.6 million people who work in them, mostly in their twenties, are plagued by ailments arising from the stress of dealing with irate customers.
The Indian government is so concerned about the problem that it is preparing to launch a health strategy for the workers.
A study conducted by Strathclyde University for the Union of IT Enabled Services, which informally represents call centre workers, found that 77 per cent felt "very" pressurised and 45 per cent identified difficult customers as the main source of their stress.
The salaries paid by the call centre industry have transformed the lives of a generation of young, middle-class Indians, giving them independence and money to spend on shopping, eating out, holidays and parties, but the price is proving high.
"Youngsters love spending the kind of money their parents only dreamt about, but I'm worried that stress and illness will turn them into zombies," said Karthik Shekhar, the union's general secretary.
The report, to be published later this month, supports the findings of a health survey by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations which found that the outsourcing industry was most at risk from diseases that would hit productivity.
Researchers estimated that heart disease, strokes and diabetes would cost India more than £100 billion in lost productivity over the next 10 years.
Staff in call centres dealing with customers in Britain say they have been shocked at the ferocity of the verbal attacks they encounter.
Nidhi Aggarwal, 24, said she had never heard some of the insulting language used - including the word "Paki" as a term of abuse - before she began taking orders for a British catalogue company, which routes its customers' calls to a Bangalore call centre.
"At first, I thought I'd get used to it, but it's been a year now and it's not getting easier," she said.
"On its own, maybe I could cope with the abuse, but there's also the stress of finishing calls in one minute and hardly having time for breaks."
Miss Aggarwal, an English graduate, said she planned to quit, tired of wishing customers a good morning only to hear: "Oh, I'm through to India am I? Put me through to someone who can understand English, you f****** cow."
Some companies offer counselling to employees to help them overcome psychological problems.
Archana Bishta, who runs the 1to1help.net advice service in Bangalore, said she had helped workers who were suicidal or having a nervous breakdown.
"Most call centre workers live in big cities, away from home, so they have no family support," she said.
"Dealing with angry customers can make them very emotionally fragile. They blow their top or cry over the smallest thing."
The company's clients include IBM-Daksh, Dell International, CapGemini, Fidelity and Tesco Hindustan Service Centre, while other companies, such as Infosys Technologies in Bangalore, have set up 24-hour staff help lines, manned by psychologists.
Worried call centre managers have also provided cafés, sports facilities and gyms for their staff and offer neck massages, disco nights and picnics in an attempt to ease the pressure-cooker atmosphere.
But none of that helped Aradhana Kamath, 22, who left her job working for a British company's call centre in Noida last May, unable to stand the abuse from callers any longer.
"I think they were angry that their jobs had come to India. They were so emotional and angry, it was like instant hatred. I'd want to cry but I couldn't, I had to take the next call," said Miss Kamath.
Anbumani Ramadoss, the health minister, has promised to introduce a policy specifically for the call centre industry.
"Teenagers straight out of school and college, looking to make a fast buck, are collapsing in front of their computers," he said.
A spokeswoman for Tesco confirmed the company had a contract with the counselling service in Bangalore, which was available to staff to discuss all kinds of personal problems, not just those related to their employment.
LOL.
Indians can be rather difficult to understand. The may speak English, but their accent is quite different than other places where English is spoken.
England is becoming more lovely everyday. Remind me to skip it - again - when going back to Europe. England is toast.
Vhat ar yu valking avot?
England is becoming more lovely everyday. Remind me to skip it - again - when going back to Europe. England is toast.Ask a Scot or an Irish what they think of the English sometime. Nothing new here.
I like Indians (from India).
They are democratic, friendly and have a sense of humor.
Jay Leno told a joke one night that I have told Indians and have gotten a good response:
People from India want to make sure that you know they are not Middle Eastern Muslims.
They say: “We are not 9/11 we are 7/11.”
India’s Indians are our friends.
If you ever call Dell support, you have to frequently deal with them. I try to be polite because it’s just a job to them, but it is frustrating when you only catch about 1/4th of what they say clearly.
I’m skeptical. British news sources seem to have a habit of making a mountain out of every molehill.
It is tough work in any country. Imagine dealing with scores of foul-tempered people every day. Sure, many people will be pleasant, but there are some very nasty people out there who can end-up on your line.
I have had several Indian friends in university. As a result, I can usually understand what someone from an Indian call centre is saying. That is, unless, the accent is really thick.
I normally don't have have emergencies where I need to actually talk to someone on the phone. I nomally am able to resolve problems via email. The fact that India is about 12 hours different can be helpful. I can email near the end of the buisness day and receive a response before I arrive at work the next day. I could imagine it would be a lot worse for someone who needs to actually talk to a person.
Yeah, though by the time I have to call them, the computer is in bad shape and requires immediate attention. Last time was in November and we just ended up buying a new computer... a Toshiba. ;-D
More and more stateside phone services are being outsourced overseas too.
And in some cases the phone bank (US or foreign) you get will depend on how good a client you or your provider is.
Last week at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC (for those of you from Rio Linda, Washington DC is part of the United States (sort of)), I and a guy next to me were trying to buy a cup of coffee from at the Air and Space food court. The lady behind at the register could not understand what we were saying and both of our Spanish sucked. He asked LOUDLY if somebody behind the counter could speak ENGLISH.
I said, “This is very frustrating.” He said, “I know. Last time I was here was 4 years ago and I could communicate in English in DC and most of the Country as well as a I can do at home, but no more.”
I said, “where are you from.” He said, “Bangalore”. For those of you in Rio Linda that is NOT part of the USA.
Classic SNL material!
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