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Dell ready to go on India hiring binge
The Register ^ | 04/29/05 | Ashlee Vance

Posted on 04/29/2005 3:12:08 PM PDT by Salo

Dell's India staff will swell to more than 10,000 workers by year end, as the company fills out call center and software development roles.

To hit the 10,000 mark, Delli will need to hire between 2,000 and 3,000 workers over the next 8 months, CEO Kevin Rollins told reporters in Bangalore, according to numerous media reports. Despite push-back from customers and some employees, Dell has been relentless about offshoring customer support work. It currently employees far more staffers outside of the US than at home.

Should Delli hit the 10,000 mark, then its Indian operations would account for close to one-fifth of the company's total workforce.

Rollins blamed past Indian support failures on an over-zealous management and not workers who had yet to master a Texas twang. Dell was forced to bring some of its support operations back home after complaints.

"Then, we were doing too much, too fast in too many places. We had to prioritize and refine," he told the reporters.

Now, however, the company is prepared to return Bangalore to its full offshored support glory. Dell, no doubt, has created a more "refined" system for handing out American names to its Indian staff and for teaching them phrases like, "Ya'll call again, you hear" and "Damn, son, you talk faster than a rancher moving beef at auction."

Sources told The Register that Delli informed staffers in Nashville of its decision to offshore consumer technical support to India earlier this month. Close to 500 people have already had their jobs sent to Bangalore, according to the sources. Those who wish to discuss the matter more can travel over here.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Technical
KEYWORDS: dell; employment; india; lowqualitycrap; outsourcing
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To: Who dat?

Lets see now.

I've purchased systems from Dell for a fairly large (For Austin.) company.

I've had to deal with their customer disservice and business to business account misrepresentives.

I've had to deal with their insane and constantly changing "Accounts that we think are receiveable but I'm new here." department.

I know people that do or have worked in Dell sales, customer disservice, etc.

The problem is structural. Unless Dell makes major changes, they'll still be competing on price only. And bringing all the negatives with them.

Having said that, I wish they'd start hiring here in Central Texas. It'd soak up a lot of dislocated techies.

But not me.


21 posted on 04/29/2005 3:32:03 PM PDT by BubbaTex (Long time lurker)
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To: Salo
Sources told The Register that Delli informed staffers in Nashville

who is Delli? Can I get a spellcheck for the author?

22 posted on 04/29/2005 3:33:07 PM PDT by BurbankKarl
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To: Mears
I went through 2 months of Dell Hell last fall and ended up sending a certified letter to Kevin Rollins,CEO.I received the signature card back saying they had received my letter. I didn't even get a courtesy E-Mail of acknowledgement. Nothing!!!! I would spend twice as much for any product if it will give me good American customer service.

I prepared a formal NY consumer fraud complaint against Dell at the end of endless weeks of absolute torture. I finally lost it and demanded to speak to US based supervisor. THAT Worked. The US dude solved my problems quickly.

Moral of the story: Yell and scream from day one of your Dell Hell adventure that you want to speak to the US supervisor.

23 posted on 04/29/2005 3:34:15 PM PDT by FormerACLUmember (Honoring Saint Jude's assistance every day.)
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To: badbass
I don't disagree. But, I'll say this: Bush is VERY disappointing to me when it comes to sending the jobs overseas, and allowing the illegal aliens to come here. WTF can we do, when these idiots are our options.

Serious question - would you actually want the government to interfere with the freedom of a business to hire abroad?

24 posted on 04/29/2005 3:34:33 PM PDT by Wayne07
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To: OneTimeLurker

Actually, Dell's answer is always "flash your bios." I even had to go through the charade of pretending to do it for a pc with a burned out power supply. Apu finaly got it when I went "damn, since the <****ing> thing won't start, I'm having difficulties booting off the floppy with the bios upgrade on it."

I have always wondered what award Dell's tech support won.


25 posted on 04/29/2005 3:35:01 PM PDT by Salo
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To: BurbankKarl
It currently employees far more staffers outside of the US than at home.

This author's job should be outsourced...

26 posted on 04/29/2005 3:36:05 PM PDT by BurbankKarl
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To: Salo
"Dell"? What is this "Dell" of which you speak?


27 posted on 04/29/2005 3:36:27 PM PDT by keepingtrack
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To: Salo
Gee do you suppose my last desktop was custom built in the us and my laptop is a Fujitsu,

at least i know hat language my tech support people will speak.

28 posted on 04/29/2005 3:37:15 PM PDT by dts32041 (Two words that shouldn't be used in the same sentence Grizzly bear and violate.)
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To: L98Fiero
I'm pretty sure anybody who has worked in these places completely understands why they went to Inda and such. I sure do.

But would it not be more cost effective to hire people that understand pc's, pay them a decent salary and let them solve the customer's problem with one short phone call? I guess that is a dream from the past, but would think it would do wonders for repeat business.

29 posted on 04/29/2005 3:37:30 PM PDT by Abby4116
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To: BurbankKarl

Delli is a joke - Dell becoming an Indian company. Maybe if they had said "New Delli"...


30 posted on 04/29/2005 3:37:57 PM PDT by Salo
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To: Salo

"Dude, you're getting outsourced."

31 posted on 04/29/2005 3:38:28 PM PDT by dfwgator (Minutemen: Just doing the jobs that American politicians won't do.)
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To: OneTimeLurker
Their answer is ALWAYS "reinstall windows".

That is SO true! A friend of mine ordered a Dell computer with a DVD drive -- well, it arrived without the Drive (shipping invoice clearly showed that the computer was ordered with one.) So she called Dell -- got a terrible runaround -- ended up talking to an Indian fellow who wanted her to reinstall Windows! She said: "I think I'll just return this thing." And she did.

32 posted on 04/29/2005 3:39:49 PM PDT by MrsEmmaPeel
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To: Salo
I find it difficult to do tech support with an Apu.

A few weeks ago, I called American Express to relay some innocuous account information to them.

First got into their automated system, pressed the right buttons, entered my account number, then the system said "using Caller ID, we have confirmed you are who you say you are".

Then their system transferred me to Apu in India, who asked for my account number again. After I gave it to him, he wanted me to confirm my address. I told him; I also told him their own system got me to him after verifying me.

Then Apu wanted my birthdate as well. HELL NO, Apu! Apu says he can't help me without my birthdate. I tell him to screw himself; I have validated myself twice, their own system routed me to him after checking me out, I just want to give HIM some information for their records and was concerned about identity theft.

Apu stuck to his script, I stuck to mine ("Screw you, Apu").

End result: I hung up on the moron.

"Thank you, come again!"

33 posted on 04/29/2005 3:40:56 PM PDT by Hank Rearden (Never allow anyone who could only get a government job attempt to tell you how to run your life.)
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To: FormerACLUmember

I'm usually pretty good at fighting with these types(my husband always had me do it)but it never occurred to me to ask for a US supervisor.

During this period I PAID for a call directly to Texas,not one of their toll free numbers,and I ended up getting a rep in the Philippines. Needless to say I was like a raving maniac at this point.

Thanks for your suggestion.


34 posted on 04/29/2005 3:41:17 PM PDT by Mears ("The Killer Queen,caviar and cigarettes")
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To: Salo

Okay, if it's an April Fool's Joke...but that writing isn't fit for a Blog, much less a news page.


35 posted on 04/29/2005 3:43:02 PM PDT by BurbankKarl
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To: L98Fiero
I'm pretty sure anybody who has worked in these places completely understands why they went to Inda and such. I sure do.

Ha. Yep.

I always like to keep this little fact in mind when people complain about their English (though I can understand them fine, but maybe that’s just me) – their English is a hell of a lot better than your Hindi/Bengali/Telugu/Spanish/Chinese/Filipino. Ha.

What that tells me – they have a heck of a lot more initiative than the deadbeats we’ve tried to hire in the U.S. Do a better job, do it more productively, do it in your language, and more important - they want to do it. That's all it takes for me.

But yes, people tend to get all worked up in a lather over it. They've developed a sense of entitlement and expectation that you should pay them top-dollar for occupying space and killing time and nothing more.

36 posted on 04/29/2005 3:46:56 PM PDT by Who dat?
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To: Abby4116
But would it not be more cost effective to hire people that understand pc's, pay them a decent salary and let them solve the customer's problem with one short phone call? I guess that is a dream from the past, but would think it would do wonders for repeat business. Americans who understand PC's are usually pretty smart, and can ask for more money than you would typically pay a tech support rep. Tech support call centers are usually entry level, low paying jobs - what you are talking about really isn't cost effective.
37 posted on 04/29/2005 3:47:30 PM PDT by Wayne07
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To: FormerACLUmember

Thanks for that advice - I'll keep it in mind if any thing else breaks on our daughter's computer. We had it for exactly 2- weeks when the disc drive went south. It took me 4 days and countless 'tech sessions' to get hold of someone who could understand that I just wanted a tech to come over and replace the doggone thing.


38 posted on 04/29/2005 3:50:40 PM PDT by SelmaLee
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To: Salo

India's better than China.


39 posted on 04/29/2005 3:50:59 PM PDT by Brilliant
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To: L98Fiero

Thanks for posting a sane response.


40 posted on 04/29/2005 3:55:33 PM PDT by razoroccam (Then in the name of Allah, they will let loose the Germs of War (http://www.booksurge.com))
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