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So what? Would you rather have the company scale and have a chance to do well or let it fail given their current cost structure. Think long term. If the company

So what? Would you rather have the company scale and have a chance to do well or let it fail given their current cost structure. Think long term. If the company does well, they will hire more Americans workers in roles which do require more application and intellect.

tomjen3 11y ago
I actually think customer service require more skills than it may appear straight away - you have to learn to make angry people like you, or at least think they have been treated fairly. And I have never seen a successful startup that didn't listen to its users - which you can't do if the people who are supposed to talk with them are in a different continent and don't understand the language really well.
- pc86 11y ago
  So by definition you have never seen a successful startup with offshore support?
- moron4hire 11y ago
  I agree. Customer Service needs to be an equal partner on the team with Sales and Development. Growth is great, but it means nothing if you're bleeding yourself dry by not serving those customers you're obtaining.
protomyth 11y ago
I think its a bit disingenuous to phrase that part like they are just "replacing" those jobs locally. They are lost to the local community, and will never come back. Plus, I wouldn't expect the same level of service (change in stake and incentive), and there is now another possible data breach target.
- davidw 11y ago
  Companies come and go. It's a fact of life. And it's a lot better that way than keeping crappy companies around because they provide jobs. Source: I lived in Italy for 15 years.
marvel_boy 11y ago
> require more application and intellect What? Customer service requires intellect, a lot .
betenoire 11y ago
> Would you rather have the company scale and have a chance to do well or let it fail given their current cost structure. I bet there are other options too.
emodendroket 11y ago
Tech startups are a pretty lousy plan for general job growth considering they tend to employ far fewer people, relative to their revenue, than most businesses.
- ams6110 11y ago
  If their new plan (restaurant discounts linked to credit cards) is going to go anywhere, it's going to take a TON of sales staff cold-calling resturants all across the country. Unless they are content to just go with national franchises.
untog 11y ago
Unfortunately, this is the perception that ensures customer service experiences stay horrible. It actually takes a lot of skill (including and especially personal skills) to satisfy an angry customer. If you can do it you'll win a loyal customer. But most people don't bother.
- davidw 11y ago
  Think of it as an easy way to differentiate your own company, by offering quality customer service.
pavel_lishin 11y ago
> If the company does well, they will hire more Americans workers in roles which do require more application and intellect. Leaving aside the implication that customer service doesn't require either application or intellect, why would they do this if their experience teaches them that outsourcing gets the job done at a fraction of the cost?

tomjen3 11y ago

I actually think customer service require more skills than it may appear straight away - you have to learn to make angry people like you, or at least think they have been treated fairly. And I have never seen a successful startup that didn't listen to its users - which you can't do if the people who are supposed to talk with them are in a different continent and don't understand the language really well.

pc86 11y ago
So by definition you have never seen a successful startup with offshore support?
moron4hire 11y ago
I agree. Customer Service needs to be an equal partner on the team with Sales and Development. Growth is great, but it means nothing if you're bleeding yourself dry by not serving those customers you're obtaining.

protomyth 11y ago

I think its a bit disingenuous to phrase that part like they are just "replacing" those jobs locally. They are lost to the local community, and will never come back. Plus, I wouldn't expect the same level of service (change in stake and incentive), and there is now another possible data breach target.

davidw 11y ago
Companies come and go. It's a fact of life. And it's a lot better that way than keeping crappy companies around because they provide jobs. Source: I lived in Italy for 15 years.

marvel_boy 11y ago

> require more application and intellect What? Customer service requires intellect, a lot .

betenoire 11y ago

> Would you rather have the company scale and have a chance to do well or let it fail given their current cost structure. I bet there are other options too.

emodendroket 11y ago

Tech startups are a pretty lousy plan for general job growth considering they tend to employ far fewer people, relative to their revenue, than most businesses.

ams6110 11y ago
If their new plan (restaurant discounts linked to credit cards) is going to go anywhere, it's going to take a TON of sales staff cold-calling resturants all across the country. Unless they are content to just go with national franchises.

untog 11y ago

Unfortunately, this is the perception that ensures customer service experiences stay horrible. It actually takes a lot of skill (including and especially personal skills) to satisfy an angry customer. If you can do it you'll win a loyal customer. But most people don't bother.

davidw 11y ago
Think of it as an easy way to differentiate your own company, by offering quality customer service.

pavel_lishin 11y ago

> If the company does well, they will hire more Americans workers in roles which do require more application and intellect. Leaving aside the implication that customer service doesn't require either application or intellect, why would they do this if their experience teaches them that outsourcing gets the job done at a fraction of the cost?