4 ms·

Seriously? I would bet that there are more Indians speaking English and willing to work a call center job than Americans. The whole "Hire Americans!!1!" kind o

by t0mas88 10y ago

Seriously? I would bet that there are more Indians speaking English and willing to work a call center job than Americans. The whole "Hire Americans!!1!" kind of viewpoint smells like Trump and honestly: The world deserves better.

Dylan16807 10y ago
It's not about nationalism. The job is talking to people, so it's important to be mutually intelligible. Willingness to work saves the company money. It doesn't help the user. What helps the user are things like clear speaking and good phone connections. It's possible to do that in any country, but the relative cost varies, and outsourcing implies cutting corners.
icantdrive55 10y ago
I know a lot of people who would love a desk job. Personally, I just stopped calling tech support years ago. It just wasn't worth the hassle. In the back of my mind, I try to avoid companies that use foreign labor extensively. I don't think I'm alone? I haven't given a penny to Microsoft in the past decade--out of many reasons, but will always remember those awkward tech support marathon calls. So even in high income areas, like the Bay Area; I don't think customer service jobs would go unfilled, even at minimum wage. People need to get their side hussle on? Yea--it's that bad. Americans need jobs. Plus, with an aging population--those desk jobs would be cherished. I don't know why companies don't take advantage of all the technology that would let stay at home Americans answer Customer Service calls remotely. I know the medical industry is letting nurses field calls from their home. Actually, I know why; it's just cheaper to farm out the jobs. I know so many over 40 year olds whom are unemployed. I have read those employment numbers for years, and they don't add up. I do know the number of able bodied people who could work, but became discouraged is at an all time high. In America it's about jobs. So many chit jobs are just gone. People are really hurting for work, and a desk job would not go unfilled.
krisroadruck 10y ago
I'm about as anti-trump as they get my friend. The notion that the world deserves better than having native tech support however is something I disagree with. When you are frustrated to the point of putting up with sitting on hold to get help, the last thing you want to be confronted with is an understanding barrier. Between accents and regional colloquialisms this is a likely reality of foreign tech support. Also, your assumption is wrong. 95%+ of Americans speak English while only 12.5% of Indians speak it. Even with India's much larger population that still amounts to roughly a 3rd as many compared to the U.S. There is also a knock-on effect. When only 12% of the population speak a language they tend to avoid using it as a primary conversational language and thus only get practice in professional settings which lowers their fluency in it. Add to that all of the regional oddities and its quite different from American English. Consider for example phrases like "Kindly do the needful" or "out of station". Phrases they say daily that are completely foreign to American ears. When you next have a chance compare someone in the Philippines (92% english) speaking English vs someone from anywhere in India speaking English and it'll become very apparent to you that the percentage of the population that speaks the language makes a huge difference in the intelligibility of said speaker.
- hehheh 10y ago
  I think you missed one of the points. How many of those 95% of Americans want to/are willing to work in a call center?
  - imron 10y ago
    Millions? https://www.statista.com/statistics/580586/states-with-the-highest-employment-call-centers-us/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/580586/states-with-the-h...
  - krisroadruck 10y ago
    Counter: How many of those who are willing in India can do it as well as those who are willing in the US? I expect the population who speak flawless and accentless (to the US ear) English in India who are also willing to do call center work is infinitesimally small.

by t0mas88 10y ago

Dylan16807 10y ago

It's not about nationalism. The job is talking to people, so it's important to be mutually intelligible. Willingness to work saves the company money. It doesn't help the user. What helps the user are things like clear speaking and good phone connections. It's possible to do that in any country, but the relative cost varies, and outsourcing implies cutting corners.

icantdrive55 10y ago

I know a lot of people who would love a desk job. Personally, I just stopped calling tech support years ago. It just wasn't worth the hassle. In the back of my mind, I try to avoid companies that use foreign labor extensively. I don't think I'm alone? I haven't given a penny to Microsoft in the past decade--out of many reasons, but will always remember those awkward tech support marathon calls. So even in high income areas, like the Bay Area; I don't think customer service jobs would go unfilled, even at minimum wage. People need to get their side hussle on? Yea--it's that bad. Americans need jobs. Plus, with an aging population--those desk jobs would be cherished. I don't know why companies don't take advantage of all the technology that would let stay at home Americans answer Customer Service calls remotely. I know the medical industry is letting nurses field calls from their home. Actually, I know why; it's just cheaper to farm out the jobs. I know so many over 40 year olds whom are unemployed. I have read those employment numbers for years, and they don't add up. I do know the number of able bodied people who could work, but became discouraged is at an all time high. In America it's about jobs. So many chit jobs are just gone. People are really hurting for work, and a desk job would not go unfilled.

krisroadruck 10y ago

I'm about as anti-trump as they get my friend. The notion that the world deserves better than having native tech support however is something I disagree with. When you are frustrated to the point of putting up with sitting on hold to get help, the last thing you want to be confronted with is an understanding barrier. Between accents and regional colloquialisms this is a likely reality of foreign tech support. Also, your assumption is wrong. 95%+ of Americans speak English while only 12.5% of Indians speak it. Even with India's much larger population that still amounts to roughly a 3rd as many compared to the U.S. There is also a knock-on effect. When only 12% of the population speak a language they tend to avoid using it as a primary conversational language and thus only get practice in professional settings which lowers their fluency in it. Add to that all of the regional oddities and its quite different from American English. Consider for example phrases like "Kindly do the needful" or "out of station". Phrases they say daily that are completely foreign to American ears. When you next have a chance compare someone in the Philippines (92% english) speaking English vs someone from anywhere in India speaking English and it'll become very apparent to you that the percentage of the population that speaks the language makes a huge difference in the intelligibility of said speaker.

hehheh 10y ago
I think you missed one of the points. How many of those 95% of Americans want to/are willing to work in a call center?
- imron 10y ago
  Millions? https://www.statista.com/statistics/580586/states-with-the-highest-employment-call-centers-us/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/580586/states-with-the-h...
- krisroadruck 10y ago
  Counter: How many of those who are willing in India can do it as well as those who are willing in the US? I expect the population who speak flawless and accentless (to the US ear) English in India who are also willing to do call center work is infinitesimally small.