4 ms·

Call centres? They have an advantage over foreign call centres operators (more fluent in the language), some companies might pay for it. Also, this idea: https

by meric 9y ago

Call centres? They have an advantage over foreign call centres operators (more fluent in the language), some companies might pay for it. Also, this idea: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15136091 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15136091

Mediterraneo10 9y ago
There are now just too many other countries with young people speaking excellent, near-native English thanks to an entire childhood spent with American movies and television. Eastern Europeans or Filipinos can do call center work cheaper than American rural areas.
- matt_s 9y ago
  Cheaper per hour is easy to measure but its hard to measure customer satisfaction. When I call a support line and get "Walter" who is going to help me, I know they are in a different hemisphere and am mostly unsatisfied with talking to them because they are trained with scripts and they talk like robots. If I called and recognized a Kentucky accent, chances are that person is going to be more relatable and personable than "Walter" from 8 timezones away. Mr./Mrs. Kentucky might crack a joke and get me to lighten up a little about why XYZ isn't working. If both calls have the same result, I walk away from talking to Mr./Mrs. a little more satisfied than with "Walter". The same could be said if it was reversed, if someone was calling from the far east and ended up talking with Mr./Mrs. Kentucky it is going to be hard for them to be relatable and personable to someone from the far east.
  - Mediterraneo10 9y ago
    > Mr./Mrs. Kentucky might crack a joke Call centers insist so much on following scripts that I am not sure there would be opportunities to make jokes even if the person was in the same country as you. Also, do you think that Americans want to hear a Kentucky accent? I would rather speak to a foreigner than hear someone with a village accent from my country. Those places have a reputation for low education and low culture, and so it is hard for customers to trust any employee with that accent who claims he can help you. I know that call centers have moved to my country and to the Philippines because English speakers in these countries have a more "neutral" accent.

by meric 9y ago

Mediterraneo10 9y ago

There are now just too many other countries with young people speaking excellent, near-native English thanks to an entire childhood spent with American movies and television. Eastern Europeans or Filipinos can do call center work cheaper than American rural areas.

matt_s 9y ago
Cheaper per hour is easy to measure but its hard to measure customer satisfaction. When I call a support line and get "Walter" who is going to help me, I know they are in a different hemisphere and am mostly unsatisfied with talking to them because they are trained with scripts and they talk like robots. If I called and recognized a Kentucky accent, chances are that person is going to be more relatable and personable than "Walter" from 8 timezones away. Mr./Mrs. Kentucky might crack a joke and get me to lighten up a little about why XYZ isn't working. If both calls have the same result, I walk away from talking to Mr./Mrs. a little more satisfied than with "Walter". The same could be said if it was reversed, if someone was calling from the far east and ended up talking with Mr./Mrs. Kentucky it is going to be hard for them to be relatable and personable to someone from the far east.
- Mediterraneo10 9y ago
  > Mr./Mrs. Kentucky might crack a joke Call centers insist so much on following scripts that I am not sure there would be opportunities to make jokes even if the person was in the same country as you. Also, do you think that Americans want to hear a Kentucky accent? I would rather speak to a foreigner than hear someone with a village accent from my country. Those places have a reputation for low education and low culture, and so it is hard for customers to trust any employee with that accent who claims he can help you. I know that call centers have moved to my country and to the Philippines because English speakers in these countries have a more "neutral" accent.