Customer Service Call Centers!!! RANT!!!

[AsburySkinsFan]

OMG'ness if I get one more customer service number that routes my phone call to Bangalor India I'm going to go POSTAL!!!! I always get "Charlie" or "Sue" and they can never understand what I'm saying and all they do is read off their stupid computer screens and they can never answer a question that deviates from their script!!!!

AARRGGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!

:censored: :cuss: :whippin: :redpunch:

[Rdskn4Lyf21]

I love outsourcing :doh:

[Gallntfox]

When corporations can find someone competent in the US to do the job for $400/month with no benefits then you will see things improve. I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you.

[webnarc]

OMG'ness if I get one more customer service number that routes my phone call to Bangalor India I'm going to go POSTAL!!!! I always get "Charlie" or "Sue" and they can never understand what I'm saying and all they do is read off their stupid computer screens and they can never answer a question that deviates from their script!!!!

AARRGGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!

:censored: :cuss: :whippin: :redpunch:

What is the company so we can avoid them? It's the only way they'll change.

[The Evil Genius]

Trus story...but not mine.

I was reading this guys account on how he tried to talk to someone in the US regarding his Dish Network service.

When the customer service guy picked up, the guy asked if he could talk to someone in the US. The customer service dude replied, in a thick Indian accent, that he was indeed talking to someone in the US.

The guy asked where in the US the customer service guy was.

The customer service guy replied he was Pennsylvania, PA.

The guy said, Pennsylvania, PA huh? And what again does PA stand for?

The customer service guy replied, Pittsburgh.

:doh:

[Bang]

I'd much rather talk to some guy in Bangladesh (Who will probably tell me his name is "Hank") then be stuck in the never ending revolving answering systems.

COMCAST I'm talking to you.

~Bang

[Mass_SkinsFan]

When corporations can find someone competent in the US to do the job for $400/month with no benefits then you will see things improve. I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you.

To a degree you're exactly right. Until we get rid of the needless Unionized employees in this country, you're going to see this sort of outsourcing become more and more prevelant.

From what I see in the field I work in, companies are doing everything possible to remove as many Union positions as possible, and I applaud them for it. I know the company I work for is doing it every opportunity they get. Everything from literally getting rid of positions that Union employees fill, to totally rewriting the requirements for positions to push Union employees out of the company.

If you want these lower level jobs back in the US, you need to explain to the people doing them that they're not going to earn $15 an hour with unlimited benefits to do the job a trained monkey could be taught to do (as the outsourcing is proving) for a lot less.

[rictus58]

If you want these lower level jobs back in the US, you need to explain to the people doing them that they're not going to earn $15 an hour with unlimited benefits to do the job a trained monkey could be taught to do (as the outsourcing is proving) for a lot less.

I did personal credit collections for 5 years with MBNA. The ONLY reason I didn't quit immediatly was the benefits. I have yet to come across a company that offered benefits like them. MBNA had to though. It was the only way to attract and keep talent.

[CandaceM23]

XM Radio has a customer call center over there. So does AOL.

[Skinsfan1311]

To a degree you're exactly right. Until we get rid of the needless Unionized employees in this country, you're going to see this sort of outsourcing become more and more prevelant.

From what I see in the field I work in, companies are doing everything possible to remove as many Union positions as possible, and I applaud them for it. I know the company I work for is doing it every opportunity they get. Everything from literally getting rid of positions that Union employees fill, to totally rewriting the requirements for positions to push Union employees out of the company.

If you want these lower level jobs back in the US, you need to explain to the people doing them that they're not going to earn $15 an hour with unlimited benefits to do the job a trained monkey could be taught to do (as the outsourcing is proving) for a lot less.

As a Union Rep, I find your description of "Needless Union workers" a disgrace. Killing off the unions so that greedy corporations can run roughshod over the the working man is wrong. You would screw over hard-working Americans, who are making a decent living, so that you don't have to talk to someone in India when you're cable goes out?? :doh:

Killing unions won't solve anything..... I'll grant that some union members are crappy workers that milk the system...but Ill warrant that the same can be said for all employers, union or not.

CEO's are making truckloads of money...how many millions and billions do these guys need? When a CEO is making more money taking a dump, than the average American worker does all week, there's definitely a problem and it ain't caused by Unions.

It's the billions that are being thrown at greedy corporate executives and officers that cause that causes companies to outsource work....not union wages and benefits. It's Corporate greed, plain and simple.

If there were no more unions, all of a sudden millions of Americans would have these great low-level jobs? Customer service would greatly improve, because the previously outsourced positions would be filled by happy $7.00 an hour workers. (They better be happy, because with no union to protect their rights, they can be more easily fired) God forbid one of these happy $7.00 an hour workers get sick, because I'm willing to bet there ain't a whole hell of a lot of those low-level jobs that have decent benefits.

Why don't you do a little research and read up on what unions have done for this country, not to this country.

Do you honestly believe, if the unions were gone, that big corporations would quit paying Patel over in India $25.00 a day and bring those jobs back to America for minimium wage? Gimme a break.

[Beaudry]

I used to work for the Amazon.com call center. They outsourced most of their email support to India and tried the phone support, too. In the end it was just too much of a pain for Amazon. People complained non-stop about the outsourced service. I think that the Indian's still do email support while the U.S. workers respond to people who can't undestand what the Indian's were saying.

[Popeman38]

As a Union Rep, I find your description of "Needless Union workers" a disgrace. Killing off the unions so that greedy corporations can run roughshod over the the working man is wrong. You would screw over hard-working Americans, who are making a decent living, so that you don't have to talk to someone in India when you're cable goes out?? :doh:

Killing unions won't solve anything..... I'll grant that some union members are crappy workers that milk the system...but Ill warrant that the same can be said for all employers, union or not.

CEO's are making truckloads of money...how many millions and billions do these guys need? When a CEO is making more money taking a dump, than the average American worker does all week, there's definitely a problem and it ain't caused by Unions.

It's the billions that are being thrown at greedy corporate executives and officers that cause that causes companies to outsource work....not union wages and benefits. It's Corporate greed, plain and simple.

If there were no more unions, all of a sudden millions of Americans would have these great low-level jobs? Customer service would greatly improve, because the previously outsourced positions would be filled by happy $7.00 an hour workers. (They better be happy, because with no union to protect their rights, they can be more easily fired) God forbid one of these happy $7.00 an hour workers get sick, because I'm willing to bet there ain't a whole hell of a lot of those low-level jobs that have decent benefits.

Why don't you do a little research and read up on what unions have done for this country, not to this country.

Do you honestly believe, if the unions were gone, that big corporations would quit paying Patel over in India $25.00 a day and bring those jobs back to America for minimium wage? Gimme a break.

Not to hijack the thread, but I am split on the union aspect of work in the US. I know they are necessary to keep employers from not granting benefits and raises, but why is it necessary for workers in the DC Metro area to strike to support a union in Ca?

[Sarge]

Best Abu from Simpsons voice

Yes, my name is John:rolleyes:, can I help you?

Yeah John, I'm having some issues with my registry..............

Have you made sure your computer is turned on?

[AsburySkinsFan]

What is the company so we can avoid them? It's the only way they'll change.

This was AT&T, but I'm fed up with Dell too. I'm pretty sure that IBM outsources as well.

I hate the idea of outsourcing, but ya'll are right as long as companies are motivated only by profits and the bottom line then they are going to screw the employee and find someone who will work for half as much on the other side of the globe and to heck with the customer who actually needs the service! The question that keeps running through my mind is exactly when will outsourcing stop? Because if it continues what jobs are going to be left here in the US? Somehow I can't imagine that Dell is going to be selling a lot of computers to millions of unemployed people. Hmmm, Catch-22 me thinks.

I agree to that the Unions have had a big hand in this, too many powerful unions have driven payrolls through the roof to the point that the employee eventually is the one who looses out because their job is shipped across the globe. Take for instance American Steel, we tariff the crap out of imported steel because we know that the same steel can be imported at a fraction of the cost due mainly in part to payroll. But this does not excuse the CEO's who think that their time is worth hundreds of millions per year. Meanwhile, the company who just out-sourced those jobs does not lower the prices on their products...so...where did that extra money go? Things that make you go Hmmmm...

When are we going to wake up and realize that the average worker in the US is getting hosed, by the government and by the big corporations who care for nothing more than profits? I may sound like a Chicken Little here, but I just got hit with a piece of falling sky.

[rincewind]

Best Abu from Simpsons voice

Yes, my name is John:rolleyes:, can I help you?

Yeah John, I'm having some issues with my registry..............

Have you made sure your computer is turned on?

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Thank you, come again.

[Sarge]

Sorry, but unions have ****ed themselves here.

For years, bosses had to pay some numbnut $50 an hour to put a screw in a windsheld or do some other menial job. Plus they've had to pay for health care and put up with people filing greivances over the fac that the coffe pot isn't in the right place in the breakroom.

Then the bosses started looking for ways to get rid of all that spare luggage and viola!

Outsourcing

Why pay $40 and hour when you can pay $40 a month and no health care costs and not hear any ****ing?

Thanks AFL-CIO

[Skinsfan1311]

Not to hijack the thread, but I am split on the union aspect of work in the US. I know they are necessary to keep employers from not granting benefits and raises, but why is it necessary for workers in the DC Metro area to strike to support a union in Ca?

I'm not familiar with all of the particulars on that issue....so this is a vastly oversimplified answer. Striking is one of the biggest bargaining chips that a union can employ. It's typically a tool that can be used to help pressure employers to go the bargaining table to work out issues. Union solidarity shows employers that we are to be taken seriously. I'll grant you, that over the course of history, strikes have been misused, and Unions aren't perfect. They are a good way to help ensure that workers are being treated fairly.

I understand your train of thought andI'm not trying to turn this into a debate. Benefits and raises are one of the benefits of being in a Union....Keeping those benefits and pay are tough to do and the Union is there to fight to for these things.

Every year, Management wants to take more and more away from us, while at the same time, giving CEO's and Directors fat pay increases. While we can't prevent this from happening, we can certainly help protect the workers.

[Skinsfan1311]

Sorry, but unions have ****ed themselves here.

For years, bosses had to pay some numbnut $50 an hour to put a screw in a windsheld or do some other menial job. Plus they've had to pay for health care and put up with people filing greivances over the fac that the coffe pot isn't in the right place in the breakroom.

Then the bosses started looking for ways to get rid of all that spare luggage and viola!

Outsourcing

Why pay $40 and hour when you can pay $40 a month and no health care costs and not hear any ****ing?

Thanks AFL-CIO

Thanks AFL-CIO??? ...and this coming from a retired military man?

I'll grant you that Unions aren't perfect, and there are abuses....but I betcha the military has pissed away more money over the past 10 years than every union worker in the United States, since Unions began.....

Can you please give me the name of the company that pays numbnuts $50.00 an hour to put a screw in a windshield? I could use the raise. :laugh:

[Mass_SkinsFan]

As a Union Rep, I find your description of "Needless Union workers" a disgrace. Killing off the unions so that greedy corporations can run roughshod over the the working man is wrong. You would screw over hard-working Americans, who are making a decent living, so that you don't have to talk to someone in India when you're cable goes out?? :doh:.

That's ok. I find anyone who would willingly join a Union a disgrace, so we're about even, I'd say. I'd rather have American workers actually have to do their job to the best of their ability and get paid what they're job is actually worth rather than being protected from any sort of disciplinary action for not getting their work done in a timely fashion by the Unions.

Killing unions won't solve anything..... I'll grant that some union members are crappy workers that milk the system...but Ill warrant that the same can be said for all employers, union or not.

True. The difference is that the companies cCAN'T FIRE the incompetent Union workers without a massive issue being made whereas they CAN FIRE the incompetent non-Union worker. Additionally, the Unions generally protect these incompetent employees from internal discipline for their incompetence as well as just protecting their job.

CEO's are making truckloads of money...how many millions and billions do these guys need? When a CEO is making more money taking a dump, than the average American worker does all week, there's definitely a problem and it ain't caused by Unions.

How about.... As many millions as they can get. When the average CEO actually does more work in the crapper than most Union employees do in a week, there's a bigger problem.

If there were no more unions, all of a sudden millions of Americans would have these great low-level jobs? Customer service would greatly improve, because the previously outsourced positions would be filled by happy $7.00 an hour workers. (They better be happy, because with no union to protect their rights, they can be more easily fired) God forbid one of these happy $7.00 an hour workers get sick, because I'm willing to bet there ain't a whole hell of a lot of those low-level jobs that have decent benefits.

Hey, if the only thing you've got the skills and education to do is a $7.00 per hour job, then you get what you deserve in my mind. I do actually believe that without the Unions, a lot of these jobs would return to the US, just so the companies can press that "We're an AMERICAN company" button with many of us.

Why don't you do a little research and read up on what unions have done for this country, not to this country.

What have they done for this country? I know a lot of Union workers, including about half the people I work with, and the only thing the Unions appear to be doing is causing more trouble than they're worth. Protecting unnecessary and/or incompetent workers in many cases. Causing labor stoppages. Supporting anti-American political candidates, etc.... I won't even get into the PERSONAL issues my family, friends and I have had with different Unions over the years.

Do you honestly believe, if the unions were gone, that big corporations would quit paying Patel over in India $25.00 a day and bring those jobs back to America for minimium wage? Gimme a break.

Actually, yes I do. I think that if the companies could pay these employees $7-8 an hour and not have to supply them with innumerable benefits, they would bring back American workers. Largely because those of us who follow an America First philosophy would be less inclined to accept the outsourcing if there was a relatively equivelant option here in the US.

[Mass_SkinsFan]

I understand your train of thought andI'm not trying to turn this into a debate. Benefits and raises are one of the benefits of being in a Union....Keeping those benefits and pay are tough to do and the Union is there to fight to for these things.

Every year, Management wants to take more and more away from us, while at the same time, giving CEO's and Directors fat pay increases. While we can't prevent this from happening, we can certainly help protect the workers.

The problem, as I've seen it in my experience is that the Union employees want more money and more benefits for less work and responsibility. THAT'S an issue for most companies. If the Unions would occassionally look at what's in the best interest of the company in addition to what's in their own best interest you might find less companies looking for ways to rid themselves of unionized labor.

[Skinsfan1311]

The problem, as I've seen it in my experience is that the Union employees want more money and more benefits for less work and responsibility. THAT'S an issue for most companies. If the Unions would occassionally look at what's in the best interest of the company in addition to what's in their own best interest you might find less companies looking for ways to rid themselves of unionized labor.

While I feel that is a stereotypical view, perhaps you've just had experience with the wrong union employees!

I fear I'm now paying the price for breaking one of my own cardinal rules rules....NEVER argue with a fantatic, (i.e. anti-gun, anti-abortion, greenpeace, PETA, anti-whatever). You win.

Seriously, you've obviously given this some serious thought and have posted some interesting points of view. Frankly, my fingers are too tired to debate an issue that could go on forever. You're certainly entitled to your opionion, as I am to mine.

[Mass_SkinsFan]

While I feel that is a stereotypical view, perhaps you've just had experience with the wrong union employees!

The groups that I'm familiar with are two different Locals of the National Education Association, one trucking group whose acronym escapes my mind at the moment and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, whom I've worked alongside of for nearly six years now.

I fear I'm now paying the price for breaking one of my own cardinal rules rules....NEVER argue with a fantatic, (i.e. anti-gun, anti-abortion, greenpeace, PETA, anti-whatever). You win.

Believe it or not, with me it isn't about winning or losing in this sort of discussion. I don't do debates or arguements, just discussions.

Seriously, you've obviously given this some serious thought and have posted some interesting points of view. Frankly, my fingers are too tired to debate an issue that could go on forever. You're certainly entitled to your opionion, as I am to mine.

Yes I have given some serious thought to the issue of Unions in today's workplace. When one works on the management side of a company with a fairly large Unionized workforce, you have to. Yes, we're both entitled to our opinions.

I'll just end it with this... There is nothing on this planet that would ever get me to join a Union or take a unionized job. Even if it meant becoming unemployed instead... That should sum my feelings up pretty well.

[daviddsims]

I am in a Union and proud of it! If people think that these greedy companys are going to magically bring jobs back without union then I would like to live in that world. Workers without healthcare in this country is a big issue and I beleive that if not for unions then we would be in a major crisis in this country. There are alot of sorry union workers but no more than all the white collar folks who are shuffling paperwork in companys and bending rules to get what they want.

[AsburySkinsFan]

I fear I'm now paying the price for breaking one of my own cardinal rules rules....NEVER argue with a fantatic, (i.e. anti-gun, anti-abortion, greenpeace, PETA, anti-whatever). You win.

I would hardly characterize his comments as those in line with PETA or Greenpeace, nor would I say that he is fanatical. Its just that many of us who have spent years outside of unions see them in very different ways than those who have been protected by them. I used to work in a non-union factory and we never got paid what union shops did, yet the union shops were out on strike every 4 years negotiating higher payrolls, and then they'd always complain about not enough benefits. Well, needless to say their complaints fell mostly on deaf ears around our plant, because they were complaining about how little they were receiving which ended up being more than we were getting paid to begin with.

Frankly, I find it odd that Toyota can employ tens of thousands of plant workers in their American factories without a single workers Union. Yet these same employees are very well paid and have many great benefits. Yes the Unions have done a great deal for the average worker in this country, becuase before they came along the average worker was being used and abused. Only now the workers are simply loosing their jobs because the jobs that the Unions protected are now shipped over-seas or south of the border. So its ended up being a real catch-22 because all of those benefits that the Unions fought for pushed prices higher and competition lower which then sent those jobs over-seas.

And somehow Free Trade Agreements are supposed to solve the American economic system. All these "FREE Trade Agreements" have done is sell out the American worker, both Unionized and non-union, and they benefit the CEO's and stock holders; which pretty much rules out most of middle America. Yet year after year we keep voting in the same bunch of crooks who promise us a better life only to leave us worse than where we started, and this criticism goes to both sides.

[Destino]

I'm not all for or all against unions. This case however has nothing to do with Unions. But maybe I'm wrong Sarge, Mass, and the rest of you fingering unions for this... could you point me to the Help Desk union? While you are at it can you remind me of a time that technical Help Desk employees in the US made anywhere close to 7 bucks an hour (which is more then they make in India)?

Let's be real here for a minute - technical education in the states is lacking. IT jobs demand a certain pay grade because the labor pool is small versus a healthy demand for their services. In India it's the opposite. They have a large supply of qualified (debatable) workers with no place to work, thus salaries are low. Extremely low.

That is what caused this particular case of outsourcing. Not unions.