Are you in favor of the call centers to be outsourced in the Asian countries?
By ip5217
@ip5217 (1655)
Philippines
March 27, 2009 11:11pm CST
It is a fact that today, most of the call centers are outsourced in countries like Philippines and India. It can be attributed to the low manpower cost from the said countries. It is very much true. However, do you really believe in the capacity of the people in these countries to deliver the service that you deserve as a customer?
Before elections, Bush mentioned that he wants to stop all the outsourced call centers in these countries and other countries in Asia as well. Do you think this is proper?
6 people like this
25 responses
@taztheone (1721)
• India
26 Aug 09
Why is the the super powers are outsourcing to India? The reason is the ability of India to provide a much higher efficient service than any other country. If the outsourcing is stopped, not only that the companies will loose the profits, They will run in lose. In a Survey it showed that the Indians have a much (60%more)higher conversion Ration than any other country. This is the Reason Why call centers are outsourced to India & to Asian countries.
@ip5217 (1655)
• Philippines
27 Aug 09
That's noted. However, I really believe that big companies nowadays are left with no choice; that's the reason why they decided to outsource their customer support to countries in Asia. Financial crisis is tearing each one of us out.
Meanwhile, let me add to that; India and Philippines for me are the leaders in this industry.
1 person likes this
@grandpa_lash (5225)
• Australia
29 Mar 09
Outsourcing, in whatever industry, is a sign of greedy businesspeople trying to cut costs. All they do is cause economic difficulties in their own country, but of course this is irrelevant to them because they are not personally affected.
That is, until enough outsourcing has been done to increase unemployment at home beyond the critical point at which their own business begins to suffer because too few people can afford to use their services/buy their product.
This practice is just one of the many truly negative aspects of the much-vaunted economic globalisation the multi-nationals so enjoy.
Lash
1 person likes this
@ip5217 (1655)
• Philippines
29 Mar 09
Reading through your responses, I began to conclude that the main issue now is Outsourcing. This is not limited to call centers only. When companies in first world countries hire the services of an OFW(Overseas Contract Worker)to work in their respective countries monetary resources of these countries are taken away from them little by little. OFWs work and live the simplest lifestyle as possible in order to send their hard-earned money to their families left in their native home.
Imagine if 30% of the US population is composed of OFWs, this would mean that 30% of the countries total asset is taken away from them and distributed to different countries all over the world.
True, this is brought by Globalization. I'm seeing, in the near future, "first world" countries will only have this title next to their country name but in truth, in terms of asset and economic standing, we are all equal.
1 person likes this
@Monkeyrose (2840)
• Canada
28 Mar 09
I am definately not in favor of this. My mom works as a billing rep for a big Telephone company in Canada. They have recently started outsourcing quite a few jobs. She is in danger of loosing hers at some point in the next few years.
Well it is true that in order to drive your own economy the people living in it have to have income to spend. Ie... if everyone in the states is unemployed because they send the work where its cheaper there will be no one left who will be able to buy the products.
I do believe that these people could deliver good customer service. However, part of the low cost is also low training. Also, Your replacing 20 year vetrens who have vast experience with people who have been doing it for less than a year. Also there are cultural differences and expectations.
@ip5217 (1655)
• Philippines
28 Mar 09
I'm really sorry to hear that your mom is in danger of losing her job because the company she works with opted to outsource its labor in other countries. I will not deny the fact that I'm a Filipino. See the thing is, this is what's confusing me more. Seeing your answers, the room is really divided and both parties do have their own valid point of views.
One of you answered that if people in US will no longer have money because of unemployement, who will patronize this companies if spending ability is ceased?
However, we have to also consider the fact that these companies are struggling and they have to seek for cheap labor to survive.
This is really a sad reality that bites everyone nowadays.
I wonder what is really the root cause of this so-called Recession. I hope we all conquer this very hard challenge of time.
@redhotpogo (4401)
• United States
28 Mar 09
Alot of people here need jobs, so its greedy for companies to send work overseas. Also bad business. If the economy is bad, and you send work overseas, you're making it worse. And if people here don't have money, then they won't be buying your goods or services. Not a good move. But if the economy isn't so bad then I would prefer philippine to indian operators. Phils speak english very well. Easy to understand them. Not indians. And phils have a much better attitude. Indians seem a bit rude, and snobbish.
@schixophrenichq21 (12)
• United States
21 Apr 09
I agree with you that outsourcing actually causes people to loose jobs in America. But the sad part is, before the recession, there are a lot of offers given to Americans to be in a position as a call center agent however only a few accepted the offer. People decline even if the rate is 12$ per hour. Imagine, in another country that rate per hour can actually employ 2 agents split the 12 dollars per hour then you have the salary of 2 agents working for your company.
Lastly, I agree with you that Filipinos actually speak english very well, this is because it became their second language. They are more friendlier and helpful rather than other people in different countries.Why? It is because they are thankful for the job and they are committed in providing good customer service, they offer empathy if you need them, they offer an ear to listen..
I hope someday this crisis can be resolved in such a way that america and other outsourcing countries could balance the distribution of man power so that all can gain from the call center industry... if that happens then it's not impossible to build utopia..
@redhotpogo (4401)
• United States
21 Apr 09
I'm not sure what recession you are referring to. Are we in a recession? Anyway. I don't know of anyone that would turn down that job if they needed one. Maybe people you know would. There hasn't been a job like that offered around here. If call centers opened up here, and started hiring, I bet there would be lines stretching down the streets. Call centers pay well. Of course they know they can pay a foreigner less.
@vishnus90 (80)
• India
28 Mar 09
Can't really take sides in this matter.
One nice little solution. Assuming a US-Based company considering outsourcing to Asia/India. Have the morning shift (US Time) handled by Americans in the US. And the evening shift (US Time), which is day time in Asia, by the Asians in Asia. This way the job will be equally split between the countries and the call centre agents will get their sleep in the night too! Plus the customers get 24 hours support. Its a win-win situation. Only thing that comes in the way is the cost of setting up 2 units. But if a number of companies come together, cost can be reduced.
@ESKARENA1 (18261)
•
28 Mar 09
I dont mind costs being reduced as long as the consumer sees the benefit. What unfortunately tends to happen is the only ones who see the benefit are those who own the company
@tipay26 (867)
• Philippines
28 Mar 09
hi ip5217 i used to be a call center agent in a company here in the philippines i was assigned at the sales department.and before i was assigned to that department we have gone through a series of training before we were introduced on the job itself.on that given training it involves language enhancement,product training that's where you will be trained in order for you to get acquainted with the products and services that your company is offering,and some technical training too.in your question as per the capacity of the persons assigned in a certain department and as a former telesales representative i can say all agents are effective in that positions.we were also graded everytime we encounter clients and our overall performance is strictly guided by our tl or team leaders.and as an aid to global crisis now it can help those who want to earn a decent living especially now that job opportunity in my country can be counted only by both your fingers.i hope this answered all your queries..=)
@mschellemi (95)
• Philippines
28 Mar 09
I don't question the competence of filipinos or any asian race in the call center, for they can be very effective in the performance of their task given the proper trainings..But i do believe that larger companies with multi million up to billions of asset should not outsource their employees specifically the customer service and sales of their department to companies outside their country..But for example if the company has Branches in other countries, their staffs should be from that country.
However for the Small companies or Small Enterprise starting up or still trying to establish their income, I think they should be given the option to outsource some of their employees outside their country for them to have the least operating expenses..
@Jshean20 (14348)
• Canada
29 Mar 09
Well I work in a call centre here in Canada and I get a lot of Americans calling in who are just floored by the fact that they can actually understand what I'm saying, I think due to language barrier/ accents it might not be a good idea in terms of efficient customer service. I think there would be a lot of miscommunication and angry customers ending up with too much frustration and canceling service. Also you could say that I hope they don't move call centres to asian countries because I'd rather not lose my job..
@feathers26 (865)
• Philippines
29 Mar 09
I am in favor of outsourcing asian countries as call center agents.
Given the proper training and product knowledge they are efficient in their
jobs. I understand due to economic crisis we all need jobs to survive.
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
28 Mar 09
I am against outsourcing call centers. The reason is that the people in India and the Phillipines cannot help us when we have a problem with our credit cards, for instance. Let alone if the computer goes wrong. It is best the call centers be in the same country you live in, it does not matter about the cost. People here want good service and if the call center is nearby then they can get a service man or tell you how to fix it, and if you cannot do it over the phone, someone will be over shortly,.
but if the call center is a 1000 or 2000 miles away, it would be a month before something is done.
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
25 Jan 10
ip5217 no I do not as there are two problems,one is that we are laying off Americans so we can get cheap cheap labor outsourcing
and thus many Americans are out of work as their jobs went to Asians ,no2. you don';t need trouble trying to understand someone who is speaking in broken English when you are troubleshooting your computer, you need to be able to understand what the helper is saying to you. To hear You do go not blah blah, and you are going please speak clearer I do not understand what you are telling me. no its an awful idea. We need to put our Americans back to work.This outsourcing is making a bad economy here even worse as jobs that we could take are going overseas instead.
@Aquilis (175)
•
29 Mar 09
While I have nothing against the employment of forign people, what does annoy me is the complete lack of training they all seem to get. There is a basic list of things they ask you, and then after that...nothing. Now obviously there are some exceptions to the rules, and it is not just the outsourced callcenter monkeys that have no training, people who work in this country too have just as little training in my experience. It just seems a shame that companies are not willing to put the time and effort into training their staff properly.
I don't see a problem with outsourcing as most people don't actually want those jobs anyway, so why shouldn't someone else get the chance to work there instead?
@gyouswe911 (273)
• Philippines
28 Mar 09
Absolutely yes.. It is proper to outsource in other countries specially in Asian countries.
Not that its cheap but people in other countries are understanding when it comes to business... Plus, they got an exemplary services specially in the Philippines and other Asian countries.
Why wouldn't it be improper anyway to outsource in other countries?
MABUHAY MGA PILIPINO!:p
@VinodkumarV (1)
• India
28 Mar 09
Hi,
I am Vinod, the post that you have posted is something that is concerning me too. I am also working in a company which is doing outsourced jobs from US. Basically, it not about the manpower which matters when it comes to outsourcing. Its always the value difference between currencies. Outsourcing work is much more reasonable for them than doing it by their own. If that same work is done is US, then the expense for such a work will be immense. My sector of outsourced work is health care and as far i know, its a 3 layer process which gives a single service and the same requires immense manpower. So, now imagine what impact could that create if such a process is practiced inside US. Of course, it is possible, but will with a lot of compromise.
@Daisy48 (1)
• United States
8 Apr 09
I am not in favour of outsourcing call centers. We are paying for a service and expect to receive good service. People in these call centers even though they profess to be bi-lingual can speak the bare minimum and most have no understanding of the English language. This leads to frustration on both sides and in most cases the call is a waste of time and nothing gets resolved. We should not have to waste time trying to make ourselves understood when we call customer service. There is also the fact that the unemployment rate is already too high in this country so lets try and keep these jobs here and help the economy.
@ESKARENA1 (18261)
•
28 Mar 09
In the uk we seem to get a lot of this, i assume because wages are so much lower in southern Asia than here. However I do have a number of problems with it all. First of all, if costs are lower because of out sourcing why are costs to me either the same or higher? Secondly, many people i speak to in these call centres seem to have little knowledge of product and an inadequate grasp of the English language. Now then put it all together, we have people dealing with a product they dont understand, in a language they dont know, attempting to answer questions to a culturaly alian continent and doing it cheaper than the home-grown equivelent. The only people who can benefit are the American or British purse holder. From an Asian point of view, the act to keep wages low, by allowing pay less than the going rate for the job. A bad deal all round except for the purse holder of course
blessed be
@sophie_dfuss (2365)
• Philippines
28 Mar 09
Yes I am in favored of call centers to be outsourced in Asian countries especially here in the Philippines.
I used to be a call center agent for a few years. We Filipinos are great when it comes to imitation of the neutral accent of the westerners. Proper traning and product knowledge are the best keys to stay in this kind of job.
The outsourcing companies helped Filipinos to be employed and productive. This year, call centers have gained 26% more profit this year.
Bush have mentioned that because there is a big unemployment rate in their country, but of course the outsourcing companies will not stopped their operations here in our country since they can save money and earn more revenues. ![](/Content/images/emotes/whistle.gif)
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@lexus54 (3572)
• Singapore
28 Mar 09
In this day and age, technology advancement has allowed work to be outsourced and become virtual. The person who is servicing you don't have to be physically where you are anymore. Even any individual on the internet can do a job for a company on the other side of the globe, and both parties never have to meet face to face to get work done and submitted. I think what's more important is whether the party outsourced to (whether in Asia or elsewhere) can do the job efficiently and competently, bearing in mind language and cultural differences and work ethics. If a party outsourced to can perform great work, then I don't see any reason why outsourcing cannot be accomplished to customers' satisfaction.
@dorisday1971 (5657)
• Philippines
28 Mar 09
The call centers being outsourced in our country, the Philippines, gives many benefits not only to the Filipino but also those companies who outsource. One benefit given to our country is that there are more jobs created and the best people don't go abroad to look for a better job. The companies who outsource, on the other hand, benefit by cutting their cost to almost 50%.
@nagasubbarao (215)
• India
28 Mar 09
yes i am favour of 100%. In india and philippines many people are working in outsourncing almost 20 laks people.
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