Customer Service and Out Sourcing

Who are we really speaking to when we call up a company for support? An American or a foreigner? Does it make a difference? We have all called up our various credit card, cell phone, and other companies for assistance with billing, payments, tech support and changes to our accounts. We expect to speak to an expert; someone knowledgeable and competent. We want our call to be quick and hopefully painless so that we can move on with other more important things for the day. So when you pick up that phone to call and get assistance who do expect to speak to? Most expect to speak to an American or to someone that is in the country you are calling from at least. Many of us though; whether we know it or not end up speaking to someone from our side of the country. Sometimes we never even notice; other times though we notice or at least think we notice and may have a thought or two about it.
Speaking to someone else in another country brings up a whole world of debates. Many of us end up making some comment or maybe just thinking that it would be better to speak to someone in the United Sates that speaks and understands English. Sometimes this can be a valid argument; but believe it or not speaking to someone in the good old USA does not mean you will have a better experience! Most of us feel that the location of the customer service professional we are speaking to is the problem behind the lack of understanding during the call. More often than not though you will be speaking to an agent in the U.S. and have the same experiences! "Now wait a minute!" you might be thinking; "I can tell when I am speaking to someone who lives in the U.S.." Can you? I doubt it. Sure most of the time you may be able to tell; but look around you! Who exactly are Americans? I see people from all nationalities and backgrounds around; and guess what? When they speak to me; it is hard to understand most of them, and they are right here in the United States.
Guess who gets hired at call centers in the United States? Yup; those same people living all around you. I know this because it is what I do. I work in a call center. We get the same customer complaints here in the U.S. that we get for our call centers in other countries. So does it really make a difference if you are speaking to someone outside of the U.S.? It might. I will give that sometimes grammar or just familiarity with our culture in the U.S. can become a communication barrier. For the Call Center agents; they experience the same concerns when talking to Americans. It is hard to understand most Americans because of all the slang and cultural backgrounds. So it is a two way problem that will probably never be solved.
So why do companies outsource their work to other countries in the first place? There are two main reasons; cost and available work force! Let's face it; it is expensive to do business here in the U.S.! With the cost of utilities and office space plus the high cost of wages it only makes sense for some companies to go elsewhere where those costs are minimal. This is actually a good thing for us the consumer as well. It allows us more affordable products and services as the company will spend less on their support structure. The other reason companies go elsewhere is the available workforce at hand. There are many people here in the U.S. that need jobs; but for many they do not want to work in a call center. It is considered by some as a poor man's job and just a less desirable career because of the stress of dealing with upset customers on the phone all day long! So companies go elsewhere to fulfill their needs.
No matter what we may think though or what we desire to happen out sourcing will become more and more standard in this now global economy. So we have two choices; except the changes at had or get rid of all those services that require us to call customer service professionals. I doubt that many of us will be choosing the latter. Just remember that the next time you are on the phone with someone; that someone could be your next door neighbor! So relax and just give them a chance and show patience. In the end everything will be worked out for the better!
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