Dell to Stop Using Indian Call Center for Corporate Customers

FoxNews.com ^ | Monday, November 24, 2003 | AP

[Bush2000]

AUSTIN, Texas — After an onslaught of complaints, computer maker Dell Inc. (DELL) has stopped using a technical support center in India to handle calls from its corporate customers. Some U.S. customers have complained that the Indian technical-support representatives are difficult to communicate with because of thick accents and scripted responses.

Tech support for corporate customers with Optiplex (search) desktop and Latitude (search) notebook computers will instead be handled from call centers in Texas, Idaho and Tennessee, Dell spokesman Jon Weisblatt said Monday.

Calls from some home PC owners will continue to be handled by the technical support center in Bangalore, India, and Weisblatt said Dell has no plans to scale back the operation there

[Enterprise]

This is for CORPORATE customers. For you peons who buy it on your own, well, you're on your own. Learn to understand Indian accent and you'll get along just fine. Or else, go pay big bucks to you local computer repair geeks.

[chris1]

I had a similiar experience with HP. I had a person from india trying to help me out with a problem. not only was this person impossible to understand, but he was RUDE! Can you believe it? I was pissed off beyond all heck and imagine many others have had the same experience as myself.

[CedarDave]

Got a bad link someplace. Can't access the full article.

[aculeus]

You mean that commercial is supposed to be in Calcutta?

[Enterprise]

It has to be irritating to say the very least. Probably just as bad as getting a telemarketer call from India or Pakistan.

[river rat]

Earthlink should do the same....

I can predict EXACTLY what will happen to anyone attempting to get anything even remotly unusual resolved by talking "live online chat" to one of their Indian "solution centers"...

Forget it...
Call a human in the U.S....bypass their online Indian assistance..

Semper Fi

[chris1]

you read about the jobs going to India but only when you have to deal with something like this do you realize what we are comprimising for the almighty corporate profit and bottom line.

[Enterprise]

I no longer have the article, but there have been several that have pointed out that this isn't working out profitably for corporations, and is creating a lot of ill will. There may come a point where most of those jobs come back. We'll have to wait and see.

[Ramcat]

I've had the same experience with call centers in CA and TX (heavy asian and latino accents)but at least these people are helping to support our economy.

[AmericaUnited]

Freepers could help with an online translation guide.

Here's the first one:

When the Hotline person says: "Shtick da vloppy in da thaive."

In english it means: "Stick the floppy in the drive".

[CedarDave]

A computer company could advertise US-based customer service and get some good will that may translate into purchases.

[AgentEcho]

The Dell experience. Written while on hold tracking 75 missing PCs in October.

All of our representatives are currently helping other customers, customers that have spent more than your petty $250,000 this year. We don't care about you, just your money. You will hear two beeps. The first is our telephone system's way of laughing at you, the other is an actual customer service representative saying "BEEP" then muting his phone so he can hear you cursing. He will laugh and laugh at your futile attempts to check your account. When he is finished laughing, and going to the bathroom, and getting a cup of coffee, and going to the bathroom again because coffee goes right through him, he will answer just to say you will need to be transferred to the MegaGoldPremiumWonderAccount in Jakarta. He will say he's transferring you right now, which he will, only to put you at the bottom of the queue. After being rerouted from Jakarta to Bangladesh because the Jakarta exchange trunk is overloaded you will get Babagushin. After realizing that Baba (you now have pet names for the reps to keep you interested) does not understand when you say three, but does if you say "TREE" he will let you know that your account is a MegaGoldPremiumWonderAccount but that PC was "misinputed" as he says, and it itself is not covered under MegaGoldPremiumWonderAccount. He would like you transfer you to Steve in the Austin office as they have this problem all the time and Steve is the best at sorting this kind of "ting" out. In case the line is dropped Steve's extension is 56894. Steve's the first person you called. You explain that to "Baba". He say he will transfer you right to Steve, which he does. But Steve's gone for the day and the voicemail asks to leave a message. Then the automated operator comes on line. We'll call her "Betty". She sounds cute for a computer. Betty politely informs you that Steve's mailbox is full, and he has no backup. Thank you for calling Dell and have a Dellicious day.

After hanging up from this 85 minute call and the twitching subsides you come to a few conclusions:

Steve's a jerk

Baba's a bastard

Screw Jakarta

Nuke Bangladesh

And Betty, though sounding cute for a computer... is a bitch.

[irv]

Tech support for corporate customers with Optiplex (search) desktop and Latitude (search) notebook computers will instead be handled from call centers in Texas, Idaho and Tennessee

But those of us working for a company that was stupid enough to buy one of their "servers" are just plain out of luck.

Fortunately, we don't have very many of the *&^$%(! things.

[auggy]

"I was pissed off beyond all heck and imagine many others have had the same experience as myself."

Yep!

I know I have had ,at least 3 times, talked to a thick accented person. They very well could have been Iranian or Iraqi's.

Usually, one spends more, to have this telephone support. I will never do it again.

[observer5]

How about this headline:

"Dell to stop building lousy computers"

[CedarDave]

Got a bad link someplace. Can't access the full article.

Bad link is in my Netscape 4.8 browser that doesn't like some HTML. Time to upgrade I guess. Sorry.

[giotto]

The customer service personnel at American Express are, I believe, Indian, and they are polite and smart. Frankly, I'd rather deal with a sharp, decently educated Indian or Asian than a bratty, ignorant, dull-witted, government-school educated American.

[CedarDave]

PING

[IYAS9YAS]

Frankly, I'd rather deal with a sharp, decently educated Indian or Asian than a bratty, ignorant, dull-witted, government-school educated American.

Yeah, but the dull-witted ones are fun to mess with.