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Do the companies we do business with really care if they keep us as customers?
Do these companies realize that every time they make us jump through the PHONE PROMPT HOOPS they come with in micro seconds of loosing our business?
When you get forwarded to a call center in India do you feel abandoned by the company you thought was an American Company?
This week changed the way our Company will do business goinig forward.
We will no longer purchase goods from any company that has a call center out of the United States.
Reason #1 When you speak to someone working a Indian call center it is very unpersonal.
#2 Everyone seems to be a manager.
#3 None of them can make a decision.
#4 Every thing they tell you is set in stone
#5 They are NEVER wrong even when you prove to them they are.
One of the companies that triggered this article. DELL. In that past 5 years we purchased all of our electronics from them. We have a line of credit that makes it easy for us to get what we need when we need it. We pay them on the first of the next month and we are done.
Wrong we sent Dell a payment on the 5th and for some reason they didnt receive it by the exact day they wanted it and I get the call..it went like this..
Indian..We have not received a payment on your Dell account. WHY?
Me..A check was sent out to DELL on the 5th.. (this cal was on the 10th)
Indian..Why isnt the payment here?
Me..Im sure you will have it today or tomorrow.
Indian..Why is it late? When are you sending it?
Me.. It has been sent.
Indian.. I want to know why its late?
Me..Put me through to a manager .
Indian..That is not possible. Why is not the payment here. (that was word for word)
Me.. HUng Up
Now you have to keep this in mind we pay them in full with in 30 days on every purchase and have purchased over $100k in hardware this year.
Now I'm pissed so I go to the DELL website to get a phone number to call someone hopefully in Austin Texas. Yea you guessed it I finally after 30 minutes get to speak to someone at DELL in Texas, she tells me how sorry they are and she transfers me to one of their customer service reps...in INDIA.
And it started all over again. So I told this nice Indian gentlemen we will no longer be purchasing our hardware from DELL. He said thats fine good by. (In his s***ty Indian accent)
After I get off the phone I check my bank account only to find out the DELL check cleared our bank that morning.
Does it save American companies money to outsource their companies call center?
Does it anger you as much as it did me to be questioned by a Indian taking an Americans job?
By a person who has no clue on how to deal with an American businessman?
Is cutomer service important to you the consumer?
I know a $100k per year doesn't mean much to DELL, But what IF this happens a couple hundred times a year?
Hopefully in the long run DELL saves nothing by outsourceing and wakes up to smell the
roses.
Dell Customer Service
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Posted By: Mr. Independent Posted on: Jul. 27, 2006 at 11:14 PM  19 Comments
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4.7 / 5
Based on 4 ratings.
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Jul. 28, 2006 at 07:42:02 AM
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Rating for this article
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| Mr. Independent, Gods speed to you on this article, I hope it is cut and pasted all over Dell's site and the sites of those other companies that think I want to talk to someone I don't understand and that I enjoy having to press 1 to continue in English. I should never have to pick my native language out of the possible languages to deal in, they should have to go through the steps to have their back water linguistical aptitudes dealt with. It sickens me that they have not yet picked up on the subtle hints of Americans. Although I support their right to run their business as they see fit, I also completely support our right not to do business with them if we disagree. This is no different than the Dixie Chicks, if you don't like what they think you don't have to buy their CD's, nor should any of us have to deal with poor customer service regardless of what continent it originates on. |
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Jul. 28, 2006 at 07:49:43 AM
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| While, I have yet to have any problems with my DELL. I have had major problems with other giant corps that hire the rudest people on the planet to man their phones. I simply stop doing business with them (aol about 5 years ago). (Cox cable, although I recently went back to Cox because the dish company that I was leasing their equipment from wanted me to pay $30.00 dollars for them to come and fix the thing. I said no! Finally, Did ya know though what they do if you stop paying your cable bill? . . . THEY CUT YOUR COX OFF . . . so be very careful
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Jul. 28, 2006 at 08:04:56 AM
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| The Dixie Chicks? No, I think this is no different from Pee Wee Herman, or no, wait . . . the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. That's exactly what this is like! Anyway, I think we can all agree that Mr. I's frustration is a nonpartisan shared by us all at one time or another. Bottom line, customer service matters in the long run, and will trump any short term gain if these companies ultimately want to stay in business. Most Indians speak English better than our President - a low lying fruit to be sure. And if they can provide equal or better customer service for a company (without breaking laws or engaging in unethical practices), at a fraction of the cost, I cannot fault the company for doing what a business does - maximizing profit. How's that for a conservative philosophy AA and ONC? But if the outsourced service is no different than talking to a computer, then their a$$es should be canned. |
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Jul. 28, 2006 at 09:36:35 AM
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| it seems this issue has struck us all at one point or another. when i moved here to phoenix i had to change my phones coding so it wouldnt be on long distance al lthe time, after about 20 minutes of being on hold i get someone who says "oh youre still on hold? ok well il transfer you to a technician" im thinking "wtf?" well i get his jamaican lady who i can almost understand who gives me 40 numbers to key into my phone. the entire time im thinking "does this individual really live in the united states?" i dont even use my phone that much. i hate phones. so to me making me sit through 20 minutes of silence only to be found still on the line by a shocked employee who transfers me to possibly an outsourced call center to someone i can barely understand bad customer service.
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Jul. 28, 2006 at 11:18:28 PM
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| Mr. I- Finally, one every end of the spectrum can agree with. Not just outsourced customer service centers offend me. It seems that all of them giving their first level contacts two things: the title “Technician” and a script to follow. Most have had little training and/or experience to deserve the title Technician. Problems that can be solved using the standard script are solvable 99% of the time using online resources. When I call a Service Center, it is with a specific problem that I have often troubleshot for hours. I need someone with more knowledge not less. Offend a Conservative – Use Your Brain [link:aproudliberal.blogspot.com] |
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Jul. 29, 2006 at 08:13:26 AM
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| what about outsourced shipping centers? although i am a bit of a linguist recieving a package with chinese, swahili, russian, german, and portugese stickers on it is somewhat unnerving. where the f*** has this package been exactly? is that why it took a month to get here? because the outsourced shipping center couldnt understand the english instructions "ship to: the antichrist at this address" ? i used to work for the postal service (i think ive stated this before, and am actually looking to get back into the service) and i used to packages that came through beijing, tokyo, luxemburg, chelyabisnk, lviv, etc. with american return addresses. wtf is up with that? postage on s*** isnt cheap especially internation mailing... also i have a few slightly "racist" questions that i *need* to have answered.... please dont laugh im not joking around with these i really want to know. why are all the demolition experts in games and movies black? and why have i never seen a black person in Cracker Barrel? i mean... theres go to be white demolition experts, why dont they get a chance for once? and do black people not like midwestern 'home style' cooking? - that is all |
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Jul. 29, 2006 at 09:16:20 AM
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| sorry for spelling errors... i jsut got off work and am very tired... ill correct myself now before anyone else can point them out. ...i used to SORT packages...* ...xemburg, chelyabiNSK, lviv, e...* ...pecially internationAL mailing...* ..theres goT to be wh...* |
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Jul. 29, 2006 at 01:40:59 PM
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| I can't stand talking to the guy from 7 11 over the phone about something important. Heres an article on BusinessWeek's website about how the contracted call centers are breaking contracts with companies such as Dell because the call centers are actually losing money. [link:www.businessweek.com] |
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Jul. 29, 2006 at 01:56:31 PM
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| What's wrong with talking to the man from the Quickee Mart? They can be very friendly: "Thank you very much. Come again. Would you like a beef jerky?" BTW, one of my cats, the more ethnic looking, is named Apu. The other, the more gay looking, is named Smithers. |
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I have read numerous times in the past couple of months that Dell has experienced NUMEROUS complaints from their corporate customers concerning their Indian service and therefore were going to be moving THAT C.S. group back to the U.S. very soon. Although, I have never heard a firm date that this was supposed to happen.
But - back to the bottom line here - do these American companies save THAT much money by moving their customer service departments over-seas? Actually, I am reading mroe and more that most of these companies are starting to realize the error of their ways, and are moving these departments back. I read of one furniture company who specializes in stressed leather furnature that had actually moved their entire production line over there - only to find that they would not stress leather - "why would you take a perfectly good piece of leather and make it look old? - We are not going to do this !!"
You are right - 90% of the time - their answers are very cut and dry, and "if you don't like it - go elsewhere. What many companies are discovering is that - many of their customers are doing JUST THAT." For whatever reason, these people feel they are distanced by thousands of miles, and therefore, they have no reason to live by the old adage "the customer is always right".
I truly hope that for the sake of the American consumer, companies will realize the business they are loosing due to the rudeness, negligence, and down-right pompousness of these idiots, and start bringing their various departments home, where they belong !!
You worthless Nut
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