[hjones4841]

I called Circus City's customer service (such that it is) to inquire on the status of an on-line order for a HR-20. From the sound of the phone call and the accent of the young lady that answered, she likely was in India. Is this yet another electronics retailer that has gone off shore for phone support?

I was trying to confirm a projected ship date and she read to me exactly what was showing on the on-line order status screen and nothing more. Wasted phone call, especially with this Southern boy trying to communicate with India (or whereever) over a crappy phone connection.

By the way, ignore Best Buy's "in stock at your local store" information. Two local stores showed HR20s in stock Sunday, but both were pre-sold "customer fullfilments." Both sales clerks confirm that pre-sold units are not marked accordingly on their stock information.

 

[HarleyD]

I think even their janitors work on commission.

 

[hjones4841]

I think even their janitors work on commission.

Probably right. After all, there IS a lot of crap in their stores:lol:

 

[HarleyD]

You know, I don't necessarily object to the outsourcing of the work.

I am a little put off by the CSRs who give an obviously fake name in an effort to "Americanize" the experience though.

Hi. My name is Steve Barnes.

Hmmm.

 

[ProfLonghair]

Working as a software engineer for a long time and having to face this offshoring issue, I've decided this:

Most people are idiots. Heck, I'm probably an idiot. So, why not get the idiot at half price? How many knowledable CSRs have you talked to vs. idiots? And, don't flame me with responses of what a non idiot you are, please. When I saw most people are idiots, I mean most people except you, the reader. You are clearly a highly intelligent person.

And, I do hate the fake name bit.

 

[HarleyD]

Is there a 12 step program for idiots.

You know.

Step 1, Admitting that you are powerless over your idiocy. That your idiocy had become unmanageable.

Step 2 Come to believe that a higher power could restore you to intelligence.

etc, etc.

"Hi. My name's Lee and I'm an idiot"

"Hi Lee."

 

[houskamp]

I just wish they would teach them english first:nono:

 

[EMoMoney]

she likely was in India.

Yes, because it's not at all likely that people from India are living here in the US and working in Customer Service.

 

[Nick]

I just wish they would teach them english first:nono:

...and just how many languages do "we" speak? From what I read on these boards,
we are too busy struggling with the complexities of English, the language with which
most Americans were born, to learn another language.

 

[HarleyD]

From what I read on these boards,
we are too busy struggling with the complexities of English, the language with which
most Americans were born, to learn another language.

Of course we aren't providing language based support to users and customers in another country either.

Speaking intelligible English would kind of seem like the bare minimum requirement to provide support to American users.

 

[Nick]

Of course we aren't providing language based support to users and customers in another country either.

Speaking intelligible English would kind of seem like the bare minimum requirement to provide support to American users.

In my experience, I have had very little problem understanding 95% of the CSRs
I've talked with and for whom English is a second language. As a professional, I
built a very successful business career by being a good listener.

Half of verbal communication is listening. Those who don't make an effort to listen
may well be part of the problem. Keep in mind that these overseas CSRs are also
human beings. Their English may not be 'perfect', but they deserve our patience
and our respect.

 

[Steveknj]

Outsourcing is a double edged sword. On one hand, getting cheaper labor to do jobs certainly keeps product pricing lower. On the other hand, taking those jobs away from Americans puts more people out of work in this country. Which is better for the economy? It's hard to say. Of course if we lower the bonuses of these corporate execs, then maybe those jobs could stay here. Well, I don't want to go off on a political bent really, but it used to be that jobs that were outsourced were jobs that Americans didn't want to do any longer, especially in the manufacturing segment. Nowadays, it's just to cut costs for corporations, especially in the service segment.

That all said, there are good and bad CSRs whether they are outsourced or not. I've was dealing with MS on an xbox issue for over a month that finally got resolved and these CSRs were obviously North American. And I've dealt with some foreign CSRs who REALLY know their stuff. It's all in the training IMO. You train ANYONE right and if they are smart enough, they will do a good job. Poor training, and there is NO WAY they can do their jobs.

 

[AlbertZeroK]

Steveknj - it's even worse than that. Most out sourced calls have a lower customer service and satisfaction rating. Then again, phone support has always been kinda hit or miss considering they don't pay very much if they are in the US or not.

But the biggest problems with outsourced support is (1) ability to know and use english and (2) training. Giving people step by step troubleshooting guides and a phone number to call (while you are on hold) to talk to a real tech are not acceptable in my book.

Then again, we paid $100 extra for our Dell Laptops for US Based Support and they are just as clueless and still take 20 minutes on the phone to get a keyboard replaced because we poped a key off (no troubleshooting required.)

 

[Steveknj]

Steveknj - it's even worse than that. Most out sourced calls have a lower customer service and satisfaction rating. Then again, phone support has always been kinda hit or miss considering they don't pay very much if they are in the US or not.

But the biggest problems with outsourced support is (1) ability to know and use english and (2) training. Giving people step by step troubleshooting guides and a phone number to call (while you are on hold) to talk to a real tech are not acceptable in my book.

Then again, we paid $100 extra for our Dell Laptops for US Based Support and they are just as clueless and still take 20 minutes on the phone to get a keyboard replaced because we poped a key off (no troubleshooting required.)

I think there's also some confusion between what is outsourced and what is overseas support. Outourced means a another company is hired to do your support (such as what D* does with installations...that's outsourced) while overseas support could mean that those folks actually WORK for the company you call rather than for some second party. There is a LOT more issues with the former than the latter if you ask me, and that has to do with loyalty and control. For example, I used to manage a Help Desk for a small software company. One of our large clients decided they didn't want us to support them and outsourced the support to another company and they paid us to train them. Well after 6 months of this, they came back to us for support. What happens is this other company cared more about their fee than to actually support the product. They learned the basics and figutred that was enough to support the customer. They had no loyalty to either the client OR to us. When support comes directly from the parent, there is more at stake so the customer service level HAS to be higher.

 

[hjones4841]

I suppose my "outsourced" word should be replaced with "offshore" since it is not clear who they work for. My point, as others have already pointed out, is that when I call a company who is predominately a North American entity, I expect to be able to verbally communicate with the CSR.

Now, I work with many people of other nationalities (mainly India) and have little problem communicating with them in person. Put a crappy phone connection in between and the situation changes.

But, there are those who believe that it is the responsibility of US citizens to be able to communicate with anyone else who immigrates here, regardless of nationality. My take on that is they chose to live here, let them learn our language.

Anyway, we are seriously OT for the HR20 forum. The good news is that Circus City has found a way to ship my HR20 with scheduled delivery tomorrow. So, the call to the CSR was not needed anyway. My concern was what happened at BB - that they showed as available, but in reality were not. Seems that was not the case at the CC website.