Dell's Call Center Moves (Updated)

Dell is moving a big chunk of its call center handling from India back to the United States. The move was prompted by complaints from corporate clients.

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.

Outsourcing of this nature has taken quite a few hits lately. Most of the fear is that American jobs are bleeding to other nations where the job can be done more cheaply.

There are two things to take away from this:

1. Even though a job might be done cheaply, it isn't necessarily done well.
   
2. If the cost of doing the job, past the sheer dollar amount spent, is too heavy, then companies will make changes.
   

So how should American's compete with cheaper labor and what are the benefits of doing business closer to home? Hopefully, the level of service is better, accessibility is better, and the overall cost of doing business is similar if not quite as low.

I've had to place to tech calls that were answered by contractors in India. The experiences were uniformly good. Not only was the help on target, but the level of customer service was high. The people who answered calls were polite, professional, knowledgeable, and quick. Frankly, I had no problem with accents or scripted responses, and ended the calls wishing that every help desk I ever had to call was that good.

I even found myself thinking that I hoped more companies made that move. I understand the fear of losing jobs, but, as a consumer, I shouldn't be paying more for substandard work. Competition is good for industry--and the companies that can't improve in the face of competition don't necessarily deserve to survive.

Dell made a practical choice that had little to do with the obvious dollars being spent and everything to do with the total cost of doing business a certain way. Outsourcing doesn't have to be the big, scary boogieman that many seem to think it is; what it does mean is that companies will have to re-invent their methods and find new ways to provide value.

I, for one, don't see that as being a bad thing.

Read the story.

Update: Latino Pundit has some words on this same topic that is worth reading. Take a look.

Posted by zombyboy at November 24, 2003 01:16 PM | TrackBack