Jobs gone offshore

I am networking the computers in the office. I was hooking up the router and getting everything configured.
I ran into a problem with the Linksys router and had to call tech support. I called the 800 number and the tech got me taken care of.
I asked him his location and he said he was in the Phillipines.

I understand that this is now SOP for many companies. Jobs from tech support to medical billing to who knows what else are in India, Asia and other places around the world.
It just seems strange to call an 800 number and find out you are talking to someone half a world away.

I guess phone rates are cheap enough now to allow companies to do that. Would those jobs have gone offshore if the phone rates and line charges had stayed higher?
Or are they doing this through the internet somehow and avoiding phone charges?

Les

India is fast becoming a hub of customer support centers. They are getting better at American accents too.

Five or six years ago I called IBM customer support and ended up talking with someone in Ireland or Scotland.

Btw, Linksys recently joined Panasonic on my "electronics sh#t list" when my Linksys router died after only 13 months use. Bought a Netgear as replacement...so far, so good.

Les:

If you made something (anything, it doesn't have to be computer oriented) and pledged to have a real-live human being sitting by the phone to talk to your customers about working with it, wouldn't the cost of having that peson sitting in an office in your shop either put your selling price out of reach or knock you out of that business because of the cost?

If someone in The Philippines or India or other places like that gets a Tech Support job, they can work indoors, dress nicely and have respect amongst their family and community.

Sure beats walking behind a Water Buffalo with your feet in the mud.

And in Rat's Rump third world countries, you can bet that is what their dads and moms did.

My Dad worked at IBM - His Dad worked in the above situation before he came over on the Boat. (Slovensko had Horses, not Water Buffalo)

Reading your post made me realize that, like the Steam Engine before it, the Computer has finally gotten to the point where it is easing the burden of the common folk.

That is a good thing.

I do not fault any company for having live techs available to answer questions.

The question for the companies is what is the most cost effective way to have the largest number of techs available?
I think we have seen the answer.

It was not too many years ago that international calls were expensive.
My point is that now phone rates are pretty cheap for international calls which enables the companies to take advantage of the cheaper labor pool in other countries.

I have a friend who calls me quite often from Germany. Whenever he lands there and has a layover, he buys a phone card with a large amount of minutes for 20 Euros. He then proceeds to call and harass all his friends. He can call me for a cheaper price from Germany than his home in Indiana.

Les

Les,
Don't forget about satelite. A friend of mine is an IE manager for a grocery chain. All their stores and warehouses are uplinked. They have real-time access to inventory and sales volume at anytime.

I don't know if the place you are talking about is doing this, but it would be a good chance. I know that Microsoft has some support in India. I would suspect that they have to have access to the computers in Redmond so why not use satelite? You lease the time and bandwidth.

JR