Anonymous_
Anonymous
Premium
join:2004-06-21
127.0.0.1
clubs: | good
nothing new every one is doing it anyways
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Global warming did not eat my homework. |
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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
 ·Comcast
|  Saving Face
Outsourced tech support generally has jumped the shark and we're now seeing some of these jobs come back here.
I think AT&T wanted a way to justify this move to the shareholders. By having the union "mandate" the move, it is a means by which the executives can cover their own butts when the shareholders take them to task for spending more money.
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Only SHATNER is Kirk. |
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whocares
Premium
join:2003-07-26
..
1 edit | AT&T Bringing Outsourced Jobs Back
Don't think its just the exect's doing a CYA,
but with the "overseas" tech help there are many problems, and i am sure SBC/ATT has been getting a lot of complaints
1 Problem with trying to be understood & understanding what the phone help is reading from a book,
2.Problemmany of the overseas help, have very little no working knowledage of a computer or programs.
3.PROBLEMWhen the phone help dosen't know what to do,or the computer problem still exist,the phone help is going to start instructing you (and expecting you) to start doing things to/with your computer, that HAVE NOTHING AT ALL to do with the orignal problem
4.Problem Finally WHEN the phone help turns over the problem to a 2nd level tech, the orignal problem is so messed up (along with other problems,following the phone help instructions)that the 2nd level support has to start all over again & have you correct all the problems that the phone help cased, befor being able to fix the orignal problem....
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I've learned....
That the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than I am |
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MrMaster
What If
Premium
join:2000-12-16
Austin, TX
clubs:
·RoadRunner Cable
| outsourcing is the worst!
I hate having to talk to any customer service that I can't understand. Oursourcing sucks and I will be happy when it finally goes away.
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One never notices what has been done; one can only see what remains to be done. -Marie Curie |
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TScheisskopf
World News Trust
join:2005-02-13
Belvidere, NJ
 ·Sprint Broadband D..
| reply to whocares
Re: Saving Face
Regarding creating new problems and 2nd level fixes:
I had exactly that experience. A friend of mine called me. She had spent 90 minutes on the phone with AT&T tech support(in that "I" word country). She was losing her connection regularly and, of course, the problem was in her computer. The TSR had her create 3(count 'em, 3) network connections. None worked.
I had all of those connections out of there, a new one created and the connection working in 15 minutes.
Country of origin be damned, the most clueless tech support people on the face of the planet. |
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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
·Comcast
| reply to whocares
Re: Saving Face
I totally agree with what you're saying.
Trouble is, the way most accountants look at this issue is that you could have the worst support possible, but as long as it doesn't impact your bottom line, then it is OK.
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Only SHATNER is Kirk. |
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DaveNJ
No Fear
join:1999-09-01
New Jersey
·Comcast
·Patriot Media
| said by pnh102  :I totally agree with what you're saying. Trouble is, the way most accountants look at this issue is that you could have the worst support possible, but as long as it doesn't impact your bottom line, then it is OK. But the accountants don't realize penny short, pound foolish. I ended alot of business because really bad "outsourced" service. So they may be saving on CS, but losing customers in the process.
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Go courageously to do whatever you are called to do. fear nothing. - St. Francis de Sales
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dentman42
join:2001-10-02
Columbus, OH
 ·AT&T Midwest
| said by DaveNJ :said by pnh102 :I totally agree with what you're saying. Trouble is, the way most accountants look at this issue is that you could have the worst support possible, but as long as it doesn't impact your bottom line, then it is OK. But the accountants don't realize penny short, pound foolish. I ended alot of business because really bad "outsourced" service. So they may be saving on CS, but losing customers in the process. Problem is, in some areas they're the only choice other than dialup. In most areas, the only other choice would be one cable provider. Even if there's a CLEC providing DSL, it's going to be over AT&T's lines. We need telephone overbuilders (like WOW did with cable) to get any real competition. |
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formertech
@qwest.net
| As someone who was laid off by AT&T...
... I find it kind of annoying that someone's job is taken away and sent to another country, only to have it returned a few years later. Here's why:
- first, you lose your job because some exec finds out he can save money if he has some indian kid do your job at well below what he pays you,
- second, when you find out your job is coming back it's no guarantee that you're coming back. most employees have call back rights, usually withing 3 years of separation, and if it's been longer than that you go back to the normal applicant pool.
I know quite a few of my fellow employees who were laid off from jobs paying in the 50-60k range who are nowhere near that level of income now. Imagine having to sell your house because you lost your job and can no longer afford the mortgage only to find out that your former position is now available again.
There's a reason their logo is the Deathstar. |
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ackman
join:2000-10-04
Acworth, GA
| reply to Anonymous_
Re: good
said by Anonymous_ :nothing new every one is doing it anyways I'm not sure what you mean by that statement, this is very new, and is very good news. For anyone with an ounce of brain matter to understand the threat to the IT industry and to the United States in general by outsourcing of tech-related jobs, this is very good news. |
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amungus
Premium
join:2004-11-26
America
clubs: | reply to MrMaster
Re: outsourcing is the worst!
Actually, when it comes back it'll probably still be "outsourced" (it was before...) but at least it'll be in country help... |
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en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA
·RoadRunner Cable
·DSL EXTREME
| reply to whocares
Re: Saving Face
Level 1 tech support will almost always be scripted.
Level 1 tech is there to filter out many of the potential obvious issues (not obvious to all). Level 2 gets into the more technical issues that aren't resolved through the standard means.
Bringing jobs 'home' is always a good thing, just don't expect level 1 to functionally be any different than current. The accent may be a little different, and easier for some to understand.
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Canada = Hollywood North |
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oh yeah
@cox.net | all true..but at least I'll be able to communicate with the level 1 tech. As it is right now, I can't understand them, and they can't understand me. |
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rirwin
Premium
join:2005-11-29
Columbus, OH
| reply to dentman42
u do realise was at&t's first cable attempt in columbs, back when they was called ameritech, and it was called americast. the reason it was "overbuild" was bc they wanted it to be available everywhere their pohone service was in columbus. when sbc bought ameritech, they sold it off to wideopenwest. now shortened to wow! |
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shamrin
join:2001-01-08
Lexington, KY
clubs:
·Insight Communicat..
| Indian Support
Well, I know that this isn't going to make me Mr. Popular here but as someone who works in an Indian call centre I would say that some of the complaints above are misplaced. We don't handle AT&T where I work but we do do broadband support. For outsourced tech support, all the training (including accent training), all the solutions, all the quality processes, all the specifications like numbers of staff on hand, escalation procedures, etc. would all be specified by AT&T, not by the call center they outsourced to. This means that customers have (most likely) getting exactly the level and quality of tech support that AT&T specified and was willing to pay for.
Now I've had my share of problems too with call centers, India and otherwise but quite often you find that this happens when the company that is outsourcing is focussing mainly on cost. If that happens, it's the same as anything else, quality suffers. Historically India and the Philippines (and now Latin American and soon China) have attracted their share of cost-focussed programs, ergo the (only somewhat IMO) earned reputation.
As far as staffing goes, I don't know what AT&T were doing, but we're staffing college graduates with IT and CS degrees, many with Microsoft and Cisco certifications. I guess the point I'm making is that off-shore tech support doesn't have to be rubbish.
With respect to moving jobs back to America, that's fair enough, I don't think there is anything wrong with paying a little more or directing your purchases toward companies that employ local labour. I buy milk from the local dairy cooperative here rather than paying Nestle who I don't think really need the money as much. But generally you can't have it both ways, cheaper prices and higher quality support (regardless of what part of the earth it comes from).
/sch
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I have no opinion, therefore I do not exist |
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satellite68
join:2007-04-11
Louisville, KY
| With all due respect to India, their citizens, and you...and no offense, but if American companies, who do business in America, charging American dollars, paying American taxes(hopefully), and owning American infrastructure, they should employ Americans.
This bit about outsourcing everything under the sun to save a buck is just bad juju for our country. |
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BosstonesOwn
join:2002-12-15
Everett, MA
clubs:
·Comcast
| reply to formertech
Re: As someone who was laid off by AT&T...
Which I have lived through 2 times now. And at the end of this week it will be the 3rd time.
You can't blame them for it. You have to pick yourself up and do what it takes to get back in the game.
I personally am looking forward to it. a change of space is good at times.
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"It's always funny until someone gets hurt......and then it's absolutely friggin' hysterical!" |
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major marco
Res Firma Mitescere Nescit
Premium
join:2003-02-13
Stepford, CA
clubs:
1 edit | Shareholders Need Outsourcing
Personally, I'm in favor of outsourcing the help. AT&T can start with the entire executive board and their minions of middle mgt asshats. The company needs a Hindi CEO who will work for $250k/yr instead of the current Whitacre who comes in at $2.2M.
Further, I firmly believe all shareholders of every American corporation ought to implement CEO/executive board outsourcing immediately. Why continue to pay these lavish salaries when better, more educated help can be found in Bangladesh working for a fraction of the American CEO annual salary plus 24k gold-plated perks.
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The Toll
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sgthomas
join:2003-02-27
Santa Monica, CA
·Verizon Online DSL
| Very well said!!! Maybe we could start a trend. Let's start with Chief of Staff.
Maybe then our country can begin to return to it's honorable roots.
(although I disagree with this statement:"...when better, more educated help can be found in Bangladesh working for a fraction of the American CEO annual salary..."
Since 1993 I can remember only two (2) 'outsourced' tech people that I've dealt with who had any knowledge of what they were talking about. (they are quite capable of reading from a scripted screen though)
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To be of words & not of deeds is like a garden full of weeds... |
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