PDA

View Full Version : ntl signs up for Indian BB sales centre


Frank
25-11-2003, 12:33
TMCnet.com 20:56 24-Nov-03
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2003/Nov/1021507.htm


Allserve Systems Signs $29 million Contract with NTL U.K

<snip>

NTL has signed a 3 year deal with Allserve systems to sell their internet based services †“ This project will be executed from Allserve Systems new solution centre located at Gurgaon, near New Delhi India which was inaugurated by NTL Managing Director Mike Bandeira on 13 November2003. Speaking on the occasion the NTL Sales Director Mr. Mike Thomas "announced the contract being awardedââ‚à ‚¬Ã‚.

This contract will be executed starting with 150 customer support executives with potential to grow to 500 plus. "We are very pleased that NTL has selected us to sell their products. Allserve's ability to provide world class customised services with consistency and cost saving method will be implemented". Mr Rajesh Gupta CEO Allserve Systems (India) Limited.said.


Good news yesterday then. ntl now have (or will shortly) 150 Indian call centre bods doing outgoing broadband sales calls to consumers in the UK. Seems rather unfair to me, seeing as ntl are making 2000 redundancies over the next couple of years.

Chris
25-11-2003, 12:44
Great, they're employing people to make outbound sales calls while established customers are left queueing to talk to CS. Good to see them getting their priorities right. :rolleyes:

Enterian
25-11-2003, 13:00
Fairly typical cost-cutting excercise, everyone's doing it, my employer included - they can pay Indian staff a fraction of what they pay UK staff.

Florence
25-11-2003, 13:03
Only one big problem the more they lay off british workers and jobs dry up why would we want NTL BB if we can't pay the bill.

Edited to add

Perhaps NTL management has been taken over by relations of these companies that are winning these contracts. Just a thought!! I have many Indian friends and know of how they support their own in India even to sending money out through alternative paths.
Looking at the NTL managers name made me think if their family originally came from India. Could there be something here that needs looking into by Parliament.

This is only my personal thoughts on this subject so IMPO I think this should be checked by the powers that be to see if there is anything going on that needs stamping out now...

paulyoung666
25-11-2003, 14:11
slightly unrelated to this but , i had a call yesterday from an ' indian ' sort of person asking me if i wanted a loan , well after a bout 5 mins i found out that was what she was asking me , im not being racist about this but 5 mins just to understand what was being offered , dont seem right to me somehow , and all in the name of cost saving :afire: :afire: :afire: :afire: :afire: :afire:

th'engineer
25-11-2003, 14:33
Bet its a new product not Cable Modems.

Mike Bandeira NTL FREEDOM could it be another form of BB

Neil
25-11-2003, 15:08
Bet its a new product not Cable Modems.

Mike Bandeira NTL FREEDOM could it be another form of BB

My money would be on this being a call centre for the 'offnet' ADSL product that ntl are wanting to launch in the new year.

th'engineer
25-11-2003, 15:15
Quite agree with you on that one did hear this rumoured a few months ago.
Just think in a few months time we might be able to get BB in a box ADSL from NTL ( or BB in a Bhaji ).:rofl:
We will then be able to get rid of the STB or SACM bet it will be cheaper than the compdeitors including NTL Home. Knowing NTL they will end up signing up Cable Modem users or STB users

gary_580
25-11-2003, 15:21
Only one big problem the more they lay off british workers and jobs dry up why would we want NTL BB if we can't pay the bill.

Edited to add

Perhaps NTL management has been taken over by relations of these companies that are winning these contracts. Just a thought!! I have many Indian friends and know of how they support their own in India even to sending money out through alternative paths.
Looking at the NTL managers name made me think if their family originally came from India. Could there be something here that needs looking into by Parliament.

This is only my personal thoughts on this subject so IMPO I think this should be checked by the powers that be to see if there is anything going on that needs stamping out now...

When i read the story i thought the same,

no jobs then we cant buy it

and wow that guy sounds like he's indian too!!

im not being racist either but what is going to happen when you ask the questions like, where will the cables go, will they drill holes in the brickwork, can i have the cable routed in my attic!!

th'engineer
25-11-2003, 15:28
I can assure that Mike Bandeira is english understand he is EX BT. So probably following BTs example. Related Thread the BT connection (http://forum.nthellworld.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4041)

Florence
26-11-2003, 03:11
I can assure that Mike Bandeira is english understand he is EX BT. So probably following BTs example. Related Thread the BT connection (http://forum.nthellworld.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4041)

Thank you the'engineer for correcting me as I had never met the man I didn't know. Just wish he would give the British a chance to keep things in the country.
Lets hope it all keeps fine for them can see many problems arising from this. Not sure how the British racialism policy holds with overseas workers only I do know there are many that are racialist and they will cause trouble where they can.

Lord Nikon
26-11-2003, 05:59
[edit] insensitive of me and misrepresented the point I was trying to make.

OK

NTL introduced a cap due to network congestion, now they are setting up a sales office to sell subscriptions to an already oversubscribed network?

Surely they should DEAL with the issues they ALREADY have? Oversubscribed UBRs, network outages, DNS servers that don't work, failing email servers and news servers that don't serve news!!!

th'engineer
26-11-2003, 07:51
[edit] insensitive of me and misrepresented the point I was trying to make.

OK

NTL introduced a cap due to network congestion, now they are setting up a sales office to sell subscriptions to an already oversubscribed network?

Surely they should DEAL with the issues they ALREADY have? Oversubscribed UBRs, network outages, DNS servers that don't work, failing email servers and news servers that don't serve news!!!I think you will find that it is ADSL they are selling as said before we are talking ex BT here with MIke Banderia probably following BTs lead

erol
26-11-2003, 08:19
Edited to add

Perhaps NTL management has been taken over by relations of these companies that are winning these contracts. Just a thought!! I have many Indian friends and know of how they support their own in India even to sending money out through alternative paths.
Looking at the NTL managers name made me think if their family originally came from India. Could there be something here that needs looking into by Parliament.

This is only my personal thoughts on this subject so IMPO I think this should be checked by the powers that be to see if there is anything going on that needs stamping out now...

I know I said I would not contribute to this site following the 'revelations' made by the 'team'. I know this posts is 'breaking' that pledged but this post by kitty has got me really very very angry. I will soon be gone for good,so bear with me.

First off Kitty there are already laws that prohibit company execs giving jobs / contracts to friends relatives or companies they are assoiated with, when such decisions are not based on a commercial basis. All company directors of a listed company have a legal obligation to look after shareholders interests. Giving a job or contract to a friend, merely because they are your friend and not because it is in the best interests of the company and their shareholders is illegal. NTL has had corporate governance issues in the past and has called in independent investigators to check them out, but at no time did anyone make it an issue of race. To do so is simply disgusting imo. You are basically saying that people with certain ethinc names are more likely to break the law than those with 'British' names. Disgusting.

To suggest that this is what has happened here, based on someones name is _deeply_ offensive. To the indivdual and to the ethinc group you single out. It is also potential libelous. What your are suggesting here would be a serious criminal offence. Did you wonder about this same need for parliament to investigate and 'stamp out' such actions when call centers were moved to wales or scotland? Did you look for execs called Jones or McReady? Why then do you do so when the movement is to India ?

The legal sending of hard earned money to relatives abroad and the illegal granting of jobs / contracts based on ethnic bias and not on commercial sense are _totally_ different things.

I would have reported this post to the mods here, based on it's offensiveness to the indivdual named, to the ethinic group besmirched and based on it's potential libelous nature but let's face it the mods here are unlikely to follow up such a reporting from myself.

Kitty you owe Mike Bandeira an appolgy as do you gary_580.

etccarmageddon
26-11-2003, 09:44
it doesnt seem right that with 2000 jobs are being lost, NTL are now farming out 150 positions to india.

and I think I remember a few months back on .com, an NTL executive pointing out that no jobs have been directly lost to indian call centres?

etccarmageddon
26-11-2003, 09:47
.....Not sure how the British racialism policy holds with overseas workers only I do know there are many that are racialist and they will cause trouble where they can.

not sure what you mean by this comment? you want the Indian call centre workers to be racist and cause trouble?

Florence
26-11-2003, 12:14
not sure what you mean by this comment? you want the Indian call centre workers to be racist and cause trouble?
No I was meaning that I know of a lot of parents at my present place of employment that are very racist and wouldn't know how our laws would work if they gave racist remarks to the overseas call centers.

abailey152
26-11-2003, 13:31
it doesnt seem right that with 2000 jobs are being lost, NTL are now farming out 150 positions to india.

and I think I remember a few months back on .com, an NTL executive pointing out that no jobs have been directly lost to indian call centres?


I think this is another example of the sad state of affairs in this country, where jobs in these call centres, and manufacturing are being exported just to expand the wallets of the already rich. NTL are the latest in a long list.

I think all these companies should be hit with punitive duties if they move abroad (i.e. outside the EU) and then import their goods and services back into this country.

:afire:

Florence
26-11-2003, 13:41
I think this is another example of the sad state of affairs in this country, where jobs in these call centres, and manufacturing are being exported just to expand the wallets of the already rich. NTL are the latest in a long list.

I think all these companies should be hit with punitive duties if they move abroad (i.e. outside the EU) and then import their goods and services back into this country.

:afire:
True it should come under the import/export duty and they should pay a tax on the amount of money they send out to pay the wages and another tax on the amount oif money the call center brings into the coutry in orders.

Escapee
26-11-2003, 13:51
it doesnt seem right that with 2000 jobs are being lost, NTL are now farming out 150 positions to india.

and I think I remember a few months back on .com, an NTL executive pointing out that no jobs have been directly lost to indian call centres?


Yes etccarmageddon and they have saved themselves some flak over that now that .com is closed!

I guess now could be a good time to broadcast some bad news, just like that MP said! :rolleyes:

etccarmageddon
26-11-2003, 13:59
it doesnt need to be buried though cos it's now acceptable to do this.... first it was acceptable to export jobs and now it's acceptable to export jobs whilst at the same time announce redundances in the uk.

acceptable meaning it isnt going challenged.

greencreeper
26-11-2003, 17:22
My Dad gets what amounts to harrassing phone calls from a chinese woman that he can't understand. She can't even pronounce his surname correctly, which infuriates him. If UK companies want to use foreign workers whose english is poor at best then so be it - can't see them making many sales though. Then there's the lack of knowledge of local customs and dialects...

paulyoung666
26-11-2003, 17:27
My Dad gets what amounts to harrassing phone calls from a chinese woman that he can't understand. She can't even pronounce his surname correctly, which infuriates him. If UK companies want to use foreign workers whose english is poor at best then so be it - can't see them making many sales though. Then there's the lack of knowledge of local customs and dialects...


exactly my point as in post #5 , it does me head in when they cant even pronounce your name properly :afire: :afire: :afire: :afire:

oh and btw welcome to the site :)

abailey152
26-11-2003, 17:56
exactly my point as in post #5 , it does me head in when they cant even pronounce your name properly :afire: :afire: :afire: :afire:



Yeah, tell me about it! I've just had about a dozen calls from about 3 different people in an Indian call centre trying to sell me a T-Mobile phone, despite the fact I told them I wasn't interested. Then shouted that I wasn't interested. Finally started just hanging up. Then they got the message.

I've even got anonymous call blocking and they get around that and leave no trace!!! :shrug:

erol
26-11-2003, 18:34
True it should come under the import/export duty and they should pay a tax on the amount of money they send out to pay the wages and another tax on the amount oif money the call center brings into the coutry in orders.

So you would want to start a trade war with India? If we were to impose tarrifs on them, why would or should they not respond by imposing tarrifs on the UK?

Do you have any idea of the 'figures' involved here? Do you have any idea how many jobs in the 'defense industry' alone would be lost in th UK by such actions?

Some figures for 2000

Trade in good's in billions £ sterling

Trade from UK to India - 2.056 (that 2 trillion pounds sterling!)
Trade from India to UK - 1.712

Trade in Services

Trade from UK to India - 545
Trade from India to UK - 557

So you would want to start a trade war and put all the jobs, UK and India, that these multi trillion pound trades represent ? Ridiculous!

(source of figures http://www.indobritish.org/achievement.htm for more figures try http://www.ukinindia.com/business/indobritish/indobritish.asp )

paulyoung666
26-11-2003, 18:48
it still annoys me that we have people capable of doing the job in this country yet these jobs are sourced out to other countries because they are cheaper :afire: , is this not exploitation of developing countries ????????????

abailey152
26-11-2003, 19:17
So you would want to start a trade war with India? If we were to impose tarrifs on them, why would or should they not respond by imposing tarrifs on the UK?



This is not about trade with India. This is UK companies who MOVE their operation to India, but then expect to continue to sell their goods and services back into the UK as if nothing has changed.

This would not result in a "Trade War" as it would not affect indigenous foreign companies, only UK companies who move outside the EU just to use cheap labour.

Expanding abroad to open up new markets is one thing, but this is an entirely different matter.

What would you suggest? Do nothing? Massive pay cuts in order to compete with cheap foreign labour? I doubt if this sort of thing would be allowed to continue unchecked in many other countries.

erol
26-11-2003, 19:36
This is not about trade with India. This is UK companies who MOVE their operation to India, but then expect to continue to sell their goods and services back into the UK as if nothing has changed.


The figures listed show trade in good and trade in services. The outsourcing of a call centre is a trade in services.

If we are to put tarrifs on UK companies outsourcing jobs to India why should they or would they not put a similar tarrif on the services that are outsoruced from India to the UK?


What would you suggest? Do nothing? Massive pay cuts in order to compete with cheap foreign labour? I doubt if this sort of thing would be allowed to continue unchecked in many other countries.

I suggest nothing in the way of 'solutions'. I merely contributed to this thread to point originaly how offensive and potentialy libelous Kittys comments were, re Mike Banderia, and then to point out how uninformed her comments on tarriff duties on the outsourcing service jobs (trade!) was. Thats all. The fact remains that _trillions_ of pounds worth of trade go on between India and the UK, in both directions. How starting to slap tariffs on such trade is benefical to anyone or UK jobs in particular I do not know.

Sociable
26-11-2003, 20:20
LOL No wonder I did't get the simple statement from NTL about future plans for Out-Sourced Call Centres when this beast first reared its head.

Oh well nothing new there. :rofl:

Can't help noticing it's only the sales lines so far and wondering if this partly a way to get round the new regulations covering the "Telephone Preference Service" as the overseas centres would be beyond their scope I think.

abailey152
26-11-2003, 20:35
The figures listed show trade in good and trade in services. The outsourcing of a call centre is a trade in services.

If we are to put tarrifs on UK companies outsourcing jobs to India why should they or would they not put a similar tarrif on the services that are outsoruced from India to the UK?


I would suggest that NO Indian companies have ever moved to the UK in search of cheaper labour, only to then re-supply to India. Maybe UK companies have closed their offices in India, but that is a whole different issue.

How many of the Japanese car manufacturers which set up in the UK, re-import back into Japan, for example? Not many, I guess. Most of their output is for the EU.

We all know why UK companies are moving their activities abroad. It's about cheaper labour, and making more profits at the expense of the work force who helped build them up in the first place. It's about making a "quick buck". Import duties on this kind of action only, would make them think twice. Maybe save some UK jobs.

As I said earlier, expanding your markets abroad is a good idea. It makes you stronger, and usually provides welcome jobs in the country you set up in, but this is different.

I'm sorry, but the idea of trade in my eyes does not include export of jobs to another country. A trade in services should be where NEW or extra services are required, and they are supplied by companies in another country.

This is like sacking 150 people on £5 an hour, and setting on 200 at 20p per hour. It would be illegal if done internally (in this country), and should be prevented from happening in this way.


....And Kitty's libelous comments....where???

erol
26-11-2003, 21:36
....And Kitty's libelous comments....where???

Suggesting that an NTL executive has broken the law and failed to perform his legal duty to shreholders, by awarding contracts to 'favourites' is potentialy libelous if this is not the case. To suggest such based on the sole 'evidence' of the contract going to India and the exec having a 'foreign' sounding name is not just potentialy libelous, it is deeply offensive imo.

For the record this is not the only deeply offensive and uninformed statement made by kitty in reagrd to 'foriegners' (muslims in ths other example), see here
http://forum.nthellworld.co.uk/showthread.php?p=86898#post86898. A post I might add that I reported to the admins / mods here, not that that will do any good of course.

abailey152
26-11-2003, 22:00
Suggesting that an NTL executive has broken the law and failed to perform his legal duty to shreholders, by awarding contracts to 'favourites' is potentialy libelous if this is not the case. To suggest such based on the sole 'evidence' of the contract going to India and the exec having a 'foreign' sounding name is not just potentialy libelous, it is deeply offensive imo.



Mmm. I agree with you, perhaps Kitty's comments weren't the best comments to make.

I personally do not think this contract going to a company in India is anything underhand/illegal or to do with anyone with a "foreign" sounding name. That is silly.

It's about greed, pure and simple. And NTL are not alone in doing this. Unfortunately, it is currently allowed. I believe it should not be, or at least the company doing this should be hit in the pocket in an attempt to dissuade it.

If NTL (and others) were not making UK call centre staff redundant, it wouldn't be an issue.

jagster
27-11-2003, 11:47
exactly my point as in post #5 , it does me head in when they cant even pronounce your name properly :afire: :afire: :afire: :afire:

oh and btw welcome to the site :)

Well the majority of English call-center calls can't pronounce/spell my name. I assume that as its an Asian name they immediately think it must be hard to pronounce/spell. Now that really hacks ME off but I don't have the same deepfelt hatred as seems to be the case here.

Just put up with it, I have to.

paulyoung666
27-11-2003, 12:02
Well the majority of English call-center calls can't pronounce/spell my name. I assume that as its an Asian name they immediately think it must be hard to pronounce/spell. Now that really hacks ME off but I don't have the same deepfelt hatred as seems to be the case here.

Just put up with it, I have to.


deep felt hatred , so you are saying i am racist ???????????? , :nono: :nono: , it just annoys me that is all , the same way as if an english person misspells my name it annoys me that doesnt mean i am racist either :afire: :afire: :afire:

jagster
27-11-2003, 12:08
But I bet it annoys you more that the Indian call center mispronounces it? Not saying you are racist at all but if it annoys you when both English/Indian people misspell your name then why bring this particular point up in this particular thread?

paulyoung666
27-11-2003, 12:34
But I bet it annoys you more that the Indian call center mispronounces it? Not saying you are racist at all but if it annoys you when both English/Indian people misspell your name then why bring this particular point up in this particular thread?



i brought it up because it annoys me that this is going on when there are plenty of perfectly good people who can do the job in this country but because a company sees the need to save money they go and exploit a 3rd world country to suit themselves , and are you sure you are not saying i am being racist ?????????? , anyway it is my point only at the end of the day :Peace:

jagster
27-11-2003, 13:42
Fairy muff. No argument on that point at all. And I wasn't directly saying you were racist ;)

paulyoung666
27-11-2003, 13:59
Fairy muff. No argument on that point at all. And I wasn't directly saying you were racist ;)


s'ok :)

zovat
27-11-2003, 14:34
Mmm. I agree with you, perhaps Kitty's comments weren't the best comments to make.

I personally do not think this contract going to a company in India is anything underhand/illegal or to do with anyone with a "foreign" sounding name. That is silly.


Agreed - this is about NTL saving money, not about ANYTHING else...


It's about greed, pure and simple. And NTL are not alone in doing this. Unfortunately, it is currently allowed. I believe it should not be, or at least the company doing this should be hit in the pocket in an attempt to dissuade it.

If NTL (and others) were not making UK call centre staff redundant, it wouldn't be an issue.

Again - agreed.

This would appear to be a sales team, rather that a support centre - however the timing of the annopuncement is rather poor - even by NTL standards... ;)

:notopic:
Jut to comment on the earlier "discussion", it is hard to discuss anything that involves outsourcing to foreign companies without some comments appearing to be of a racist nature, in 99% of the cases (IMHO) this is purely due to a minor misinterpretation, and should be checked before going into a flame war... :angel:

ok - preaching over - back to the grindstone for me. ;)

paulyoung666
27-11-2003, 14:42
Agreed - this is about NTL saving money, not about ANYTHING else...



Again - agreed.

This would appear to be a sales team, rather that a support centre - however the timing of the annopuncement is rather poor - even by NTL standards... ;)

:notopic:
Jut to comment on the earlier "discussion", it is hard to discuss anything that involves outsourcing to foreign companies without some comments appearing to be of a racist nature, in 99% of the cases (IMHO) this is purely due to a minor misinterpretation, and should be checked before going into a flame war... :angel:

ok - preaching over - back to the grindstone for me. ;)


it stopped short of a flame war , as you say a misinterpretation :) , anyway i agree with you about it being 'greed' on the part of the company/s :afire: :afire:

jagster
27-11-2003, 14:47
Flame war? I hadn't even warmed up :)

zovat
27-11-2003, 14:55
Flame war? I hadn't even warmed up :)


now now - play nicely : :nono:

:LOL:

Shaun
30-11-2003, 18:28
Do you think reading this (http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/51/34189.html) will make them change their mind.

Credit where credits due, Dell have listened to their customers and taken a U turn away from Indian call centres!!! YAY :waving: :waving: :waving: :waving:

Florence
30-11-2003, 18:43
Do you think reading this (http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/51/34189.html) will make them change their mind.

Credit where credits due, Dell have listened to their customers and taken a U turn away from Indian call centres!!! YAY :waving: :waving: :waving: :waving:

Should be all countries have call centers in house in their own countires. I would never buy a Dell computer to have sipport from India. As I will not renew the AA if their call center is in India....

-

Graham F
30-11-2003, 19:40
Should be all countries have call centers in house in their own countires. I would never buy a Dell computer to have sipport from India. As I will not renew the AA if their call center is in India....

-

That seems to be a very naive point of view Kitty - I have no doubt that you wear and own plenty of things that have been made 'on the cheap' in 3rd world countries and I also have no doubt that you are not as opinionated about this.

Lets face facts here, if a company can get an equally as good product from a different country at less than half the cost who isn't going to take it up? The fact that alot of the workers in the indian call centres are very well educated certainly helps make their product very appealing to most!

ThePinkRat
30-11-2003, 21:14
Welcome to capitalism, boys and girls!

abailey152
30-11-2003, 21:29
That seems to be a very naive point of view Kitty - I have no doubt that you wear and own plenty of things that have been made 'on the cheap' in 3rd world countries and I also have no doubt that you are not as opinionated about this.
As I see it, buying a product made in somewhere like India is one thing. But having support for a product sourced there is a different matter.

I find that phone support is bad enough when it is 50 miles down the road, but when it's the other side of the world.....eeek! :eeek:

I guess it would be exactly the same the other way round. No, there's nothing like having support which is accessible locally, wherever you live, and I've found that in the most part that the further it is away, the worse it gets. There are exceptions, but they are definitely in the minority.

Personally, I'd rather pay a little more for an item, knowing that I can get support locally, than source it cheaper, miles away and pay later when something goes wrong.

Anyway, I don't think this call centre is for support. I believe it is for sales, which is a slightly different matter. I guess it isn't quite as important where the sales centre is, unless it needs to deal with variable cicumstances and local customs. Then it would be a disaster not to have it locally.

Lets face facts here, if a company can get an equally as good product from a different country at less than half the cost who isn't going to take it up? The fact that alot of the workers in the indian call centres are very well educated certainly helps make their product very appealing to most!
A call centre is a SERVICE, not a product. A slight distinction, but an important one nevertheless. I would apply different rules to manufactured goods, than I would to services. Like you say, a lot of goods are made in 3rd world countries, even for major brand names. However, I think most services tend to be handled locally, for all the reasons detailed above.

Florence
30-11-2003, 21:56
As I see it, buying a product made in somewhere like India is one thing. But having support for a product sourced there is a different matter.

I find that phone support is bad enough when it is 50 miles down the road, but when it's the other side of the world.....eeek! :eeek:

I guess it would be exactly the same the other way round. No, there's nothing like having support which is accessible locally, wherever you live, and I've found that in the most part that the further it is away, the worse it gets. There are exceptions, but they are definitely in the minority.

Personally, I'd rather pay a little more for an item, knowing that I can get support locally, than source it cheaper, miles away and pay later when something goes wrong.

Anyway, I don't think this call centre is for support. I believe it is for sales, which is a slightly different matter. I guess it isn't quite as important where the sales centre is, unless it needs to deal with variable cicumstances and local customs. Then it would be a disaster not to have it locally.


A call centre is a SERVICE, not a product. A slight distinction, but an important one nevertheless. I would apply different rules to manufactured goods, than I would to services. Like you say, a lot of goods are made in 3rd world countries, even for major brand names. However, I think most services tend to be handled locally, for all the reasons detailed above.

Agreed I reqally think people need to realise we are talking about services. What would their feelings be if the councils outsourced to india so everytime they had a problem with the council tax/ refuse collection you had to go through India.. :shrug:

Services should stay home manufacturing you have a choice. The product says where its manufactored and you buy it if you want or pay more for local manufactured products..

As for the call center being for sales some of the staff being made redundant could have filled those posts and been in work. Also as BT line customers have been forced to use Indian call centers for a long while now that is what they are trying to get away from... Do you think they are going to order BB of these same indian call centers when there are loads of smaller ISPs that keep the call centers in the U.K....
:shrug:

huxleypiguk
30-11-2003, 23:03
Agreed I reqally think people need to realise we are talking about services. What would their feelings be if the councils outsourced to india so everytime they had a problem with the council tax/ refuse collection you had to go through India.. :shrug:


But how would you know ? If they were trained enough you couldn't tell !


As for the call center being for sales some of the staff being made redundant could have filled those posts and been in work. Also as BT line customers have been forced to use Indian call centers for a long while now that is what they are trying to get away from... Do you think they are going to order BB of these same indian call centers when there are loads of smaller ISPs that keep the call centers in the U.K....
:shrug:

OK, lets knock the door and talk to Ronnie Real. The fact is that there are shed loads of jobs out there right now and companies are having serious problems recruiting. A lot of people join, get trained and then leave centres in very short spaces of time, the turnover is very high and the commitment is very low.

In Indian, Dominica, Malaysia, etc, the level of commitment is much much higher and staff retention is also high.

Add to that the cost of setting up and running a centre, its no wonder that India looks attractive.

Frankly most people don't actually give a damm where their service is as long as they can get through and get an answer !

Florence
30-11-2003, 23:12
But how would you know ? If they were trained enough you couldn't tell !



OK, lets knock the door and talk to Ronnie Real. The fact is that there are shed loads of jobs out there right now and companies are having serious problems recruiting. A lot of people join, get trained and then leave centres in very short spaces of time, the turnover is very high and the commitment is very low.

In Indian, Dominica, Malaysia, etc, the level of commitment is much much higher and staff retention is also high.

Add to that the cost of setting up and running a centre, its no wonder that India looks attractive.

Frankly most people don't actually give a damm where their service is as long as they can get through and get an answer !
That is the problem the BT customers are not getting the answers, They are having problems understanding the accents and if the person is from Scotland they have been getting told to call back as the support staff cannot understand them..

abailey152
30-11-2003, 23:33
But how would you know ? If they were trained enough you couldn't tell !And how many Indian call centres have you dealt with, where you find them trained to the point you can't tell where they are from? Local customs and events are a giveaway. Call Centre staff are not trained to the degree you describe. They simply cannot understand problems encountered at a local level. Anyone in this country would not understand local issues in India, so how could it be different the other way round?

This is not a matter of intelligence, or saying we are better or anything like that. It's just that local customs and events are generally neither known about, nor understood by outsiders.

And the point is, where support or backup is concerned (as in the example of a local council), ultimately WE are paying for this. Ideally, we all want problems sorted with the minimum of hassle, and for that to happen, we need to be talking to someone who has some experiance and knowledge of the issues, not just someone who has been on a course or seminar.

OK, lets knock the door and talk to Ronnie Real. The fact is that there are shed loads of jobs out there right now and companies are having serious problems recruiting. A lot of people join, get trained and then leave centres in very short spaces of time, the turnover is very high and the commitment is very low. Shed loads of jobs, eh? I suggest you come to Stoke. I think you'll find reality a bit different.

And turnover of staff may be high, because call centres (especially support centres) are usually given a such a low priority by companies here, that they pay the bottom rate and give the staff little support. If they gave customer support a higher profile, perhaps things would be better? I find a lot of UK companies put such a lot of effort in sales, but sod all into support. Result = a lot of one time only buyers. My experience with US companies is the other way round. They have tended to provide good backup and support, so I keep using them.

Frankly most people don't actually give a damm where their service is as long as they can get through and get an answer !I agree, that's the key, isn't it? Getting an answer or result. In my experience, in a lot of cases, distant call centres fail to provide the result I want.

Shaun
01-12-2003, 00:15
A lot of people join, get trained and then leave centres in very short spaces of time, the turnover is very high and the commitment is very low.

But you have to ask why retention is so bad, its because the targets are usually too high and the company treat the call centre staff with utter contempt.

I've worked in several call centres and I can tell you they are horrid places to work, most (not all) company's aren't that bothered about their call centre turn over, they don't care because there are others waiting to walk in where others have walked out.

Frankly most people don't actually give a damm where their service is as long as they can get through and get an answer !


I think your wrong there, most DO care that they are speaking with someone on the other side of the world who has little or no knowledge of the product they are supporting.

I rang Dell on a support matter and got through to India, the guy I spoke with couldn't understand what I was asking because it wasn't on his script. Then when I asked for a UK (or Ireland) number for Dell he put me through to his "supervisor" who cut me off when I said that I wanted to speak with someone who could understand what the problem was with my computer.

In the end I rang the Ireland sales number and the guy who sold me the computer put me through to a support guy in Ireland who diagnosed my problem and sorted it.

He also said that he would pass my comments on about my Indian call centre experience, and obviously Dell management have acted on mine and other's. Some how I really don't think that Ntl would, do you??

carlingman
01-12-2003, 01:40
I think the exporting of jobs from this country of ours is merely down to the fact of the government providing such a cushty option for the people that do not want to work.

The average working person who have worked for long periods of their life and foolishly bought their own property and then due to no fault of their own endure a period of unemployment gets nothing from the state only a meagre amount to live on.

On the reverse side the benefits offered to those who have lived off the state and are in council or rented property come out on top every time.

The issue of Call Centres moving abroad for cheap labour is nothing compared to the scandalous wages that others endure.

If a Call Centre moves abroad there is usually uproar as this thread has proved with insinuations of they are taking British Jobs etc.

You have an option if you feel that strongly do not use them and boycott them.

However I donââ‚ ¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢t see people refraining from eating Chocolate or drinking coffee because of the scandalous measures these firms use.

The answer is simple and is because the market is there for it and not many have bothered to question the ethics behind it.

Take for example coffee and chocolate you don't know for sure which country the cocoa comes from.

Chances are though it is more than likely it will be The Ivory Coast which makes at least half of the world's cocoa.

We spend 4 billion a year on chocolate and not one of the manufacturers are prepared to discuss the issue of child labour.

Instead they come out with some crap that by 2005 we should be guaranteed that our chocolate is not produced with child slave labour by way of some protocol they have signed which doesnÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šà ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢t exist.

A BBC reporter summed it up quite recently when he went looking for such evidence of child labour saying within 30 minutes he found them wearing grubby clothing and carrying machetes with the oldest being 13 and the younger ones in the group didnâ₠¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢t even know their age hinting they maybe as young as 6 or 7.

As the journalist was talking to them their boss turned on a bike looking for them and he was only 15 himself.

All of these kids were passed between coffee and cocoa farms depending on seasons and paid an equivalent of £1 per day between the 10 of them.

A reasonable wage not for the hot and tiring work of being bent over in a field all day picking.

**** like this happens and still goes on but at the end of the day will people stop dialling these call centres or stop eating chocolate or drinking coffee.

I think not.

A call centre over in India for example would be a welcome addition to them and more than a likely a nice safe environment to work in and to them good money regardless of our ethics.

We live the life of luxury here compared to some of the third world countries.

:)

Escapee
01-12-2003, 19:48
But you have to ask why retention is so bad, its because the targets are usually too high and the company treat the call centre staff with utter contempt.

I've worked in several call centres and I can tell you they are horrid places to work, most (not all) company's aren't that bothered about their call centre turn over, they don't care because there are others waiting to walk in where others have walked out.




I think your wrong there, most DO care that they are speaking with someone on the other side of the world who has little or no knowledge of the product they are supporting.

I rang Dell on a support matter and got through to India, the guy I spoke with couldn't understand what I was asking because it wasn't on his script. Then when I asked for a UK (or Ireland) number for Dell he put me through to his "supervisor" who cut me off when I said that I wanted to speak with someone who could understand what the problem was with my computer.

In the end I rang the Ireland sales number and the guy who sold me the computer put me through to a support guy in Ireland who diagnosed my problem and sorted it.

He also said that he would pass my comments on about my Indian call centre experience, and obviously Dell management have acted on mine and other's. Some how I really don't think that Ntl would, do you??

you obviously have knowledge of working for call centres where I dont have that experience, I am amazed that they so easily cope with the turnover of employees as they do. I know ntl had a very bad attitude towards staff turnover and when a very senior person was asked they said "there are plenty more people out there" In this instance they were answering a question about a big turnover of engineers, the management also thought that skilled engineers would be queing up at the door as quick as they pi**ed people off into leaving. This is not the case because it's allways better to keep good skilled people than waste money finding and training new ones.

People may say there are plenty of jobs out there, but the company that I am currently working for are having a terrible job finding suitable people to employ.
There is another load of jobs posted on the board again last week due to expansion, unfortunately they have just starved all the resources in the local are and have been looking further afield to get people to re-locate in the area for some time.

Yes, I think there are still many jobs I will agree but the big problem is matching jobs to skills. Just ask all the engineers with SDH experience how rosey it's been looking for them over the last 2 years, even the sought after cisco trained people are probably finding it difficult in an industry that became over supplied with these skills.

I am working with someone who has recently spent 6 weeks having problems with the Dell Indian callcentre, he was promised next day delivery for a new laptop and spent nearly 6 weeks getting it cancelled only for it to turn up 2 days later. He also had to speak to Ireland in the end to get some sense!

Enterian
02-12-2003, 15:21
Oh no - now it seems my employers are jumping on the band-wagon!

And they're not stopping at call centre staff either, they're talking about IT staff too - Nice Christmas I'm gonna have!

Florence
02-12-2003, 16:22
Oh no - now it seems my employers are jumping on the band-wagon!

And they're not stopping at call centre staff either, they're talking about IT staff too - Nice Christmas I'm gonna have!

Maybe you should direct your employers to threads like this where customers feel strongly enough to stop using the company if they are using Indian call centers.

Enterian
02-12-2003, 16:27
I doubt they'd listen, profit now seems to be the overriding motive.

Florence
02-12-2003, 16:55
I doubt they'd listen, profit now seems to be the overriding motive.
What profit will they have if they have no customers? If customers call for help can't understand the help they don;t recomend them to others profit is lost.

Enterian
02-12-2003, 17:29
I agree, but unfortunately all they seem to focus on is the next quarter's profits, the long term effects seem to be completely ignored.

Florence
02-12-2003, 17:31
I agree, but unfortunately all they seem to focus on is the next quarter's profits, the long term effects seem to be completely ignored.
the words in that song comes to mind here "" and anorther one bites the dust""

Shortsighted Bosses who will milk the profits dry then close and move on to do the same to another comapny..

abailey152
03-12-2003, 00:21
I agree, but unfortunately all they seem to focus on is the next quarter's profits, the long term effects seem to be completely ignored.
Yes, most companies follow a similar line in BS. The directors and management talk it so much that they actually believe it now.

Welcome to the era where a new corporate logo, or a "mission statement" is way more important than actually getting the job done, and supporting your customers and staff.

Aaarrrrgggghhh!!!! :grind:

DrAwesome
04-12-2003, 11:09
TMCnet.com 20:56 24-Nov-03
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2003/Nov/1021507.htm


Good news yesterday then. ntl now have (or will shortly) 150 Indian call centre bods doing outgoing broadband sales calls to consumers in the UK. Seems rather unfair to me, seeing as ntl are making 2000 redundancies over the next couple of years.

NTL cutting jobs again and the UK to save money.. to save even more money NTL should have considered moving their call centres to Iraq apart from the high fatalities the cost of wages paid out (a few goats, chickens) would be alot cheaper than paying someone in India.

What a PR stunt if NTL decided to cable up Iraq

abailey152
05-12-2003, 00:22
What a PR stunt if NTL decided to cable up Iraq
I bet it would be more reliable than the setup here. Afterall, could it be worse?

;)

themelon
07-12-2003, 00:37
As with most things British....

Our telecommunications Network used to be the best in the world....now its falling apart at the seams. Soon when the rest of the world is running 10Mb + Cable networks, we will be surfing at hideously slow speeds on our cheap as chips cable network, and archaic GPO network probably only ever capable of 8mb* max** (theoretically) (*subject to availability, must be 5km from a BT exchange) (**must live in an area with more than 250 inhabitants)

poolking
07-12-2003, 00:47
Sounds like a network put together by Blue Peter. :D

Chrysalis
11-12-2003, 23:41
ok here is my view of things

To say there is plenty of jobs out there is a false statement, there are black hole employment area's in part of the country, eg. where I live (leicester) unemployment is double of derby and nottingham and it is also rising, there are call centre jobs but they are been very fussy (min 6 month experience).

Alot of call centres in the uk were setup in high unemployment areas where past industries failed and were subidised by the government to help create jobs, this is another thing people seem to forget but of course now these same area's are going to suffer because of the companies greed.

In the short term there will be increased profits, in the long term I see a recession as there is too many companies doing the same thing, you cannot maintain turnover if the number of people working is diminishing its a fact. There should be some sort of tax on exporting jobs out to other countries.

Unfortanetly everything about the uk is short term gains now, government only sees ahead to next election, companies look for short term profits, its the result of a fragile market.

abailey152
12-12-2003, 00:40
ok here is my view of things

To say there is plenty of jobs out there is a false statement, there are black hole employment area's in part of the country, eg. where I live (leicester) unemployment is double of derby and nottingham and it is also rising, there are call centre jobs but they are been very fussy (min 6 month experience).

Alot of call centres in the uk were setup in high unemployment areas where past industries failed and were subidised by the government to help create jobs, this is another thing people seem to forget but of course now these same area's are going to suffer because of the companies greed.

In the short term there will be increased profits, in the long term I see a recession as there is too many companies doing the same thing, you cannot maintain turnover if the number of people working is diminishing its a fact. There should be some sort of tax on exporting jobs out to other countries.

Unfortanetly everything about the uk is short term gains now, government only sees ahead to next election, companies look for short term profits, its the result of a fragile market.
DITTO!

SweetFA
16-12-2003, 13:11
some of NTLs Indian callcentres also take Freedom tech support calls.

Just informing ya!

Traffic
17-12-2003, 23:23
I would suggest that NO Indian companies have ever moved to the UK in search of cheaper labour, only to then re-supply to India.

....And Kitty's libelous comments....where???
sorry for the late input but; will someone tell Erol to shut up, stop misquoting and go home. Never read someone totally wrong before?:(

:angel:

erol
18-12-2003, 00:48
sorry for the late input but; will someone tell Erol to shut up, stop misquoting and go home. Never read someone totally wrong before?:(

:angel:

Hey what a great first post (welcome to the site btw)

Keep up the good work and who know maybe you will be made a mod soon. Then again who knows maybe you are already a mod ;)

Frank
18-12-2003, 00:59
Shut up Erol, and keep your conspiracy theories to yourself :rolleyes:

erol
18-12-2003, 01:14
and keep your conspiracy theories to yourself :rolleyes:

hey just taking my inspiration from such respected posters as Towny, Neil and yourself :rolleyes:

/me wonders what the reaction to such a first time post reffering to one of the mods / admins in such a way would have been :rolleyes:

keep up the good work :)

Shaun
18-12-2003, 01:20
hey just taking my inspiration from such respected posters as Towny, Neil and yourself :rolleyes:

/me wonders what the reaction to such a first time post reffering to one of the mods / admins in such a way would have been :rolleyes:

keep up the good work :)

Obviously the poster has been reading your previous contributions.

I guess if they continue to contribute such inspiring thoughts then they will be up there with Towny, Neil or indeed me! :zzz: :zzz: :zzz:

Frank
18-12-2003, 02:46
Yes I'm getting quite bored of Erol too.

seaneeboy
22-06-2004, 11:30
http://www.cashncarrion.co.uk/?listPos=&productID=105&search=&op=catalogue-product_info-null&prodCategoryID=5

Get 'em while they last!

secular
22-06-2004, 13:15
£20 says I know where that was made ;)

Pea-Pod
22-06-2004, 23:21
There are 325 languages spoken in India in total!!! Agaria, Ahirani, Aimol, Aiton, Anal, Andamanese, Angani, Angika, Ao, Apatani, Arabic, Armenian, Ashing, Assamese, Asuri, Awadhi, Badaga, Baghelkhandi, Bagri, Baigani, Bajania, Balti, Bangni, Banjari, Basturia, Bauria, Bawm, Bazigar Boli, Bengali, Bhanja-bhumia, Bantu, Bharmauri, Bhairi, Bhili, Bhojpuri, Bhotia, Bhuiya, Bhumij, Bhunjia, Biate, Bilaspuri, Birhor, Birjia, Bishnupriya, Bodo, Bokar, Bondo, bori, Braj Bhasha, Brijlal, Bugun, Bundelkhandi, Burmese, Bushari, Chakhesang, Chakma, Chambilai, Chameali, Chang, Changpa, Chattisgarhi, Chikari, Chinali, Chiru, Chote, Churasi, Dalu, Deori, Dhanki, Dhimal, Dhodia, Dhundhari, Didayi, Dimasa, Dingal, Dogri, Dommari, Droskhat/Dokpa, Duhlian-Twang, English, French, Gadaba, Gadiali, Gallong, Gameti, Gamit, Gangte, Garasia, Garhwali, Garo, Giarahi, Gondi, Gujarati, Gujjari, Gurung, Gutob, Hajong, Halam, Halbi, Harauti, Haryanavi, Hebrew, Himachali, Hindi, Hinduri, Hindusthani, Hmar, Ho, Hrusso, Hualngo, Irula, Jabalpuri, Jangali, Jarawa, Jaunsari, Juang, Kabui, Kachanga, Kachari, Kachchi, Kadar, Kagati, Kakbarak, Kanashi, Kangri, Kannada, Karbi, Karen, Karko, Kashmiri, Kathiawari, Khadiboli, Khaka, Khamba, Khampa, Khampti, Khampti-shan, Kharia, Khasi, Khaskura, Khatri, Kherwari, Khiangan, Khorusti, Khotta, Kinnauri, Kiradi, Kisan, Koch, Kodagu, Koi, Koireng, Kokni, Kolami, Kom, Komkar, Konda, Konicha, Konkani, Konyak, Koracha, Koraga, Korava, Korku, Korwa, Kota, Kotwalia, Kudmali, Kui, Kuki, Kulvi, Kumaoni, Kunbi, Kurukh, Kuvi, Ladakhi, Lahauli, Laihawlh, Lakher (Mara), Lalung,Lambani, Lamgang, Laotian, Laria, Lepcha, Limbu, Lisu, Lodha, Lotha, Lushai, Mag, Magahi, Magarkura, Mahal, Maithili, Majhi, Makrani, Malankudi, Malayalam, Malhar, Malto, Malvi, Manchat, Mandiali, Mangari, Mao, Maram, Marathi, Maria, Maring, Marwari, Mavchi, Meitei, Memba, Mewari, Mewati, Milang, Minyong, Miri, Mishing, Mishmi, Mizo, Monpa, Monsang, Moyon, Muduga, Multani, Mundari, Na, Nagari, Nagpuri, Naikadi, Naiki, Nati, Nepali, Nicobarese, Nimari, Nishi, Nocte, Odki, Onge, Oriya, Padam, Pahari, Paharia, Palilibo, Paite, Panchpargania, Pang, Pangi, Pangwali, Parimu, Parji, Paschima, Pasi, Pashto, Pawri, Pengo, Persian, Phom, Pochury, Punchi, Punjabi, Rai (Raikhura), Rajasthani, Ralte, Ramo, Rathi, Rengma, Riang, Sadri, Sajalong, Sambalpuri, Sangtam, Sansi, Santali, Sadra, Saraji, Sarhodi, Saurashtri, Sema, Sentinelese, Shekhawati, Sherdukpen, Sherpa, Shimong, Shina, Shompen, Sikligar, Sindhi, Singpo, Siraji, Sirmauri, Soliga, Sulung, Surajpuri, Tagin, Tai, Tamang, Tamil,Tangam, Tangkhul, Tangsa, Tataotrong, Telugu, Thado, Thar, Tharu, Tibetan, Toda, Toto, Tulu, Urdu, Vaiphel, Varli, Wagri, Wancho, Yereva, Yerukula, Yimchungre, Zakring (Meyer), Zeliang, Zemi, Zou

May come in handy when you calling Customer Service.