call center

11 Stories

Feds: 400 Grandparents Were Bilked Out of Millions

Accused posed as grandkids in dire straits to swindle unsuspecting seniors

(Newser) - Federal prosecutors have charged 13 Dominican Republic nationals with orchestrating a scheme that defrauded more than 400 American grandparents out of $5 million by pretending to be grandchildren in distress. According to authorities, the suspects operated organized call centers in the Dominican Republic, where English-speaking callers contacted elderly victims—...

Bank Worker's Christmas Eve Kindness Gets Her Canned

Emily James fired from US Bank after giving broke customer $20

(Newser) - One of US Bank's core tenets is "We put people first," but when one of its own senior bankers tried to do just that, she was fired. Emily James tells the Oregonian that on Dec. 23, she was working at the bank's call center in Gresham,...

Many Call Center Workers Are Deported Mexicans

They endure culture shock and wage drop in border towns

(Newser) - That voice on the phone may sound American, but it could be a deported Mexican working at a call center just south of the border. Thousands of Mexicans deported under the Obama administration are working at call centers in border cities like Tijuana, where their good English enables them to...

Your Call Center Helper Might Be an Inmate

Prisoners often staff centers in private and public sector

(Newser) - Talk to any prison inmates lately? The answer might be yes if you've called a call center for help or to register a complaint. MSNBC profiles a little-known but long-running federal program called Unicor under which inmates staff call centers in both the public and private sector. One example:...

Netflix Is Ready for Your Hate
 Netflix Was Ready for Your Hate 
Jul 14, 2011 9:02 AM CDT

Netflix Was Ready for Your Hate

Call centers added employees to prepare for price hike backlash

(Newser) - Well, now we know what a portion of those new, higher Netflix fees could be used for: to pay call center reps to deal with angry customers . Customer service reps have been telling callers that the company not only told them to be ready for a backlash, it hired extra...

Indian Call Centers: How Outsourcing Affects India's Culture
 How Call Centers 
 'De-Indianize' Workers 
OPINION
Jul 10, 2011 4:50 PM CDT

How Call Centers 'De-Indianize' Workers

The allure of wealth drives call-center workers to shed culture

(Newser) - A salary of $5,000 per year may not sound like a lot, but in India, where per-capita income is just $900 per year, such a wage is highly desirable. That's why the systematic outsourcing of many customer service and sales lines to India, where US companies are more...

Call Centers Return to US, With a Twist

More companies hire trained operators to work from home

(Newser) - It’s still not as cheap as outsourcing to India or the Philippines, but US companies are increasingly choosing homegrown telephone operators to handle their customer service needs. The trend is fueled by the advent of “phonesourcing” or “homesourcing,” which uses linkups to allow trained operators to...

Job-Rich N. Dakota Lures the Unemployed

State jobless rate is 4.2%

(Newser) - North Dakota, not usually known for much other than open space, has suddenly become a job-seeker's paradise. The state of just over 640,000 has 9,000 open jobs and employs a recruiter who works full-time to lure workers, the Washington Post reports. "In North Dakota, it is pretty...

Picking Up on Frustration, Call Centers Move Back Home

Dell support defeats language barrier

(Newser) - A new service from computer-maker Dell spotlights a customer-service trend: US-based call centers catering to American consumers. Dell users frustrated by language-barrier-induced difficulties they’ve encountered while on the line to India or the Philippines can pay $12.95 per month, the Washington Post reports, for access to a domestic...

Indian Debt Collectors See US' Dark Side

Outsourced call centers get ring-side seat for economic crash

(Newser) - Most Indian call center employees develop a fairly utopian view of the US, which seems a land of brand-name splendor and plenty. Not so at Aegis BPO Services, a call center specializing in debt collection, where employees are getting an up-close and personal look at the credit crunch. “It’...

Call Centers Go From Booming to Begging

India's maturing economy takes shine off customer-service sector

(Newser) - India's call centers are the classic symbol of how outsourcing has helped the world's second-largest country to boom, but Time reports that the sector is suffering as India grows richer and better educated. College graduates who several years ago aspired to work in a call center now say that the...

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