Catering to consumers put off by the accents of Bangalore, Manila and other call-center hubs around the globe, Dell is guaranteeing that its customer-service reps will be "based in North America."
Only hitch is that the Your Tech Team service costs $13 a month for customers with a Dell account, or $99 a year for people who buy a new computer. It also promises that wait times will average two
minutes or less, the
Merc-News reports.
The customer satisfaction score for overseas PC call centers is 23% lower than for U.S. call centers, according to CFI Group.
"The customers say, 'The agent just doesn't understand what I'm trying to do,' " says Lyn Kramer, managing director of Kramer and Associates, a call-center consultancy.
Los Angeles Times business columnist David Lazarus has posted a short-but-amusing
video on the topic,
concluding with the following soft rant: "If you don't want to be in business because you don't like your customers, then fine. But the idea of selling you something and turning your back, what's the
deal? And why do we as consumers keep shopping at those places?"
Howard Beall Lazarus ain't, but I get the feeling that a
lot more window sashes are going to be thrown open on this topic.
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