“Apple Computer’s announcement last week that it plans to open a new call center in Bangalore, India, has stirred the debate, once again, over outsourcing of high tech U.S. jobs. With the move, Apple joins Dell, which last year opened a call center in India amid much criticism, and IBM which is increasingly moving jobs to the subcontinent and has said it may employ as many as 50,000 workers there in the coming years. ‘Apple has gained millions of new customers in the last year and we are building a call center in India to help meet our growing service and support needs,’ said Steve Dowling, an Apple spokesperson,” Gene Koprowski reports for MacNewsWorld.
“Apple tried to put the best face on the project, saying that though it was building a facility in Bangalore in which to locate the call center, it isn’t planning to cut any existing American jobs,” Koprowski reports. “Its U.S.-based call centers in Austin and Sacramento will continue to grow, Apple said, and the Banagalore facility will be staffed by local Apple employees. Apple claims the level of service will be the same as that which is provided by its other call centers. It is expected that Apple will initially have 1,500 people in India, with 3,000 workers by the end of 2007.”
More in the full article here.
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What, is this support center only taking calls for help outside the US?
This tells me one thing…Apple has big plans with the marketing of the new Mac’s
What if Apple decides to sell iPods in India. Who do ya call for support, Apple in Cali?
Jack, I agree. They antiocipate BIG growth, which their gearing up for.
I love this!
I do not like foreign call centers one bit, Sam I Am.
The key is that it will be Apple employees who man the center – not some third party company who makes more money if they get you off the line quickly – not worrying if your problem is solved.
One benefit will be the ability to increase the hours that support is open – might even get 24/7 if things go well.
We’ll see, but I believe Apple will want to hold on to their top rated support for long term marketing.
It won’t cause any job cuts, but it won’t create any more here in the US
So how are we supposed to get money to buy Apple hardware hmmm?
Three shifts at McDonalds?
I can see creating jobs and factories for those people to buy Apple products so they consume what they make.
But to take jobs from here and transfer them there is a whole different matter.
People here need jobs too.
Apple support sucks. Tried to contact them here in Spain for problems with my credit card and the iTMS, eventually I was returned an email in English with the text “sorry we do not provide support in your language”. WTF?
People here also need to get more sophisticated, educated, and savvy. Job pressure of this sort is good in the long run. It lights a fire under the ass and gets people motivated to learn more than just enough to get by.
People discuss the jobs situation in such an emotional way. Nevermind that we’re near historic lows for unemployment.
I have worked in the call center industry for nearly 8 years.
Bottom line: India support people have a very thick accent, which causes frustration for a US caller. Also Indian technitions come off as being very rude to an american even when they are not trying to be.
Phillipines centers can be ran just as cheap and the people there do not have as thick of an accent nor do they come off as rude to the customer.
I’m disappointed in Apple for choosing to source support to India, the call centers in India that I have worked with are a nightmare, poor performance and many langauge barriors. I have good things to say about the Phillipines centers I have delt with.
I don’t like calling India. Whatever they’ll save at their call centers there they’ll spend staffing the genius bars in their stores for the people that won’t call support anymore. I don’t think it will look good to new customers walking into an apple store and seeing a line out the door at the genius bar.
R, it’s just not true that we’re near historical lows for unemployment, unless you actually believe the government figures. But those figures have changed in the past couple of decades to ignore discouraged job-seekers who have given up on finding work. If you take them into account, as we did during the 70’s, the figure goes up to around 12-16% unemployment.
The same kind of cynical chicanery is used to calculate the government’s inflation statistics. They keep the inflation number low with tricks like hedonic pricing and other adjustments, in order to limit the cost of price-of-living adjustments to the sick and elderly.
Spent 4 years at apple call center before moving on. Seen it happen before. Temps everywhere.
Apple may not be “cutting” local jobs, but they are adding jobs with people outside of the US. Rather than pumping the money back into decent salaries for Americans they are using cheap 3rd world labor. Betcha they cut back on new hires in Austin and Sacramento, after the employees from those centers train their replacements.
I deal with Dell support a TON because of work. I hate hate hate there call centers!
John
Si vive en un país, es necesario para aprender el idioma. No es la culpa de Apple en este caso, pero el tuyos.
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Its just another lie, trick and scam that Apple is learning from its new association with the evil, racist, child corrupting, devil worshiping evil enity called Disney Corp. I will never trust anything Apple or SJ says again. Almost $400 for a stupid boom box, $100 for a piece of cow’s ass for an iPod. Where do you think Apple is learning to fleece and butcher the sheep?
maybe you shouldn’t. You’re much too annoying. Whine, whine, whine. If you don’t like a product, don’t buy it.
Now, keep it down. You’ve already filled your quota of stupid statements for the year.
Kate
Ardie – “What if Apple decides to sell iPods in India. Who do ya call for support, Apple in Cali?”
Absolutely!!!!…why is this being lost on everyone else here. Or do people(read some americans) assume that only US is/can/will be the market and the rest of the world are/can/will be only service providers and will never buy apple?
Sort of reminds me of the time when HSBC in UK planned their Shanghai call center, and howls of protests went up. Lost in the debate was the expansion of HSBC, Hong Kong and SHANGHAI Bank.
and….btw, its not just ipods.there are quite a few mac users in India. i’m sure the bangalore center will be a boon to them, Hopefully, an Apple store (as opposed to the current authorised resellers) will be on its way soon.
And besides on another note, wouldnt it be nice for both Americans and Indians to have 24/7 support, which is possible because of the time difference between the 2 countries, so after hours support can be routed nonlocally without extra man hours.
C’mon, even Bushie of all persons can grasp globalisation and the free market which the US hardselled in decades past. The rest, esp MDN users, can surely do better…
just my 2 cents….
Kate,
Take your own advice and ignore me. But I know you can’t because you are a weak minded fool.