Tech Support Backlash

Posted on February 8, 2007

Every time I talk to someone about their computer, they always complain about how they’ve called tech support for something and spoken to those “damn Indians that I can barely understand”. I personally have never had a problem with any tech support I’ve received for my computer from an India-based customer support rep, but I know how frustrated other people have been.

Dell Computer has received a lot of grief from their customers because of their heavy use of outsourced support — which from what I’ve read — has affected their sales. They have, in turn, decided to bring some of their support back to the US. They even highlight it on their web site — as I found out tonight while researching some business laptops for a client:

RoadReady Durability
Advanced Wireless Options
Advanced Security Options
Extended Battery Options
North American based technical support

When my wife and I bought our Gateway desktop, the salesperson told us about the toll number (not toll-free) that we’d have to call for support. I asked her why they made their customers pay for the call. She told me it was so that people like me would actually reach an American who spoke plain English when we called for support. She admitted that they actually have some outsourced support, but she said that it doesn’t kick in unless they get slammed with support calls. According to the sales rep, I should get a US-based support rep 95% of the time that I call. I actually had to call once — and you guessed it — someone in South Dakota (I think) answered my question very fast and correctly.

Technology

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