Manage updates with the Download AppMarch 9, 2006 11:18 AM PST
Apple plans India call center
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The company is in the process of building a Bangalore facility to house the call center.
"Apple has gained millions of new customers in the past year, and we are building a call center in India to help meet our growing service and support needs," an Apple representative said in a statement to CNET News.com.
The company stressed that it isn't cutting any U.S. jobs, noting that its ranks are growing both in the United States and overall. "Our call centers in Austin and Sacramento also continue to grow," the Apple representative said.
The iPod and Mac maker also promised that the quality of its support will not diminish with the new effort.
"This call center will be managed and staffed by Apple employees with the same award-winning service for which Apple is known around the world," Apple said.
The news was reported earlier Thursday by the Times of India, which said that Apple would begin with 1,500 people and have 3,000 workers by the end of next year. Apple would not comment on how many workers would be at the new facility.
Apple is following the lead of many other PC and electronics firms that have set up call centers in India.
In March 2005, Dell cut the ribbon on its third Indian call center. However the company has also been hit with criticism over the quality of its customer support.
In 2003, Dell decided to reroute some corporate support calls back to U.S.-based call centers, but the company has continued to expand in India.
Apple's business has been growing significantly. In the fiscal year that ended in September, Apple posted revenue of $13.93 billion, up 68 percent from the prior year.
See more CNET content tagged:
call-center, India, Bangalore, Mac maker, Apple Computer
53 comments
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other numerous computer manufacturers did. I think Apple should
keep their support local to the people who buy their products.
Since you aren't a customer, you haven't paid Apple for anything, including support.
BTW, do you realize that your grammar and spelling are so bad that your remarks are barely readable?
We are giving away our jobs and to make ourselves feel better we blame it on other countries getting them. Those who decide to outsource are Americans too, so don't say that some country is taking away our jobs, they are saying 'thank you' to what we gift them. And why would they refuse such good money !
Our policies and mindset needs to change. We need cheaper goods everyday and so companies are left with this option or go bankrupt.
ITS OUR FAULT !!!
However...
They can stop paying outrageous salaries and bonuses to CEO's, especially when they come out of a bankruptcy situation.
Time had an article about how many companies pay CEO's tens of millions of dollars for 2 years work, and they give them outrageous pension systems. The number was astounding but there appears to be nothing that the common man can do. And please don't say voting, if either party could come up with a candidate that had a brain, a heart , and the nerve, we might have a shot(but that hasn't happened any time recently.)
2. Go to www.apple.com & find online support or FAQ's about your issue.
3. Go to your local Apple VAR tech desk for help.
Yes...this is not a good thing to outsource your help calls to India...
Why not open a new call center in New Orleans & train / hire people who need some help?
year, Apple has also opened three call centers in the US and one in
Canada (as well as several in Europe.) Don't get your panties in a
wad over this, guys. It's just part of doing business.
already started doing this. Bought a Mac Mini a month ago and had
some questions. Call SOSAPPL and go connected with someone
who spoke marginal english and he was the typical AOL-like
clueless that we've grown to know and love, no help at all. Asked
him if he was in India and he said that he was. This is something
that they will regret very soon.
understand fully American culture. So far, companies outsourcing
to India have failed miserable on both counts, There is nothing
worse than trying to interact with a serious well intentioned Indian
who doesn't really understand a thing you say, and has no clue
about what you're talking about.
Same thing occurs with Filipino outsourcing. Hard working people
who don't really have a clue what they are doing.
New Delhi instead of San Francisco? If Apple gained "millions" of
new customers last year. How many are in the good ole USA?. they
don't speak understandable English over therein Indian call centers.
and to them Apples probably grow on trees. I guess our expensive
hardware and computers are only worth cheap labor to service our
machines. I for one are very unhappy with apple's future trending.
Rob.. I usually don't point out errors in someones English (mine isn't great either) but you definitely are not qualified to comment on anyones language skills. Look at the sentence you have posted. If that was a joke and intentional, I apologize.
I am sorry but you are correct.Apple does grow on trees in India .
As per the knowledge of people like you, 'World is us' and no other. Just step out of your room and look around .
Cheap labour is no longer cheap . It was never meant to be cheap but was as advertised by your coporations . We have equal number of talented people as you got there ( you know where I mean) and equal number of lousy people . Let us not comment on each others grammar , syntax or diction.
New Delhi instead of San Francisco? If Apple gained "millions" of
new customers last year. How many are in the good ole USA?. they
don't speak understandable English over therein Indian call centers.
and to them Apples probably grow on trees. I guess our expensive
hardware and computers are only worth cheap labor to service our
machines. I for one are very unhappy with apple's future trending.
We have been butchering the language for a long time now -- it's only fair that we enjoy others doing the same.
The simple truth is that neither Indians nor Americans generally speak English. Natural language tends to be laden with cultural references that don't travel very well.
Perhaps the solution is to only buy products from organizations that can actually provide support for these products?
Windows systems. Where they were leading in support, they
faltered. Now their competition is worth considering again. Let's
hope Apple doesn't fall suit.
On the good side, Macs need quite a bit less support than prior to OSX, and a lot of it might be iPod support since selling 50 million a year of anything, requires more effort. Also good is these jobs aren't really that exciting, it's fun for the first year, then it's burnout time.
Lastly, the increased head count at the Apple Stores shouldn't be overlooked, hard to say how many people Apple employs there worldwide, but even if it's 40 on average per store, that's 4,800 people right there. And while Retail is not really a picnic compared to being a Phone Monkey, it's certainly more rewarding long term.
those are my 2 pennies worth of thought.
Do you know how many Indian brains work in night shifts to serve your needs. Reversing our biological cycle, taking food at irregular timings, sleeping for hardly 4 to 5 hours a day. Show some humanity.
We respect Americans, English is not our mother tongue. you may find difficulty in understanding our accent but have you ever thought how hard it is when a dumb customer calls(70% of them are) and we need to troubleshoot over the phone. Its a one call for you but we should take around 50 to 60 calls on an average. We are professional we wont comment about our customers. Sorry if i am rude and if you find any mistakes in my English.
using Apple Products for years and have yet to call in for
support. Most of the time Apple support forums online are
sufficient and more recently I just Google my issue and usually
get good results. Calling in for support is a last resort, trust me,
with a little initiative most issues can be addressed with the web
and a couple of mouse clicks.
However if you want to talk Economics, Politics and the
outsourcing of American Jobs.....that is another story for another
forum....
What I'm really curious about is why you think the economic and political aspects of the discussion don't belong on this particular forum. This is a business decision after all, made by a significant US firm. It's nothing but economics.
companies (Dell Verizon...) out sourced parts of their business to
India, they had to reroute some the calls back to the US. At times I
have called in for technical support and had no problems. At other
times it has been maddening. Over all, I would like to make one
call and not have to be bounced all around.
shipped the wrong Jobs over seas maybe when he goes their to
visit his money he can stop off and visit Mr Jackson another refugee
shipped the wrong Jobs over seas maybe when he goes their to
visit his money he can stop off and visit Mr Jackson another refugee
Apple, before you decide to go down this disastrous route, try
the following:
Call SonicWall.com support. Wait 15-30 minutes for someone in
India to pick up. Spend the next 30 minutes navigating around
the necessary language and cultural barriers until the clueless
person in India _finally_ understands your question. Then, try
not to jump out the window when their first response is: "Please
hold while I open the user manual on my screen". Next, even
though you asked a _specific_ question, be prepared to hear the
most general answers in the world, ranging anywhere between
"Have you checked our FAQ document yet?", to "Have you tried
rebooting your hardware?"
Apple, please, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! There is a huge
problem when YOU know more than the "support" person you
are talking to. In my roughly 10 calls to India tech support, I
have yet to be connected to a person who knows more about
technical issues than my mother, let alone me.
- Eric
but it's real. Add BellSouth to the list, and to a degree, HP. It
quickly gets me to the point where customer service, once
outsourced, is totally worthless.
Good morning. I am your American helpdesk officer. My name is Noo... I mean Jack. What can I do for you? ... U-hum... Hmmm... You wanna but a watch? No? DVD, DVD?
Joke... :-D
Nothing wrong with the plan I guess. At least there's a call center to begin with...
"I am sorry , I do understand English . Do you know any of the Indian languages? "
"UMM guess no. I do not know any Indian language"
" Even your English is not Indianised. I wonder why they set up call centers in US to service Indian customers "
"I am sorry .We do have accent neutralization training but I am finding it difficult to talk like an Indian"
" Damn it . I will never buy XYZ's product. Pathetic call center support"
Given the premium price I am paying and the software shift sacrifices I am having to make, I am really wondering if it was worth it to shift back to Mac. I have ordered but not yet taken delivery on my new Mac, since this poor service issue was literally my primary reason for shifting back - needless to say I am feeling pretty disgusted by the move and beginning to think I will not take delivery on my new Mac Pro laptop.
This is really a bad business decision by Apple.
Still, having recently purchased a MacBook, I am glad they are not outsourcing this kind of support.
I think a company like Apple which prides itself on its quality and class is making a statement by coming to India. And all I can say is, Welcome to India, Namaste!
Further it is also known that these centers, in order to put in the lowest subcontractor bids, usually have 2nd , 3rd and 4th hand subcontractors supplying staff and equipment, this gives rise to serious questions as to the non existent customer data security from these organizations, together with long term functionality/reliability?
The curiousity arises from one simple fact, what if mainstream satellite communications are severely disrupted or sections taken down during a very severe Solar Ion storm! Ooops goodbye to all call centers in both India and Bangaladesh. For replacement items for destroyed or badly damaged geosynchronous communication satellites are not exactly off the shelf items, and the technology for the recovery of these high orbital devices, has yet to be implemented!
In developed countries backup resever communication systems exist, where as in the third world no such items exist period!
Oh well, all the execs that choose to go offshore, use cost as a prime consideration, and do not consider either the importance of customer data security or create backup disaster plans in the event of communication satellite failures! No what if planning and that's why we payem the big bucks!
Shortly the next 11 year peak sunspot cycle is due, and only time will tell!
For we have seen the cascade effect of a data leak of secure customer data ,caused the total collapse of one organization, together with a new continuing Citibank debit card crisis, where the company is not telling all!, to it's customers! This is not a good way for a bank to keep cashed up paying customers(if you're telling lies and withholding information, then what else is wrong or amiss?, with the financial institution, would be one of the many questions in the customers mind?)
I guess there is something known as optical fibre that also connects two regions . You do not need the above thing always . And I think India is connected to many countries using this method.
<<<< In developed countries backup resever communication systems exist, where as in the third world no such items exist period!>>>>
Period is not the final world. Your knowledge of India and its company is almost equal to zero . If there is a server , there is a back up . Your US companies might not be sending so much work to India if Indian are working in cowshed with battery operated computers
<<<Shortly the next 11 year peak sunspot cycle is due, and only time will tell>>>
Are you an astrologer cursing companies.If so you have good career in India. A lot of politicians in India do ask astrologers about cycles of sun and moon . Probably you can help.
<<<<<For we have seen the cascade effect of a data leak of secure customer data ,caused the total collapse of one organization, together with a new continuing Citibank debit card crisis, where the>>>>>
Has it happened in India or US? How does it relate to outsourcing ?
It's a bad deal. Why? Because in general these people get a 12 day course (now I've had to head up 5 day courses!) on America and go to the phones. They do (for the most part) understand the technology they're working on, but the problem is that they don't understand 'American'. Any sense of humor or frustration conveyed is lost because it's not part of their native language. As a result, you get silence, followed by the instruction to 'Check the power cable' even if you've been working on computers for 20 years.
I really don't blame these workers- they're merely trying to get jobs in a country that's saturated with IT-heavy careers. The real fault may lie in American companies who outsource.
In the end, you get hardworking Indians getting screamed at by frustrated customers, and customers who don't get the service they deserve.
Bad deal, as I said.
Come to find out he WASN'T in India, that he WAS on location! Makes me really glad to not have released any frustration out on him! All things considered he was just as good as the native American-English speaking manager before him.
With the growth of Indian descendants in America growing you may not HAVE to have your call directed to India to get somebody with an Indian accent, but at least if they are in America they will probably pick up American humor and manners.
With year 2000, no cap on computer learning and Sept 11, the high tech sector has suffered enough.
We have corporate spies that come to our countries to steal instinctual content and ideas.
We give contracts to countries that under bid ours by fractions of a percentage.
The poor service and length in time resolving problems due to communications out way any benefit.
Stealing software and selling it back to us at a fraction of the cost.
Next time you speak to someone in support and your not happy, send the company an email to voice your displeasure.