Philippines To Lose Call Center Jobs As Call Centers Return To U.S.
There are conflicting views about the sustainability of call center jobs in the Philippines. Others view that the call center industry will be able to sustain despite the global financial turmoil as more and more call centers abroad will relocate here because of the cheap labor. That may not be true anymore.
First and foremost is the trickling effect of the economic crisis that started in the United States and has now spread across Europe and the rest of Asia. The economic strain is widely spread across industries such as banking, retail, technology, manufacturing and construction. Call center jobs rely heavily on these industries.
Lastly, it’s customer dissatisfaction. Customers are put off by a non-American accent on the line every time they call for customer support. Customers find it hard to understand a particular accent and they could not understand the instructions they were getting. They struggle to communicate that many calls are routed back to the United States.
Dell has, for example, established a new company called Your Tech Team service to keep its customers happy. Your Tech Team is based in North America that guarantees customer service with American accents.
If more and more foreign companies will join the ranks of Dell in returning call center jobs back to the United States then call center workers in the Philippines should start enhancing their skills to be marketable again should this thing happen. It’s better to be prepared than be sorry.