I've called tech support in foreign countries that I felt like this was the game we were playing. Ugh.
While they may be cheaper, foreign call centers are HORRIBLE at actual efficiency. You either get someone that speaks good english (coaching at the training center) but cannot answer anything that doesn't have a canned response on their list of answers OR you get Apu from the Simpsons who doesn't understand and keeps putting you on hold to ask his boss questions. Apparently, there is only ONE trained person there and the rest just script-read at you.
The latter is why I no longer use or will recommend any SMC products to anyone. Had 3 brand new NICs (my boss got them on sale instead of 3com) that didn't seem to like windows XP (but had the big XP logo on the box), tried to get it across to Apu (who clearly didn't understand me and was harder than hell to understand even though I had quite a few indian teachers in college and was used to the accent) that it didn't work with XP as stated *hold* got told to use the enclosed drivers not XP's setup...I respond the only enclosed drivers were 2K and ther MANUAL said for XP to use XP's setup *hold* that brand of motherboard has problems, try it in another machine...I respond that I tried all 3 cards on 3 machines with differing makers/boards so it wasn't just 'that motherboard' *hold*..and so on with longer holds each time. I got so angry that he couldn't comprehend the problem since it was off the scripted responses and kept putting me on hold to ask someone else that I hung up, called our vendor and just RMA'd the three SMC cards I had back as 'defective'.
Yeah, SMC sure saved cash by hiring Apu instead of a TRAINED and fully english-speaking tech, at the cost of a customer forever.
I just read yesterday that there is a plan to move tech support to Africa. By 2010 they expect to have at least 25% of it there. Won't that be fun and exciting?
Joy, even less service from even more incomprehensible and barely trained folks for a premium price (and you can rest assured, none of that savings is gonna get passed on to the consumer in the form of lower prices). I can hardly wait! /sarcasm
Y'know, if I could find ONE IT manufacturer that hired Americans and publically refused to outsource, I don't care if it costs me 2x as much for the damn parts, they'd have a customer for life. I for one would pay more to know a fellow citizen was working and paying taxes. Plus in the long run, dealing with a native-english speaker would make my life a HELL of a lot easier when I do have to use support.
While they may be cheaper, foreign call centers are HORRIBLE at actual efficiency. You either get someone that speaks good english (coaching at the training center) but cannot answer anything that doesn't have a canned response on their list of answers OR you get Apu from the Simpsons who doesn't understand and keeps putting you on hold to ask his boss questions. Apparently, there is only ONE trained person there and the rest just script-read at you.
The latter is why I no longer use or will recommend any SMC products to anyone. Had 3 brand new NICs (my boss got them on sale instead of 3com) that didn't seem to like windows XP (but had the big XP logo on the box), tried to get it across to Apu (who clearly didn't understand me and was harder than hell to understand even though I had quite a few indian teachers in college and was used to the accent) that it didn't work with XP as stated *hold* got told to use the enclosed drivers not XP's setup...I respond the only enclosed drivers were 2K and ther MANUAL said for XP to use XP's setup *hold* that brand of motherboard has problems, try it in another machine...I respond that I tried all 3 cards on 3 machines with differing makers/boards so it wasn't just 'that motherboard' *hold*..and so on with longer holds each time. I got so angry that he couldn't comprehend the problem since it was off the scripted responses and kept putting me on hold to ask someone else that I hung up, called our vendor and just RMA'd the three SMC cards I had back as 'defective'.
Yeah, SMC sure saved cash by hiring Apu instead of a TRAINED and fully english-speaking tech, at the cost of a customer forever.
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Y'know, if I could find ONE IT manufacturer that hired Americans and publically refused to outsource, I don't care if it costs me 2x as much for the damn parts, they'd have a customer for life. I for one would pay more to know a fellow citizen was working and paying taxes. Plus in the long run, dealing with a native-english speaker would make my life a HELL of a lot easier when I do have to use support.
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