Call Centers in Mumbai

Over the past twenty five years, the United States answering service and Call Center Industry has seen a major bite taken out of their market share by overseas call centers. Overseas contact centers, in India, the Philippines and other countries have shifted the economy in the call center industry. For US based answering services, these overseas centers are serious competition. But to the general public, much humor is found in outsourcing our calls overseas, especially in regards to outsourcing to India.

Many stand up comedians make light of the inadequacies of Indian based call centers. These routines are well received, as most Americans have experienced the frustration that goes with reaching the contact centers. Almost everyone has a story of trying to get a matter resolved only to reach one of the many call centers in Mumbai, India and becoming frustrated. While many laugh at the fact that most major corporations have farmed out operations to India, the United States call center industry does not find Indian based contact centers to be a laughing matter. Yet, the public is fascinated by the fish out of water aspect of the relationship between a United States citizen dealing with the Indian call center operator.

The National Broadcasting Corporation has capitalized on the entertaining aspect of the Mumbai call centers experience by creating a new TV show entitled Outsourced. Outsourced is set in a Mumbai, India, call center, where an American company has recently decided to outsource its order processing. The company keeps on one American employee. That employee is in charge of managing the call center. His job is to explain American popular culture to the employees of this Mumbai based call center. In the process they teach him to understand Indian culture.

With shows like Outsourced, call centers in Mumbai have become an everyday part of American culture. While jobs in every sector are outsourced off shore, the call center business is the one industry where Americans actually interact with the employees first hand. It is rare that an U.S. Citizen would interact with a factory worker or computer programmer in a one on one, intimate setting. Overseas call centers are the only first hand example of outsourcing that the typical American experiences. And while the experience is for the most part not pleasant, the dissatisfaction is generally not due to the fact that outsourcing is costing American's jobs. The animosity which is often associated with the Mumbai call centers is based on the operator's inability to properly handle a customer service properly.