All the way to India for computer help

springparrot · Post by **springparrot** » March 13, 2008 4:47 pm

For those in the cafe, you know we have been having internet problems, finally got that fixed (for now) and then my laptop hard drive crapped out.

I opened the paper this week and found
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/lif ... 07764.html

I swear, I must have talked to the same guy in India about our problems.

Except I told him our son was taking an on-line course and had to send an assignment and we wouldn't have internet for days because a Tech was not coming until Saturday.
His suggestion?
Find an unlocked wireless connection in the neighborhood and use it.
I ask, "isn't that stealing internet and illegal?"
Finally he said....well, TECHNICALLY

SharkOnLand · Post by **SharkOnLand** » March 13, 2008 4:52 pm

Gotta love cheap labor.

Maybe it's not illegal in India.

Just find a Starbucks, they have them like every half block or so...

springparrot · Post by **springparrot** » March 13, 2008 4:54 pm

SharkOnLand wrote:Gotta love cheap labor.

Maybe it's not illegal in India.

Just find a Starbucks, they have them like every half block or so...

We finally ended up sitting in front of a McD and paid $3

creeky · Post by **creeky** » March 13, 2008 5:57 pm

I work with some indians .... and we were talking about the outsourcing of jobs by phone companies etc to India for the cheap labour ...

They even disagree with it!!!

Mplsfins · Post by **Mplsfins** » March 13, 2008 6:05 pm

As someone who's job got offshored to India after 19 years with the same company, it p*** me off. the CEO gets a 1.9 million bonus and I lose my job. No wonder the economy is in the dumper. Think there is anything out there now with my skill set? Nope. Good thing I get 19 weeks of severance then 26 weeks of unemployment. Bill Clinton and NAFTA! What a fuc!en joke. Bush and what he is doing? Another joke. And the 3 hunyucks running now? Sh!t we are really going to be better off?
I have an idea, lets make all the illegal aliens that take american jobs legal? There that will solve all our problems. No wait, there is skilled americans that want to work but cannot because there job went overseas to India or China.
When we had some Indians coming through our call center they told us that they in turn farm out the offshored jobs to China and pay them $1 per hour instead of the $3 they would get in India.
Isn't America grand.
Enough of my rant.
Finz Out and I will see you in Alpine.

MA_Buffett_Fan23 · Post by **MA_Buffett_Fan23** » March 13, 2008 6:16 pm

My company has outsourced to India.. the other day my department moved to a new building and we received new phones.. the two other people in my group had a "button" to check their messages in the screen on the phone.. I did not.. I call our help desk and get an associate who's located in our Bangalore site..

Me: I just moved to a new desk and the phone does not have an option to check my messages.. I've been through the entire options menu and there is nothing for me to select. I'm looking at the manual and the option it's telling me to select I do not have.

India: Push the messages button..

ME: (thinking, WTF did you not just hear me?!?!) I do NOT have a button

India: look on the screen you should have a button

ME: I know I SHOULD have a button BUT I DO NOT have a button

India: well, Umm, you should have a button..

ME: Listen, I know I should have a button, I'm telling you there is no button or option. Either open a damn Pace ticket and have my issue looked into or give me your supervisor..

India: ok.. what's your number they'll call you to set up a time

ME: I'm in training for the remainder of the day, just have them come to my desk directly, they can fix it without me.

India: Well, if you're not available they will leave you a VM.

ME: Are you kidding me?!?! did you not just follow our conversation I cannot check my VM!!!

India: Oh - ok - We'll send someone to your desk..

ARRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH

springparrot · Post by **springparrot** » March 13, 2008 6:33 pm

MA_Buffett_Fan23 wrote:My company has outsourced to India.. the other day my department moved to a new building and we received new phones.. the two other people in my group had a "button" to check their messages in the screen on the phone.. I did not.. I call our help desk and get an associate who's located in our Bangalore site..

Me: I just moved to a new desk and the phone does not have an option to check my messages.. I've been through the entire options menu and there is nothing for me to select. I'm looking at the manual and the option it's telling me to select I do not have.

India: Push the messages button..

ME: (thinking, WTF did you not just hear me?!?!) I do NOT have a button

India: look on the screen you should have a button

ME: I know I SHOULD have a button BUT I DO NOT have a button

India: well, Umm, you should have a button..

ME: Listen, I know I should have a button, I'm telling you there is no button or option. Either open a damn Pace ticket and have my issue looked into or give me your supervisor..

India: ok.. what's your number they'll call you to set up a time

ME: I'm in training for the remainder of the day, just have them come to my desk directly, they can fix it without me.

India: Well, if you're not available they will leave you a VM.

ME: Are you kidding me?!?! did you not just follow our conversation I cannot check my VM!!!

India: Oh - ok - We'll send someone to your desk..

ARRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH

Salukulady · Post by **Salukulady** » March 13, 2008 7:41 pm

This doesn't happen with a Mac. Their helpline is a real person, I never thought to ask where they are because they speak clearly, understand I'm an idiot and get me through the problem very quickly. We flipped over to Macs in our house about a year ago and it works for us. (My husband a PC guy at work so it's been a little difficult for him) Just some FYI in case some of you are thinking about coming over to the Mac side.

sunseeker · Post by **sunseeker** » March 13, 2008 7:43 pm

I just talked to "sherrie" in India about my problems...I LOVE how they all have american names

aeroparrot · Post by **aeroparrot** » March 13, 2008 8:02 pm

I've actually told one of them that I want to speak with someone who knows how to speak English as a first language not Hindi. Boy was that person p*** off.

sunseeker · Post by **sunseeker** » March 13, 2008 8:06 pm

actually, "sherrie"'s english was great...it was a good experience for me....but it still cracked me up..."sherrie"...the last time I called I talked to "tim"

longlinergirl · Post by **longlinergirl** » March 13, 2008 8:41 pm

My son was just in the hospital and they send XRAYs to India to be read...

springparrot · Post by **springparrot** » March 13, 2008 8:42 pm

longlinergirl wrote:My son was just in the hospital and they send XRAYs to India to be read...

isn't that scary

SchoolGirlHeart · Post by **SchoolGirlHeart** » March 13, 2008 8:46 pm

longlinergirl wrote:My son was just in the hospital and they send XRAYs to India to be read...

what hospital?

SchoolGirlHeart · Post by **SchoolGirlHeart** » March 13, 2008 8:48 pm

springparrot wrote:
longlinergirl wrote:My son was just in the hospital and they send XRAYs to India to be read...
isn't that scary

My primary care doctor is Indian by birth, and I absolutely love her, but I object to someone half a world away, no matter the country, reading xrays....

longlinergirl · Post by **longlinergirl** » March 13, 2008 8:55 pm

Westerly...my mom (who is a nurse in a hospital in Fla) says its common. Its cheaper to have it sent around the world to be read by their XRAY guy than to hire an overnight XRAY guy here.

OttoCal · Post by **OttoCal** » March 13, 2008 9:35 pm

sunseeker wrote:I just talked to "sherrie" in India about my problems...I LOVE how they all have american names

Actually, I messed up our mointor settings horribly and got someone in India for tech support and was on for about 90 minutes with the 1st rech to go through all the stuff that wouldn't work, then for another 30 with a tech one level up who fixed my problem without too much trouble, but they both gave Indian names and we chatted about the weather and time zone difference for a while as my computer was rebooting for the 15th time. And snow, since I was complaining about our snow (as usual

)

Skibo · Post by **Skibo** » March 13, 2008 9:36 pm

At least the indians are somewhat technically sound and kinda sorta speak englich. My wife's company outsourced their help desk to Costa Rica. No Habla inglese, but they are very good at reading their script. Nobody in her company has admitted to being helped since the move, but they keep calling.

popcornjack · Post by **popcornjack** » March 13, 2008 9:47 pm

longlinergirl wrote:My son was just in the hospital and they send XRAYs to India to be read...

Lately there's been an upsurge in "medical vacations"--people fly to India and Singapore for surgery and treatment for "large ticket items" because even in factoring the cost of travel and staying for the recovery time, the price is a quarter of what it would be here. the doctors, while native to the country they are working in, have for the most part been trained in western hospitals, and the facilities in these foreign countries include five-star like amenities.

i also remember reading somewhere that because of all the outsourcing in India, people are becoming too qualified, and companies are now having a hard time finding entry level workers.

ejr · Post by **ejr** » March 13, 2008 11:39 pm

SchoolGirlHeart wrote:
longlinergirl wrote:My son was just in the hospital and they send XRAYs to India to be read...
what hospital?

Thomas Friedman reported in The World Is Flat, that this happens a lot--cost is one reason, but also because of the time change, while an XRAY would sit here overnight waiting until the next day to be read, because of time differences, the film can be read overseas with the results waiting for the doctor in the US first thing in the morning causing fewer delays.