The employee writes:

I’ve worked part-time for Restoration Hardware for 3 years and during that time I have been amazed by some of illogical crap we’re supposed to feed our customers. However, they’ve really reached a fascinating new level. The store is now outsourcing all of its furniture to China. This has been gradually happening over the past two years, one product line at a time and they’ve finally decided to take the full on plunge and outsource all upholstered furniture and all but two or three collections of the wood furniture.

This was announced last night at our annual fall meeting. An entire section of the meeting was devoted to why outsourcing to China would not lower the quality of our furniture one bit. Not one iota. It would be exactly the same. 100%. Identical. It would just save the company $10 million. And allow all of us grateful urchins to keep our lucrative $8 an hour careers flourishing (insert threatening glare from management in case any of the political types want to get noisy) And the company isn’t greedy! It will pass these Chinese savings on to the customers—our super fine furnishings will be sold at a lower price point. But the exact same quality!!

All of these years we sales associates were told that the higher prices at Restoration Hardware were justified because our furniture was superior, handcrafted in America at companies with extremely high quality assurance standards that could be openly evaluated and monitored. We passed this information on to the customers and showed them how to evaluate the quality of the pieces, etc. And it turns out, we were big fat liars. All of you previous Restoration Hardware furniture buyers who paid extra money for your “quality” pieces were duped! Because it turns out, it can all just be made on an assembly line in China and you can get the identical quality for a lot less money. Hahahahaha! Dumbasses.

Or wait, maybe the company is lying now. Actually, you can’t get the identical quality furniture made more cheaply in China. It will be a product of lesser quality but the company is hoping really hard that charging a couple of hundred dollars less will mean that people will be blinded by the good deal.

As a sales associate it will be hard to pick which line to go with—the company I work for used to lie a lot but is now honest or the company I work for is lying now but for savings savings savings!

At any rate, I’m interviewing for a new part-time position today. My standards may not be high but they at least exist.

Did you know that Spirit Airlines is now charging their customers for making a seat reservation — middle seats are $5, Aisle and Window seats are $10 and the "exit row seats" are $15. I was shocked with this change. I didn't make a seat reservation because I already paid the airfare for the ticket, which entitles me to a seat. I know the gas prices are very high, however, this was too little information, not written int he small print (I checked) and only identified when you selected your seat. I tried to call customer service, but was connected to someone in the Far East (they didn't identify the country they were calling from) and their English was so poor I could not understand the person I was trying to communicate with...When I mentioned I lived in Michigan, I was repeatedly asked, "Where, where do you live?"

Then, when, I asked for a "customer service" number in the US and the number I was given connected me to a "pornographic" phone service — I was more than startled!

Do you want this airline to survive?

Please listen to you customers and please answer your telephones with American residents who speak and understand English and know American geography — this is where you customer base lives and supports you...

I called back and got a number for a "customer service" desk at an airport. When I called that number and talked to a very helpful ticket desk Spirit Air Representative named Karen, she gave me a 1-800 number that had me on hold for 35 minutes with no one answering the phone. I finally hung up.

I have been a customer of Spirit Airlines since they starting flying out of Detroit several years ago. What has happened to Spirit Airlines? They off-shored their customer service lines to people who do not know the geography of the US and are not able to provide answers to questions that relate to the United States, the airports here and the service provided.

I had already paid for my (non-refundable) ticket to NY from Detroit, so I couldn't cancel it, but I sure thought about it. I couldn't get information about the seat selection fees until after I had paid for my ticket. This information needs to be provided up front! The baggage information is also troublesome. If you tap the wrong number of bags you wish to "prepay", there is no way to "delete" a bag if you choose not to take 2 bags on the plane.

From information I have gathered on the web, their customer service has deteriorated considerably in the past few months. They are very good at sending e-mails with enticing fares, but their website does not work correctly, it sent me back to the beginning several times, even when I was ready to select and pay for my ticket. The air fare deals does not even connect with their reservation page.

I hope at least the flight that I paid for is safe and will allow me to travel when I scheduled my flights.

- Barbara in Detroit

This past weekend, I purchased a $1300 dishwasher from Sears.. They delivered it Saturday morning, less than 24 hours after order. Great! However the dishwasher that they delivered was defective, I immediately called the store where I purchased it, and spoke with the Sales lady.. She told me that Sears has outsourced their customer service to a company called OneSource and that I that she couldn't help me..

I called OneSource and was put on hold for over 3 hours. After talking with 11 different people (yes 11!) I was told that they couldnt help me and that I would have to arrange a pickup through the store to get the exchange. I called the store back and talked to store manager Olivia, she told me that I would have to talk to the sales girl, talked to her, she said she couldn't help me and that I would have to go back to OneSource.. I spent 2.5 hours in the store talking with various managers, no resolve and no assistance whatsoever.

I left the store upset and bewildered as to why I was told that they couldn't arrange a pickup. Mind you that Sears came and took away my old PERFECTLY FUNCTIONING dishwasher, as the new dishwasher was an upgrade for the remodel of my kitchen.

I called Sears Executive customer service who listened to what I had to say, and then transferred me to delivery department, delivery department told me that it would be until July 1st before they could get an exchange out here. In the meantime, I can not wash dishes except in my bathtub upstairs because the hot water had to be turned off to the kitchen sink and that the garbage disposal leaks water without the dishwasher lines connected to it.

I told delivery that their answer was completely unacceptable, and that I wanted some sort of resolution other than "I'm sorry" ... the answer I got was to be transferred BACK to OneSource... OneSource told me that she was "so sorry for the inconvenience" and that she would have to create a case for me and that the best they could do was offer me a pitiful $75 gift card...

$75 doesn't pay for my time to HAND WASH my families dishes in the fricking BATHTUB for the rest of the month until which time as sears can get off their lazy butt and bring me a non defective dishwasher... They also told me throughout all of this that they were unable to bring back my old dishwasher because they destroy them moments after getting back to their delivery facility!

Even executive customer service has let me down on this one! Can Consumerist help!?

That sounds like a tough situation, Sean. We're becoming convinced that Sears is nothing more than some phony storefront facades with a few long distance phone lines connected overseas that are in cahoots with some shady warehouses that deal in wonky merchandise. We don't have the highest hopes, but you could try launching an executive email carpet bomb which could perhaps get the attention of an employee who is competent and cares about your problem. Since you have already spoken to Executive Customer Service, you may as well try their CEO at alewis1@searshc.com. Otherwise, we suggest taking that $75 gift card and buying some paper plates and plasticware.

(Photo: jritch77)

The article says,

A three-month-old gray tabby kitten was tortured. Mike Merrill, the only witness to the crime, said, "There was four people spray painting and kicking it from side to side."

When Merrill got to the kitten, he said it looked lifeless. He said, "Basically seemed like it was almost dead...spray painted all the way down its back."

Animal Control officers rushed the kitten to a veterinarian with concerns of internal injuries and severe shock.

Police said the men accused of spray painting and kicking the kitten are contract workers for Comcast. The cable company released a statement saying, "We are outraged and deeply saddened by this incident. We are fully cooperating with police and will take appropriate action once we have all the facts."

Jesus Villalovos was arrested on charges of animal cruelty and obstruction of justice. Police said Villalovos spray painted the cat and lied to them.

Two other men were cited with class B misdemeanors.

The good news is that the kitten will be just fine. Merrill said if an owner doesn't claim the cat in the next three days, he will adopt it.

We are speechless, Comcast. We suppose when there are no little girls to run over, you resort to torturing a kitten. Bravo.

West Valley man arrested for spray painting kitten [ABC 4] (Thanks to Austin!)
(Photo: ABC 4)

The article says,

They're (the family) holding onto hope that she'll regain consciousness.

Three-year-old Kayleen Smith's uncle Daimen Morrison said, "She loves flowers. Boy, if we had a yard full of flowers, she'd pick every single one of them."

He adds, "Everybody knows that she's the sweetest, smartest, little thing you'll ever meet. She's just something else though. She makes my father more happy than I've ever seen him," Morrison said. The girl is clinging to life in Huntsville Hospital after an accident Saturday morning.

Witness Wesley Hadley says, "I said a prayer right there. I didn't know what else to do." Hadley saw the accident happen as he was traveling south on Memorial Parkway.

Near Sam's Club and Lowe's, he says, "Two Comcast vans passed me... I estimate, probably about 75 miles per hour." In a 50 mile-per-hour zone.

Hadley says one continued straight and another tried to turn right near O'reilly Auto Parts. "I knew he wasn't going to make it." Hadley says a woman with her two granddaughters was approaching a stop sign.

The Comcast driver hit the van and flipped before resting upside down. The witness describes seeing the accident in slow motion, a horrible sight with tremendous force.

Kayleen Smith is now off life support, but is still unconscious.

Her nine-year-old sister was also in the vehicle, but escaped serious injury, as did their grandmother. The Comcast driver has been released from the hospital and refused to comment.
Family of the other employee confirms to me he was working that day, but could not elaborate due to the investigation.

Hadley says, "They were racing. It looked like they were racing. They were going in and out and trying to keep up with each other."

Morrison says, "I just hope this shows anybody out there that wants to act foolish on the road, that people can lose their life and everything that means everything to them."

Comcast could not provide details on employee procedure or the status of these two employees.

Comcast General Manager Butch Jernigan gave us the following statement: "Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved. We will cooperate fully with local authorities, but cannot comment further because of the on-going investigation. At Comcast, the safety of our employees, customers, and the general public is a top priority."

According to Huntsville Police, no criminal charges have been filed at this time and the accident is currently under investigation.

We're saddened by this story and hope Kayleen pulls through. We hope that Comcast learns that the money they save in cheap outsourcing has real costs. We've witnessed things like the Comcast Contractor Doing Donuts as well as the Comcast Tech Falls Asleep On Couch which were amusing and fairly innocuous. Unfortunately, Comcast has now graduated up to reckless and dangerous. It's tragic that it takes these kinds of accidents for companies to realize that the value of saving a few dollars is nothing compared to the value of human life.

Witnesses say two cable cars racing causing serious accident [WAFF] (Thanks to Brian!)
(Photo: WAFF)

About 6 weeks ago my xbox 360 console suddenly started making some disturbing noises, and shortly thereafter (5 minutes) could no longer read any discs. I called xbox support that night, got through the "super cool" automation, and finally was connected to their wonderful Indian call center. The guy on the phone told me he'd send me a box, I'd send my xbox in, they'd send it back, all would take about 2 - 3 weeks. Pretty standard, I wasn't thrilled but not discouraged. I travel for business and was taking vacation for the weekend in between so I'd only really be missing my console for a couple of days.

Unfortunately, it wouldn't be that simple. Despite having been told I'd have the box in 3 - 5 business days, it wasn't until the 3rd business day I was able to get a tracking number, where status remained "Billing Information Received from Sender" through business days, 4, 5, and now 6. So I called back to explain to them that the box wasn't on it's way. Someone had messed up, and instead of waiting, could I please just get a shipping label emailed to me so I could drop it off myself at the UPS store down the street.

I spoke to a supervisor on this call who apologized immensely for the trouble, explaining that she didn't know why it would have taken so long. She emailed me the shipping label, and then offered for my trouble, to expedite the entire order and to send me a free wireless controller. Sweet! This made me feel much better about the whole situation. Now I would have my shipping label, my xbox would probably still get there around the same time, AND I was getting a free wireless controller.

Well, everything was not right in the world of Microsoft. When I finally received the shipping label via email later that day (after the UPS store had closed) I noticed that they had completely botched my name. As you can tell from my email, my name is spelled Bryan Carroll. Somehow this got transcribed by our call center friends as "Brian Dryanerool". I guess I see how phonetically that could have worked. Maybe. I figured this would probably be a big problem for me in the future, so I called back to Microsoft, and asked them to correct it. They went ahead and did this. Then I asked if I could have a new shipping label. They said it wasn't necessary, as I was just sending it in, and that since it had been corrected, the return label would be correct.

Great. I was set. I dropped my console off the next day at the UPS store and then watched the tracking number. All was going smoothly. UPS performed fabulously and got it in there in just a few days. Microsoft then took 4 business days to repair the unit and "shipped it back to me on Tuesday". In reality, they told UPS about it on Tuesday, and then played the same game as before where they don't actually give the box to UPS to ship, until Thursday. But, finally, Thursday night, it shipped out, with an expected delivery day of next Tuesday (2 days ago).

Well FINALLY I thought, it was out of the handles of the people at Microsoft so nothing else could go wrong.

As I mentioned, I travel for business, and am not home during the week. I come home Thursday nights. UPS delivers to my house around 3. They came Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, as expected, and because it required a signature, I would have to pick it up at the UPS center. Not a problem, I was expecting this. Unfortunately, because an ID is required to pick up the package, I am out of luck. Why you ask? Because I do not have an ID for Brian Dryanerool.

So I called up Microsoft again, this time using your handy Hardball: How to Control Customer Service Reps. I followed the steps, immediately got to a supervisor, and then went back and forth with him for about 45 minutes. I initially had in mind to settle for nothing less than $350 worth of Microsoft gift cards to go and purchase a new system with and just be done with the whole thing. But on 2nd thought, I figured that was a bit unreasonable, and asked that they contact UPS and inform them that the information for that tracking number was wrong, and to give them the correct information so that I could pick it up. The guy would not help in any way. He said it was against their policy to intercept a package, would not read to me what the policy was that would not allow him to do this, and said that my only option was to wait for UPS to send it back to the repair center, where they would put the correct shipping information on it, and then send it back to me. Based on what I've seen so far from this whole interaction, I'm guessing this will tack an extra 2 - 3 weeks on this.

To make matters worse, at the end of my final call, I asked whether or not the free controller was going to be included in the current box, or if it was being sent separately. He told me that nobody had ever documented a free controller, that it was impossible for someone to have offered this to me, and that I wasn't getting one.

So now I feel completely stranded, am about 60% sure I'm never going to see my xbox again, at least not in the next month, and am not even getting that free controller I was so excited about.

(Photo: milkham)

So far the market is still small—maybe 5% of collections—but the Times says more contracts are in the pipeline, and that companies are also looking to Mexico, Romania, and the Phillipines. Delinquent mortgage loans will probably continue to be handled in the U.S. because they involve complex state and federal laws, but "credit card, auto and other debt are prime candidates for collection overseas."

"Debt Collection Done From India Appeals to U.S. Agencies " [New York Times] (Thanks to SSH!)
(Photo: Getty)

Convergys chief executive David Doughtery told analysts "most notably we're being hurt today in Canada and we are taking action to close centres there and move work to other geographies." Many of the Canadian jobs will likely go to the Philippines and possibly India..

Execs share scary thoughts for scary times [The Ottawa Citizen via ConvergysSucks]

Dear Peter,

Thank you for your reply.

I apologize for the inconvenience that you have faced due to discount on the sero plan.

The provided information in the previous interaction is correct that sero is already a discounted plan so, no discount can be added with this plan.

However I have forwarded your concern to the concerned department. If some resolution will be there then we will be happy to inform you.

Vicky R.
E-Care
Sprint

Bob's struggle to get things right were interrupted by periodic bursts of inexplicable cheering and clapping in the call center background. Bob gave up and called executive customer service, only to be told his call was going to be disconnected for "being sarcastic." Finally, after his post appeared on our site and he sent in an Executive Email Carpet Bomb, United called him to set him up with a direct flight and gave him two $100 vouchers. You can watch the NBC Nightly news version here. Here are the two posts with his complete story.

United Changes Direct Flight To One With Stopovers, Doesn't Tell Customers, Customer Service Reps Cheer And Clap In Background
Executive Email Carpet Bomb, Consumerist Post, Prompt United To Solve Reader's Complaint

Bob is happy his story made it this far. "The only thing better than feeling vindicated is feeling totally vindicated," he writes.

(Thanks, Erik!)

I had a bi-weekly cleaning service for the past 3 years. Unfortunately when I got laid off I had to suspend them too, but they should be back within a month (fingers crossed). This is a short guide on how to choose:

1. Seek out references. Do any of your neighbors or co-workers use a cleaning service? Ask them: How much they pay hour and how often they have them scheduled.

2. Ask Questions! When you get the service on the phone, ask, ask, ask, in no particular order...

a. How long have you been in business?
Obviously the longer, the better. Look them up in the BBB to make sure they have a spotless record with them.

b. Do you have insurance?
You want a resounding yes. If they break something or get hurt in your home you're off the hook without using your homeowners insurance.

c. Are your employees screened/licensed/bonded/insured?
You want a yes here too. This means the employees have had a criminal background check AND should something go awry you can be compensated.

d. Are your employees *actual* employees of the company, and not contractors or third party vendors/suppliers?
You want actual employees. Contractors and third party vendors/suppliers are a gamble you do NOT want to take.

e. What type of services do/don't you provide?
Some don't do windows or laundry, some do. If you have specific things you need done, ask and ask how much extra it costs.

f. Do you give an in-home estimate?
If the people cleaning your home see what they have to do, it helps determine how much you pay. You may get an hourly quote over the phone, but you won't know how many hours until the cleaners arrive and check it all out.

g. What is your cancellation policy?
Some companies require anywhere from 24-48 hours notice if you need to cancel. Will they charge a fee? Hopefully not, but some do. The company I use charges 50% your weekly fee if you don't cancel within 24 hours of your appointment.

h. What are my payment options?
My cleaners would only take cash or a check made out to the company due at time of service. Some companies will allow you to charge to a CC, or invoice you.

i. Do you have any kind of Guarantee?
Most companies will guarantee your satisfaction. Find out ahead of time what the "rebuttal process" is, and what you can expect compensation-wise ahead of time. The company I use will either re-clean to my satisfaction or apply a discount... but only if I complain within 48 hours of service.

j. Will the same people be cleaning my home each week?
Since your housecleaner will be following a routine, you want consistency.

k. Do I need to be home for you to clean?
This is YOUR call. If you feel comfortable enough to let them clean when you're out [I do], then do so. If you choose to be home, try to stay out of their way. Save any suggestions and critiques until they are done; do not hover and say "missed a spot" over and over.

l. Can you supply me some client references?
If they're worth their salt, they can and will. You should call the references they supply you, and visit if possible.)

m. Do you supply cleaning products and appliances?
This varies by company. Mine brings all their stuff. If you want them to use specific products [eg. "Green"/Eco Friendly, Pet Friendly, only X Brand, etc.], ask. You will probably have to supply those.

3. Expect the initial visit or two to be slightly more expensive. Before they get into a regular routine, the service should do a top to bottom clean-up of your entire home. This will take longer than a regular appointment. The cleanings they do after that are more like maintenance.

4. Having a service does not mean you can live like a slob. You should try to maintain your home's appearance as much as possible between service visits. Try to keep things uncluttered and tidy; once your house is clean you'd be surprised at how easy this is to do. If something spills, clean it up... don't leave it for a week until the cleaners come back. The idea again is that they come to do maintainence cleaning, and not a top-to bottom scrub every time they come to your home.

5. It's going to be an adjustment the first few times your house is cleaned. If you have a problem, speak up. The housecleaner may not know your pots and pans go in the third cabinet from the left, or that they shouldn't put pens in the junk drawer. Cut them some slack on knowing where things go for the first few visits. I made an arrangement with my housecleaner that the dining room table is the "Where does this go?" area; anything they can't figure out where to place goes there.

6. DO leave a tip and call in compliments. If you're getting great service you should tip anywhere from 15-20% of your service for the week. Be sure to call in to their office and compliment the staff when they do a good job. It's in your best interest to have a good relationship with your housecleaning team.

(Photo: stephcarter)

Here's part of Chuck's email:

After dealing with Progressive executive customer service for most of this week I have finally gotten a resolution. Rachel at Progressive is issuing a formal apology from Cross Country (the outsourced roadside assistance people) and an AMEX gift card.

They of course say that this is an unusual circumstance and call volumes were extremely high at 11:30am on a Sunday...

...I asked for a credit in the amount of my October premium and was turned down by Brian Passell, Divisional President.

But the issue has been resolved to Chuck's satisfaction, so we're happy for him and hope his step-daughter has a better weekend coming up.

(Photo: Getty)

But don't worry, Countrywide is hiring more reps to help save homeowners from getting foreclosed...

At an investor conference on Sept. 18, Angelo R. Mozilo, Countrywide's chief executive, said the company would be hiring more staff members to do home-retention and loss-mitigation work. Those employees, however, will be based in India.

Can These Mortgages Be Saved? [NYT]
(Photo: Meghann Marco)

From Fortune:

The phenomenon has a name: "insourcing," the term experts are starting to use when foreign multinationals open offices on U.S. soil and hire Americans, at a higher price, to do the very jobs they once lured overseas. In this case the center in Reno is targeted toward companies willing to pay a premium - its workers there cost up to 40 percent more than their counterparts in India - to give their U.S. customers a more culturally fluent, less frustrating 1-800 experience. (No more hearing someone read from a script ten time zones away.)

Tata, which is based in Mumbai, established its Reno roots last year when its business services unit, SerWizSol, bought the call-center business of travel-processing firm TRX; the deal also gave it a call center in Milton, Fla. "We want to be able to say to a client, If there's a piece [of call-center operations] you want to keep in America, we can do that for you," says Ricardo Layun, head of U.S. operations for SerWizSol.

Indian call center lands in Ohio [Fortune] (Thanks, Krystle!)

The company is outsourcing customer service jobs on the sly, and have been for at least a few months. Not to India, because that would be obvious, but to Canada. Alberta- to be specific. The newbies are working with a company called Convergys. These people seem to be going through a real crash course, and seem to know only how to read the sample scripting our computer system spits out. We've been having problems with them screwing up orders left and right, misquoting (or not quoting) rates and fees, and generally mucking up everything they touch. The bad part for customers, aside from not knowing exactly what they're going to be paying every time, is that it seems like they're not as ready to credit accounts when it they need to. I'm not sure they have the authority to give more than a few bucks back, which doesn't always cut it.

We have a no outsourcing contract, but there's a loophole allowing them to hire out temporarily if there are too many calls for the normal reps to handle. Soooo what they've done is freeze hiring, and make our quality standards so inflexible that everyone's job seems to be in jeopardy. People are quitting and getting fired and there's not enough people to take the calls, so what you have is outsourcing by attrition.

There's a loophole for consumers also: when you call in, all you have to do is ask if the person works for att or for a company hired by att- if they aren't they can request someone who does. Things will go better when you do.

(Photo: mrbill)

UPDATE: A Convergys AT&T rep rebuts:

As a Cingular/New AT&T CSR at one of the Alberta based Convergys call centers mentioned in the story, I can understand why the original tipster feels the way they do about outsourced reps, however; asking for a US based employee is not necessarily going to ensure that customers are speaking with someone south of the 49th parallel.

It's not that we would be unwilling to transfer the customer to an American rep, it's just that it's not an option available to us. In the call centers we can reach Cingular/New AT&T departments by either speed dials or 1-800 numbers. When we call these numbers our calls are transferred into the queue and answered by the first agent available. There is no way for us to call a specific call center. For example, if I were to call tier two technical support, I have an equal chance of speaking with a rep in California as I do with one in Canada.

If a customer were to ask to speak with someone who "works for AT&T", as the American CSR suggested, the likely response would be "I can assure you that I do work for AT&T and I would be happy to resolve any issues you are having."

If a caller were insistent on speaking with an American the only course of action we could take would be to call the customer care queue and ask each rep what call center they were in before we transferred the call. There are Convergys call centers operating in the United States as well, so even if a call was transfered to an American rep, the caller may still be speaking with an outsourced agent.

In regard to the other claims by the original tipster, we do get the exact same training as our non-outsourced counterparts, and have the same amounts available to credit.

Basically, I think that asking for an American rep would be an inefficient way for customers to deal with issues. My advice to customer is this, If you are not happy with the representative assisting you, escalate the call. Just ask for a supervisor; they've all got the same authority, regardless of their nationality.

Most media is produced by a relative small number of factories, located in several different places. The best media generally comes from Japan and Singapore. The worst typically comes from Taiwan or China (in stores) and Hong Kong (online). ... This being said, understand that the media brand means nothing. Apple is a great brand, but they do not make their own discs, instead outsourcing to MXL (Hitachi/Maxell) or MCC (Mitsubishi Chemicals). ... It is the media ID that is important, as it reveals the disc manufacturer. Unfortunately, this is not written on packaging or anywhere else. Companies want consumers to be oblivious to this sort of behind-the-scenes information.

In steps DigitalFAQ with an exhaustive list of media IDs rated and matched to manufacturers. You'll never buy DVDs the same way again. —MEGHANN MARCO

Who makes the disc: Brand vs. Media ID [DigitalFAQ via Lifehacker]

Cost is the obvious motivation for sending a call center abroad:

Average pay for U.S. call-center workers is $10 to $12 an hour; at outsourced call centers, employer costs can be 10 percent to 20 percent lower, Butler said. Frontier reservations agents start at close to $9 an hour; more- senior employees make more.

Frontier and others are realizing that these international call centers may be penny-wise, pound-foolish. Customer satisfaction with outsourced customer service, especially to offshore locations, runs low. Some corporations, like Dell, American Express, and US Airways, have backpedaled, bringing some calls back to the United States after consumers complained enough.

If you piss off your customers with phone reps who don't understand the rules or the product (a problem with any outsourced call center, regardless of nationality) what good are the cost savings?

Agents Along for the Ride [Denver Post] (Thanks, Brandon!)