the.world.is.flat-第7章
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Mrs。 Kent； it's not a 。。。〃
Same woman operator in Bangalore getting another phone slammed down on her： 〃As a
safety back 。 。 。 Hello？〃
Same woman operator in Bangalore looking up from her phone： 〃I definitely have a bad
day！〃
Woman operator in Bangalore trying to help an American woman with a computer problem
that she has never heard before： 〃What is the problem with this machine； ma'am？ The
monitor is burning？〃
There are currently about 245；000 Indians answering phones from all over the world
or dialing out to solicit people for credit cards or cell phone bargains or overdue
bills。 These call center jobs are low…wage； low…prestige jobs in America； but when
shifted to India they become high…wage； high…prestige jobs。 The esprit de corps at
24/7 and other call centers I visited seemed quite high； and the young people were
all eager to share some of the bizarre phone conversations they've had with Americans
who dialed 1…800…HELP； thinking they would wind up talking to someone around the block；
not around the world。
C。 M。 Meghna； a 24/7 call center female operator； told me； 〃I've had lots of customers
who call in ＇with questions＇ not even connected to the product that we're dealing
with。 They would callin because theyhad lost their wallet or just totalk to somebody。
I'm like； 'Okay； all right； maybe you should look under the bed ＇for your wallet＇
or where do you normally keep it；' and she's like； 'Okay； thank you so much for
helping。'〃 Nitu Somaiah： 〃One of the customers asked me to marry him。〃 Sophie Sunder
worked for Delta's lost…baggage department： 〃I remember this lady called from Texas；〃
she said； 〃and she was； like； weeping on the phone。 She had traveled two connecting
flights and she lost her bag and in the bag was her daughter's wedding gown and wedding
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ring and I felt so sad for her and there was nothing I could do。 I had no information。
〃Most of the customers were irate；〃 said Sunder。 〃The first thing they say is； 'Where's
my bag？ I want my bag now！' We were like supposed to say； 'Excuse me； can I have your
first name and last name？' 'But where's my bag！' Some would ask which country am I
from？ We are supposed to tell the truth； ＇so＇ we tell them India。 Some thought it
was Indiana； not India！ Some did not know where India is。 I said it is the country
next to Pakistan。〃
Although the great majority of the calls are rather routine and dull； competition
for these jobs is fierce…not only because they pay well； but because you can work
at night and go to school during part of the day； so they are stepping…stones toward
a higher standard of living。 P。 V。 Kannan； CEO and cofounder of 24/7； explained to
me how it all worked： 〃Today we have over four thousand associates spread out in
Bangalore； Hyderabad； and Chennai。 Our associates start out with a take…home pay of
roughly 200 a month； which grows to 300 to 400 per month in six months。 We also
provide transportation； lunch； and dinner at no extra cost。 We providelife insurance；
medical insurance for the entire family… and other benefits。〃
Therefore； the total cost of each call center operator is actually around 500 per
month when they start out and closer to 600 to 700 per month after six months。
Everyone is also entitled to performance bonuses that allow them to earn； in certain
cases； the equivalent of 100 percent of their base salary。 〃Around 10 to 20 percent
of our associates pursue a degree in business or computer science during the day
hours；〃 said Kannan； adding that more than one…third are taking some kind of extra
computer or business training； even if it is not toward a degree。 〃It is quite common
in India for people to pursue education through their twenties…self…improvement is
a big theme and actively encouraged by parents and companies。 We sponsor an MBAprogram
for consistent performers ＇with＇ full…day classes over the weekend。 Everyone works
eight hours a day； five days a week； with two fifteen…minute breaks and an hour off
for lunch or dinner。〃Not surprisingly； the 24/7 customer call center gets about seven
hun…
26
dred applications a day； but only 6 percent of applicants are hired。 Here is a snippet
from a recruiting session for call center operators at a women's college in Bangalore：
Recruiter 1： 〃Good morning； girls。〃
Class in unison： 〃Good morning； ma'am。〃
Recruiter 1： 〃We have been retained by some of the multinationals here to do the
recruitment for them。 The primary clients that we are recruiting ＇for＇ today are
Honeywell。 And also for America Online。〃
The young women…dozens of them…then all lined up with their application forms and
waited to be interviewed by a recruiter at a wooden table。 Here is what some of the
interviews sounded like：
Recruiter 1： 〃What kind of job are you looking at？〃
Applicant 1： 〃It should be based on accounts； then； where I can grow； I can grow in
my career。〃
Recruiter 1： 〃You have to be more confident about yourself when you're speaking。
You're very nervous。 I want you to work a little on that and then get in touch with
us。〃
Recruiter 2 to another applicant： 〃Tell me something about yourself。〃
Applicant 2： 〃I have passed my SSC with distinction。 Second P also with distinction。
And I also hold a 70 percent aggregate in previous two years。〃 （This is Indian lingo
for their equivalents of GPA and SAT scores。）
Recruiter 2： 〃Go a little slow。 Don't be nervous。 Be cool。〃
The next step for those applicants who are hired at a call center is the training
program； which they are paid to attend。 It combines learning how to handle the specific
processes for the company whose calls they will be taking or making； and attending
something called 〃accent neutralization class。〃 These are daylong sessions with a
language teacher who prepares the new Indian hires todisguise their pronounced Indian
accents when speaking English and replace them with American； Canadian； or British
ones…depending on which part of the world they will be speaking with。 It's pretty
bizarre to watch。 The class I sat in on was being trained to speak in a neutral
middle…American accent。 The students were asked to read over and over a single
phonetic paragraph designed to teach them how to soften their r's and to roll their
r's。
Their teacher； a charming eight…months…pregnant young woman
dressed in a traditional Indian sari； moved seamlessly among British； American； and
Canadian accents as she demonstrated reading a paragraph designed to highlight
phonetics。 She said to the class； 〃Remember the first day I told you that the Americans
flap the 'tuh' sound？ You know； it sounds like an almost 'duh' sound…not crisp and
clear like the British。So I would not say〃…here she was crisp and sharp…'〃Betty bought
a bit of better butter' or 'Insert a quarter in the meter。' But I would say〃 …her
voice very flat…〃'Insert a quarter in the meter' or 'Betty bought a bit of better
butter。' So I'm just going to read it out for you once； and then we'll read it together。
All right？ 'Thirty little turtles in a bottle of bottled water。 A bottle of bottled
water held thirty little turtles。 It didn't matter that each turtle had to rattle
a metal ladle in order to get a little bit of noodles。'
〃All right； who's going to read first？〃 the instructor asked。 Each member of the class
then took a turn trying to say this tongue twister in an American accent。 Some of
them got it on the first try； and others； well； let's just say that you wouldn't think
they were in Kansas City if they answered your call to Delta's lost…luggage number。
After listening to them stumble through this phonetics lesson for half an hour； I
asked the teacher if she would like me to give them an authentic version…since I'm
originally from Minnesota； smack in the Midwest； and still speak like someone out
of the movie Fargo。 Absolutely； she said。 So I read the following paragraph： 〃A bottle
of bottled water held thirty little turtles。 It didn't matter that each turtle had
to rattle a metal ladle in order to get a little bit of noodles； a total turtle
delicacy 。 。 。 The problem was that there were many turtle battles for
