"At Indian call centers, bleak view of US; Debt collectors hear crisis tales - and lessons" by Emily Wax, Washington Post | October 15, 2008
GURGAON, India - With her flowing, hot-pink Indian suit, jangly silver bangles, and perky voice, Bhumika Chaturvedi, 24, doesn't fit the stereotype of a thuggish, heard-it-all-before debt collector. But lately, she has had no problem making American debtors cry.
For the past three years, Chaturvedi has been a top collection agent at her call center, phoning hundreds of Americans a day and politely asking them to pay up. As the US financial crisis plunges Americans into debt, her business is one of the fastest-growing sectors in Indian outsourcing. It is also one of the few sectors of outsourcing in India that is still aggressively hiring.
At least the economy is expanding SOMEWHERE, 'eh, Americans?!!
Where is that BAILOUT when you need it, huh?
Sitting in a narrow cubicle, her head-set switched on, Chaturvedi listens every night to increasingly disturbing tales of woe from the other side of the globe.
"My mortgage payments are just too high, honey. I just can't make the payment this month," a weeping woman with a Southern accent recently told her in response to a call for a $200 credit card payment. "I'm sure y'all heard about the credit crunch and gas prices. I'm flat broke."
"Ma'am, I am here to help you," Chaturvedi calmly said. "Ma'am, maybe you could make a small payment, $100 or $50, anything that you can."
Few places in India absorb and imitate American culture as much as call centers, where ambitious young Indians with fake American accents and American noms de phone spend hours calling people in Indiana or Maine to help navigate software glitches, plan vacations, or sell products.
(Blog author just shaking his head; can't find or DON'T WANT Americans for those jobs, 'eh?)
The subculture of call centers tends to foster a cult of America, an over-the-top fantasy where hopes and dreams are easily accomplished by people who live in a brand-name wonderland of high-paying jobs, big houses, and luxury getaways.
WTF? Most of us just get a bowl of shit.
But collection agents at this call center outside New Delhi are starting to see the flip side of that vision: a country hobbled by debt and filled with people scared of losing their jobs, their houses, and their cars.
Translation: The REAL AmeriKa, not the crap propaganda fed the world!!!
In the past, debt-saddled customers were often annoyed by Chaturvedi's calls from the open-air office at Aegis BPO Services. But now they seem depressed, defeated. Even the men sob into the phone, several agents said.
Chaturvedi said she has never seen it so bad. Many of the young employees say they are flabbergasted at just how widespread the financial ruin appears to be. Talking to so many anguished Americans has taught these agents an important lesson: Live within your means. --more--"
Could someone please tell that to the AmeriKan government?
Of course, some need not worry:
The Economic Untouchables
The Boston Globe Worships the Wealthy Elite
Only U.S. Elite Need Apply
The Comfortable Class Above It All
