I find these instances of outsourcing to be absolutely pathetic. One. A local taxi cab service has outsourced their dispatcher to India. You call for a cab and get a rep in India that relays the address to a computer in the cab. I realize this is feasible in today's world, but it seems very cold and distant. Two. A local orthopedic firm, which only serves the Nashville area, with roughly 15 doctors has outsourced all of their medical transcribing to India. Three, and the most pathetic IMO. Outsourcing drive thru orders to remote locations. To me, all of these examples lead to "coldness". I realize it's about cutting costs, but there is a point to which customers want the "warm touch" of a human locally. Also, if we keep outsourcing jobs, how do US companies expect for Americans to keep their consumption rates at current levels or higher? If the jobs are outsourced and Americans cannot find as good of paying, they have less disposable income to spend. It just amazes me.
They get away with it because low levels of service are acceptable - to the deciders. These arrangements lead to plenty of problems, but the cost (time,hassle, error) is borne by others, not the ones making the decision. In Minnesota, the reservation system for the parks was sent off somewhere - formerly, it had been handled by local, well informed Park employees. So people who couldn't remember the technical stuff about their favorite spot - such as its campsite number - or who wanted something in particular - such as a godenrod meadow, or a pond but not too big a pond - were dealing with people who did not know what a canoe was, or a moose, rather than someone who knew the parks themselves. Pah. The same money could have been saved by reducing the hours of phone business, and robohandling the routine. It's cheaper? Not really - we're just buying less service.
