Lehman stops outsourcing computer help desk to India

[Pale_Rider]

Well Dell computers wised-up and now Lehman Brothers. I guess IBM will have to rediscover dissatisifaction all over again.

http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/7497094.htm

Dow Jones Newswires

NEW YORK (Dow Jones/AP) -- Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. has stopped using Indian workers for its internal computer help desk, in another sign of backlash against using ``offshore'' labor.

The New York based financial-services firm last year hired two Indian firms -- Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro Ltd. -- to manage some of its information-technology operations.

About six weeks ago, however, Lehman stopped outsourcing its IT help desk, which handles employee reports of computer problems, to Wipro. Lehman wasn't satisfied with the level of service, according to people familiar with the matter.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

1. There is something slightly counter-productive...

About calling for a computer problem and trying to communicate with someone whom you cannot understand, due to their accent. I ran into that when I contacted AOL, while dealing with a very serious problem associated with DU. I found the whole thing very frustrating.

[Pale_Rider]

3. Likewise for those IT workers in India ...

... having to deal with irate Americans at late hours.

[hlthe2b]

2. Having worked in India, I have SOME mixed feelings about this....

but, of course, I want Americans to have jobs. I just doubt the kind of low wage positions that will be brought back will be very helpful.

From a customer service perspective, I doubt it is going to get much better in the US. It seems that whoever they hire works from a very limited scripted training base and can never go beyond it--even when it only requires that they think for themselves on a common sense level. Ultimately, they make something up to get you off the phone (take your phone/email address and promise someone will get back to you, which of course never happens).

[petrock2004]

4. i can see where your feelings get mixed...

i think it's probably great for the indian economy to have more jobs, especially with some of the social problems that country faces. but the thing is, especially with this misadministration's position on strengthening the american economy, it should be more important to create american jobs. shouldn't it? even jobs that create unhappy employees who are frustrated with irate customers. at least they're getting paid.

and i don't mean to attack or detract from the hard-working people of india who suffer all of my retarded computer questions at 3am... that must be a HORRIBLE job. but when my fiance and i are struggling VERY hard to find jobs right now in the U.S., shouldn't it be more important to have american companies hire american workers? aren't /any/ jobs, even the shitty low-paying ones, helpful at this point? :)

:shrug:

[hlthe2b]

6. Yes, on balance I agree with you....

I think outsourcing is a very tired Repug concept whose time has come and gone... That especially includes previously Federal jobs that are now going to the lying, cheating Haliburtons, Enrons, and other equally repugnant contracters.

Still, it is hard not to see the big global picture, when one looks for long term economic and domestic security. Creating more "have nots" anywhere tends to have a boomerang effect.

[bleedingheart]

5. outsourcing has not worked for my company

communication problems have been a big issue and I am not talking about language barriers but about how hard it is for managment in the US to try and communicate their ideas to the indian managers who then have to delegate it to their employees. It has been a disaster. It is hard enough to get the people in our office to communicate properly so that things don't slip through the cracks, trying to prevent that kind of problem over such a long distance with the time difference is even worse.