Offshore Call Centers, Corporate Profits, and "Jim"

Let me just say from the start, I can’t stand offshore call centers. It’s not just because I’m in the industry, working part-time for a call center in the U.S. They irritate me from a customer’s perspective for all the same reasons John Q. Public is irritated. It has nothing to do with personal prejudice. It has everything to do with public pride.

First there is the security question. In this post 9/11 world, we’re a little more mindful of security. I don’t have duct tape and plastic sheets for the windows. My first-aid kit needs restocking. I’m not security crazed, but I’m aware enough to not want to give all my personal and credit card information to someone beyond the reach of U.S. law. Maybe it’s naïve to think that my bank doesn’t already have my private information whizzing around the world on fiber optic cable, but I’m certainly not going to make it easier for someone to steal my identity. It’s bad enough to get scammed in the States, but at least the law might reach the culprit. How am I going to go after some scammer in another country? We’ve all heard the news of some unscrupulous insider in the U.S. stealing credit card numbers. How long until some poor overworked person, making $2 an hour overseas, realizes what can be done with just a few prime, credit cards? They don’t even have to be ambitious enough to steal thousands of numbers. Just a few dozen would give them enough buying power to quite their job. Mark my words; the next big credit card security breach will come from some where overseas.