Genpact, an Indian company that is a global leader in business process and technology management, is looking to locate call centers in America because, according to President and CEO Pramod Bhasin, “Americans are open to working at home and working at lower salaries than they were used to." Currently the company employs more than 41,000 people providing services in 30 languages on a 24/7 basis. They have already opened call centers in Chicago. But will the American employees need to speak with an Indian accent?
Nobody has told this news about Indian companies coming to America to NBC which has a new show on its Fall line up called “Outsourced.” The show is based on the eponymous John Jeffcoat feature film. The premise of the show is a call center of an American novelties company located in Mumbai, India. A lone American employee manages the call center and must explain American popular culture to his employees so they can best try to essentially fool callers to think that they are really speaking to someone in America. We all know we are talking to someone in India, so I wonder why companies think they are tricking us? A video preview of the show can be seen at: http://www.nbc.com/outsourced/video/outsourced-full-length-trailer/1228242/
I watched the trailer and find it to be one of the most racially offensive shows since Amos ‘N’ Andy aired from the 1920-1950’s on radio and television.
NBC has run an extensive line up of ads for this show that are impossible to miss. Where is the Indian community on this? Why haven’t there been protests? Where is the equivalent Reverend Jesse Jackson of New Delhi to protest this show? Where do American labor unions stand on this issue? Questions that will be answered once the show starts airing.
How will unemployed Americans find it funny in a recession to watch and laugh about a sitcom about their jobs being shipped overseas? Where is the humor in the pain of no paycheck?
Maybe Chicagoans will give the show good ratings because of Genpact bringing jobs here. But the rest of the country will need to watch also, unless NBC is outsourcing the audience.
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ReplyDeleteSharon writes:
ReplyDelete"I don't know if this is accurate, but a friend of mine told me that if you can not understand the Indian/Pakistan/Pilipino or whatever, you can ask to speak to someone who has total command of English. No accent. The company is supposed to connect you with such a person.
As I said, I never checked it out. I just hang up and redial to try to find someone who can speak clearly.
My blood pressure can't take it!"