Ryan has some comments on Dell's decision to move some customer service functions from India back to the US. While outsourcing to Asia does make sense for some companies, I agree with Ryan's sentiment that some firms are too eager and see it as a quick fix solution.
On a different note, I've noticed that many corporations have jumped on the outsourcing bandwagon, drooling over the short-term benefits to their bottom-line. Often times, their view of the world is that customer service is a cost center. The result of this phenomenon, in laymans terms, is that customer service just plain sucks these days. American Express is about the only exception that comes to mind. I wonder if Dell, in a commoditized industry, realized that they had made a strategic mistake by compromising the quality of their customer service. If that is the rationale behind Dell's move out of India, I applaud them.
Good points. Outsourcing is easier than creative problem solving. I've never had the opportunity to work for a company undergoing a decision about outsourcing, but I wonder if they give proper consideration to the potential negative effects.
