After the dozen or so phone calls I’ve made this week to companies near and far, I’ve gained a new appreciation for call centre employees here in the United States. Well, what’s left of them.

Moving is no easy chore. I’ve had to call my banks, local utilities, moving companies, shipping companies and more in an attempt to gather everything into some kind of organised chaos. So far, so good. Unfortunately, I can’t begin to count the amount of time I wasted this week sitting on the phone. Why? I was transferred halfway around the world each and every time.

Citibankebab

I’m ordering things to accessorise my new apartment. Furniture, bedding, home office equipment, televisions and the like. I’m having things shipped to my office, and several companies have declined my credit card. My shipping address doesn’t match the billing address on file with the bank. A simple phone call that would have taken 10 minutes, took nearly 40.

I’ve been a Citibank customer for years now. The customer service for CitiGold clientele was recently relocated. Sigh. I don’t think I could’ve explained what I wanted to do any more simply than I did to the gentleman in India. All I wanted was to add my office address, and my new apartment address, to my Citibank cards as authorised “ship to” addresses. After being transferred 4 times, I finally reached somebody in the US. It took 5 minutes to make the changes.

A-Delhi-a

You wouldn’t expect someone in New Delhi to answer when calling about local cable service. Thanks to Adelphia, that expectation is now a distant memory. My order was mangled by several representatives, and they scheduled the date incorrectly. A transfer to a US-based agent sorted the problem. To apologise, I was given a two-month service credit, and got the 3 HD DVR boxes I requested updated to Digeo Moxi boxes. (If you haven’t seen Digeo Moxi, check it out! It’s incredible!)

GMAC Mortgage

Again, say hello to India! A credit card payment on my mortgage back in Florida didn’t get processed, even though it was well before the due date on the bill. An hour and a half later, the problem was taken care of. I pride myself on my linguistic abilities. Having to speak like I’m still in kindergarten is not something I enjoy.

Credit Union of Texas Bombay

Updating the address on my auto loan was excruciatingly difficult. Why don’t these people understand? What is so difficult about changing an address? It was finally completed, only after I was transferred back into the United States.

I’ve totally lost respect for companies that outsource call centre responsibilities to cheap foreign labour markets. It’s one thing in certain industries. But when you have people calling, you wonder why frustration levels run so high. I don’t agree with outsourcing but am cognizant that it is a necessary evil, partially motivated by greed. However, if companies keep this up, the consumers that helped line their pockets will probably go somewhere else. Like me.