Dell Pulls Some Corporate Tech Support From India

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November 24, 2003 (2:00 PM EST)

Dell Pulls Some Corporate Tech Support From India

Dell has routed its U.S. technical support for two corporate computer lines to U.S. facilities from Bangalore, India, following complaints from commercial customers.

The change in support affects the U.S. buyers of the Round Rock, Texas, company's Optiplex desktop and Latitude notebook computers. Their calls will now be routed to facilities in Texas, Idaho and Tennessee.

Other products and regions are not affected, and the move will not have an impact on employment in the U.S. or India, Dell spokesman Jon Weisblatt said Monday, describing the shift as a "small process change."

Dell declined comment on the reason for the switch, but Brooks Gray, a senior analyst with Technology Business Research Inc., said the change occurred after Dell heard customer complaints. TBR specializes in research that tracks customer support.

"They heard some complaints about language issues, and heard some complaints in regards to escalation times from entry-level technicians to higher-level engineers," Gray said. "I view this as a proactive move signaling that (Dell) has its customers' best interest in mind."

Over the last few years, an increasing number of companies across industries have located customer service centers in India and other foreign countries to reduce labor costs. Those moves, however, carry risks in terms of language difficulties between customers and service reps, as well as the skill level of the foreign worker.

"Vendors are walking a thin line and need to carefully balance their operations costs with the quality of support," Gray said.