No to Bangalore; Yes to Buffalo: The US Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Bill - A Blow to Indian BPO Business
"GOOD morning, welcome to Bank of America; this is xxxxx located in India; how may I help you"
"Could you transfer my call to somebody located in the US?"
"Sure sir, can I put you on hold for a moment please”.
This is how conversations with customer-care agents of US companies in future would be.
In what the NASSOCAM calls a protectionist measure, a Bill was introduced in the US Congress to require publicly available a list of all employers that relocate a call center overseas and to make such companies ineligible for Federal grants or guaranteed loans and to require disclosure of the physical location of business agents engaging in customer service communications.
The Bill also proposes that a call Centre agent shall at the beginning of a call disclose his physical location and if the customer requests, transfer the call to an agent physically located in the United States.
The Indian Call Centre industry is likely to be badly affected, if this Bill becomes Law, which is most unlikely.