Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Call centers cashing in on U.S. connection

Dominicans hope cultural and familial ties to the United States bring the island a bigger share of the call center industry.

Popular American dance music is playing, phones are ringing and sounds of ''thank you for holding'' fill the call center at an office park in the outskirts of this bustling city.

''Did you unplug everything from the radio?'' the Dominican customer service agent asked her American client, with just the ever-slightest touch of an accent. As the Dominican Republic taps into its returning immigrant population to become the Caribbean's leader in the call center industry, few would notice her inflection. And that's the idea.

The Dominican Republic has embarked on an aggressive campaign to ditch its tropical tourism image in favor of one that's a bit more technological. The country is banking on both its proximity and family ties to the United States to snatch up growing call center commerce as more and more industries seek business operations closer to home -- and more Americans are frustrated with customer service operators with accents from Asia.

The government in Santo Domingo is offering incentives, sending thousands of young people to English immersion school and clearing out failed textile factories to make room for one of the biggest trends in telecommunications: the Caribbean. The number of agents in the Caribbean increased fivefold in six years.

The Dominican Republic is not alone. Call centers -- even one for AOL -- have spread in St. Lucia, Barbados, Trinidad and Dominica, with an economic impact of at least $2.5 billion in the Caribbean alone, analysts say. Other countries in Latin America that have become magnets for call centers are Costa Rica and Panama.

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