Some new fodder for the state's economic-development campaign: Ya'll come to Indiana! We can be had cheap, 'n we don tawk funny:
Why is Indiana becoming a center for call centers? With IBM's announcement, Indiana has unveiled five new call centers in the past six months.
[. . .]
"We have a very well educated population and our cost of living is low and therefore our wages are lower than the average of the country," Will said.
"I think the fact that we don't have a distinct accent here in this area has a lot to do with it. Far south or New York, you know, you have those accents that people contend with," said former call center employee Linda Overholt.
I dread anything ever happening to my Sony laptop again. The customer-service calls go to India, and the last time, I gave up in frustration after half an hour of me not understanding the guy and him not understanding me. What a stupid was to treat customers who have spent a lot of money on your product.
On the other hand, I had to call Comcast recently when my high-speed Internet was on the fritz. The guy had one of those accentless voices of the kind referenced above, and at one point I was speculating that the weather might be a problem. "I as out of town over the weekend. Was there a storm here that might have zapped my Internet?" There was a slight pause, and the man said, "How would I know? I'm in Canada." Doh!
