Call Center Sitcom
Posted by callcenterinindia on September 14, 2007
India has last laugh in call centre sitcom
It is no laughing matter for anyone trying to call their bank and finding themselves mired in misunderstanding with a call centre 4,000 miles away.
Critics complain that overseas centres have taken 50,000 UK jobs, and that the advisers, paid a fraction of their British equivalents, are often unfamiliar with our culture.
At the other end of the telephone, however, it seems things are very different. A sitcom to be broadcast later this year takes a look at call centres from the Indian perspective – and British callers do not emerge with much credit. Many are depicted as racist and abusive.
One episode of The Call Centre is devoted to hate calls from people angry at their jobs being “offshored” or “Bangalored”, and spewing racist taunts at the long-suffering Indians.
American callers come off even worse. The programme, produced by India’s leading news channel NDTV, recreates a real incident when an American radio show host rang an Indian call centre, pretended to order hair beads for his daughter and then began.
Overall, British callers were “calmer and gentler” than Americans. “You get filthy anger boiling up straight away,” he said. “I know it is frustrating, people trying to sell you things you don’t want, and I can understand people being rude. But why get racist?” shouting, ‘You f****** Indian bitch, what the f*** are you calling me for?’ “
In the sitcom, the call centre staff handle credit card inquiries and computer problems. In one scene, an American looking at pornography on the internet calls for help because he can’t switch off his computer. “Try shutting all the windows,” the Indian tells him. The American says “hold on” and goes off to shut the windows in his flat.
One director, said: “Americans emerge as the most foul-mouthed and stupid in the episodes filmed so far.”
The sitcom is the first to be set in an office: Indian soaps and sitcoms are usually set in homes and revolve around traditional family themes.
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