On Sep 20, 2004, at 5:55 PM, Gautam Mukunda wrote:
If you know of an interesting article, site, argument, whatever, on the topic, I'd very much appreciate it if you could send it my way ASAP.
Anecdote:
I was recently involved in a beta test of an antiviral software package for OSX that was outsourced.
It not only failed utterly to live up to prior versions' stability, but the program was actually responsible for destroying user data (specifically, mailbox content) when it was meant to *protect* it. The program was removed from circulation within a week.
This company utterly failed to heed beta testers' warnings that the software was not ready for prime time, and the overall tone from the outsourced programming group was one of very poor response to user warnings. Testers were treated with extreme skepticism -- if acknowledged at all -- when they reported issues. (We were told, for instance, that mailbox destruction issues had been fixed *after testers continued to report problems*.)
In prior beta programs dealing with non-outsourced programmers, I saw abundant evidence that quality of work and craftsmanship were important factors in the development cycle. Not in this case.
==
Another anecdote:
Microsoft's tech support quality has degraded substantially since they began outsourcing. Recently I had difficulty gaining access to an MS web site. I sent a note describing the problem and the error to a tech support drop box. I received a reply in several days' time from overseas telling me that, in essence, the fault was on my end because I use a Mac.
Having, in a former life, built websites, I know that's simply bullshit, and said as much though not as baldly in reply.
Several days elapsed again and I got essentially a reformulation of the "sorry for the delay" message -- and this time a statement that there were efforts being made on improving things.
Again, from overseas, but this time a different correspondent. Clearly delaying tactics.
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A third anecdote:
When trying to debug a particularly perfidious networking issue with a Dell system, the outsourced tech support person I got on the phone argued with me for ten minutes about, in essence, whether I actually knew what I was talking about before eventually escalating the call.
I actually had to shout, which is something I very, very rarely do, since I know that the people on the other end of the line are not responsible for malfunctions and don't need the pain. But I was completely unprepared for the arrogance and pig-headed responses from my contact.
Turned out the problem wasn't with what I was doing. IOW no, it wasn't my fault and yes, I did know what I was talking about.
This from a company that proclaims it provides "award-winning" support.
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Here's an arrogant-sounding statement but I'll stand by it. Americans (and particularly American-run and -owned and -employed businesses) seem much more interested in quality than several other nations appear to be, and unfortunately those nations happen to be where we're farming our work out.
I don't think inculcation via meetings or training will make a difference, either. I have a rather depressing feeling that this urge to succeed is something either you have or you don't; it can't be trained in. And so far the evidence is that quality is NOT high priority in many of the places to which most American work is currently being outsourced.
This has surely been true for years, but it's become quite critical lately. A bad batch of running shoes is one thing, but if your workers trash digital material or botch an X-ray reading, consequences can become considerably more dire.
The people who foul up don't have to give a shit and, for the most part, the businessmen who make the decision to outsource don't either. It's the consumer that gets screwed. (Or it would be if the consumer still had his job, but he could well have lost it to outsourcing...)
-- Warren Ockrassa, Publisher/Editor, nightwares Books http://books.nightwares.com/ Current work in progress "The Seven-Year Mirror" Excerpt at http://www.nightwares.com/books/Flat_Out.pdf
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