Carbonite, a Boston-based company providing online data backup services, is in the process of replacing its call centre in India with one in the United States.
Despite higher costs in the US, Carbonite says it has taken the step due to high turnover among its Indian staff, and complaints about the quality of service provided.
The company is hiring staff for its new call centre in the north-eastern state of Maine. The centre was set up in June and expects to have 150 employees by the end of the year, going up to 250 by the end of 2012. This operation will replace Carbonite’s call centre in India, which will be closed by the year-end, according to statements of company officials, sending home around 150 workers.
Carbonite was set up in 2005, and opened its Indian call centre a year later. The company also has 150 employees at a customer support centre in Boston. It reported revenues of over $38 million last year and a net loss of $26 million for 2010.
Announcing the setting up of the new call centre in Lewiston, Maine, Co-Founder and CEO David Friend said, “We have tried to match the level of customer satisfaction that we get from our support centre in India versus our customer support centre in Boston, and the latter continuously, and across the board, beats our Indian operation in terms of customer satisfaction.”
Friend said the move made better business sense for the company even though it would pay “three times more” to its employees than it does to the staff in India. Salaries for full-time staff at the Maine call centre are expected to average $35,000 a year, including benefits, and up to $50,000 for managers.
Carbonite filed for an IPO in May 2011, and its executives declined to answer questions from Business Standard, citing the “quiet period” following the S-1 filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
But speaking to the US media earlier in Maine, senior executives mentioned employee turnover rates of “100 per cent” at Carbonite’s Indian call centre, and complaints from customers about the quality of service.
Recently, the British bank Santander UK had announced it would close its call centres in India and move these back to the UK.
Outsourcing is facing a political backlash in the US as it’s blamed for the loss of jobs during a recession, and companies often face complaints from customers about having to deal with foreign support staff.
However, this is not the beginning of a damaging trend to India’s IT-BPO sector, says Ben Trowbridge, CEO of the Dallas, Texas-based Alsbridge, a consulting firm that advises clients on outsourcing and benchmarking. “We’ve seen a similar report every two-three years,” he says, adding that “they play well to populist sentiment” read more
Despite higher costs in the US, Carbonite says it has taken the step due to high turnover among its Indian staff, and complaints about the quality of service provided.
The company is hiring staff for its new call centre in the north-eastern state of Maine. The centre was set up in June and expects to have 150 employees by the end of the year, going up to 250 by the end of 2012. This operation will replace Carbonite’s call centre in India, which will be closed by the year-end, according to statements of company officials, sending home around 150 workers.
Carbonite was set up in 2005, and opened its Indian call centre a year later. The company also has 150 employees at a customer support centre in Boston. It reported revenues of over $38 million last year and a net loss of $26 million for 2010.
Announcing the setting up of the new call centre in Lewiston, Maine, Co-Founder and CEO David Friend said, “We have tried to match the level of customer satisfaction that we get from our support centre in India versus our customer support centre in Boston, and the latter continuously, and across the board, beats our Indian operation in terms of customer satisfaction.”
Friend said the move made better business sense for the company even though it would pay “three times more” to its employees than it does to the staff in India. Salaries for full-time staff at the Maine call centre are expected to average $35,000 a year, including benefits, and up to $50,000 for managers.
Carbonite filed for an IPO in May 2011, and its executives declined to answer questions from Business Standard, citing the “quiet period” following the S-1 filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
But speaking to the US media earlier in Maine, senior executives mentioned employee turnover rates of “100 per cent” at Carbonite’s Indian call centre, and complaints from customers about the quality of service.
Recently, the British bank Santander UK had announced it would close its call centres in India and move these back to the UK.
Outsourcing is facing a political backlash in the US as it’s blamed for the loss of jobs during a recession, and companies often face complaints from customers about having to deal with foreign support staff.
However, this is not the beginning of a damaging trend to India’s IT-BPO sector, says Ben Trowbridge, CEO of the Dallas, Texas-based Alsbridge, a consulting firm that advises clients on outsourcing and benchmarking. “We’ve seen a similar report every two-three years,” he says, adding that “they play well to populist sentiment” read more
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