Insults from America

Indian call center employees have discovered an unexpected drawback in their line of work. Of millions of calls, about 5 percent involve bigotry from US customers who are angry about outsourcing and grasp an opportunity to speak their minds. Call center workers hear attacks about cultural inferiority and accusations about reaping the benefits of outsourcing at the expense of US workers. These exchanges, which reflect a deep US anxiety, have begun to find their way into Indian popular culture. A new sitcom, “The Call Center,” dramatizes such calls and portrays US callers as arrogant, immoral and comically rude. India and the US have developed close ties in recent years, but the issue of outsourcing has emerged as an irritant with nationalistic Indians denouncing the practice of using what they call “cyber-coolies” and some Americans taking umbrage at having to talk with foreigners for customer service. General improvement notwithstanding, hurt feelings on either side of a short phone call could strain the relationship. – YaleGlobal