Outsourced

[Taratron]

Just because I need to rant....

As most of you know, I work at BestWestern hotels, in a reservation call center here in Glendale, AZ. There's another larger call center in Phoenix, but we all take reservations for all BestWesterns around the world. I've had this job since last June, and while it's not the best job, it pays well and it pays the bills.

And starting this January through May, every single employee of these two call centers, numbering 700 people, will lose their jobs. In short, the reservations centers have been outsourced to India and the Phillipines. Because I am part-time, I get no severance package, and my benefits, which just went up in price nearly double-fold, I'll lose when I do my job.

See, thus far management has told us that all reservation agents' last day will be May 15. Because they just opened the call centers in India and the Phillipines, and it will take a good few months to teach these new employees how to speak "street" English and get the general lingo down. Of course, this date is set in stone as the last date for ANY employee at the call centers. We can lose our jobs quicker if the new employees are able to get on the phones faster than anticipated.

For me, yes, this is one of those life-changing lessons that despite the hard work I put in, I am expendable. What gets me, other than the fact there are no jobs in Phoenix right now (even fastfood isn't hiring!), is that in a few months, some 700 people will be desperately searching for work. Most of us will have to go on unemployment, or seek welfare to make ends meet.

There are some people I know who have worked at BestWestern for the past 20 years. There are a handful who have worked for over 40 years, and these res agents' age ranging from late fifties to early sixties. A good number of them have health problems, and guess who is losing all their medical benefits as well? No one will cover a sixty-five-year old woman like Pam, whose hands have permanently curled nearly into a fist, and has to have a pencil held in her semi fist to even type anything.

So yeah, in the grand scheme of things, 700 people losing their jobs isn't anyhing. But for those 700, it very well is the end of the line.

[racoll]

that's really awful. my only advice is to leave asap and try to beat the rush for jobs.

good luck with whatever you do. don't give up with the fish.

[MatsP]

That sucks. Sorry to hear that.

I lost my job about two years ago. In my case I was lucky enough to get good severance package, since I'd been with the company for 7 years...

Even tho' I got a good package, it was still a blow. I can only imagine what it's like to loose the job and not even have the security of a bundle of money to keep you over the time of job-hunting.

This out-sourcing business is really something that I'm not sure will benefit the company that does it. Ok, so they get cheap labour from the people in those countries, and for the people in India or wherever they out-source to, it's a good thing [and I think that they need work there, no doubt]. But there are several things that cause problems too:
1. Incompatible goals.
The out-sourcee (i.e. main company) and the out-sourcer (supplier, contract company) do not necessarily have the same goal. The out-sourcee would have it's customers as a priority (hopefully), whilst the out-sourcer is interested in answering as many calls as possible (or whatever they get paid to do).

2. Rising costs of out-sourcing.
The cost for the out-sourcer's are rising, since the "cheap labour" is no longer so abundant in the popular regions, as well as the suitable office-space in the location. The rent in some Indian locations have reportedly gone up by 40%.

3. Loss of knowledge.
The knowledge of certain routines and functions in the company is moved from the company itself to the out-sourcer, which means that often, the detailed knowledge is lost within the company. When, eventually, the contract goes to another out-sourcer [which is the whole idea of out-sourcing: you can change the supplier of a service], this knowledge becomes completely lost.

I don't think out-sourcing is a good solution, but that's just my thoughts.

--
Mats