socialmedian: Call Centers Are Fodder For India's Pop Culture

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Call Centers Are Fodder For India's Pop Culture - washingtonpost.com

Submitted by Jasongoldberg

Oct 20, 2008

Summary

In a training session at a suburban call center, groups of fresh-faced Indian recruits jettison their Indian names and thick accents and practice speaking English just like the Americans do. They have hesitant conversations with imaginary American customers who complain angrily about their broken appliance or computer glitch.

The instructor writes "35 = 10" on the board, as though he is gifting the recruits with a magic mantra.

"A 35-year-old American's brain and IQ is the same as a 10-year-old Indian's," he explains, and urges the agents to be patient with the callers.

That is a scene from "Hello," the first Bollywood movie about the distorted and dual lives of India's 2 million call-center workers. When it debuted this month, many in the audience cheered and laughed at such scenes, which pandered to the reigning stereotypes about those on both ends of the transcontinental, toll-free Read the full article

Comments (4)

Chopperz,

Oct 21, 2008

This is garbage. More American-bashing. But -- don't worry; there is an AMERICAN book which answers this charge. It's called HANDLE TIME and its by LINCOLN PARK. Handle Time is becoming the bible for call center floor agents in the United States! It's funny as hell -- and it's got a real live, direct answer to that "35=10" B.S. One day, HANDLE TIME will be a movie, too!

Jasongoldberg,

Oct 21, 2008

@chopperz I don't see how it is american bashing. what am i missing?

Chopperz,

Oct 22, 2008

Hi Jason -- The "35=10" axiom (in the movie AND the book from the Indians) implies that the mind of a 35 year old American is equivalent to the mind of a 10 year old Indian child. The movie opens with this -- and the Indian book has this on pg. 55. If this is not American-bashing, I don't know what is. Anyway, HANDLE TIME answers this crap head-on. I hope every American telephone worker buys a copy of HANDLE TIME and enjoys it the way the Indians have enjoyed One Night@the Call Center.