Well looks like you won’t have to worry about talking to Ishra when you call for help at the corporate call center. Nope, it seems as much as you want to get rid of illegals in the US, you just might be talking with Miguel when you phone in a complaint or need technical support from that US company. See US jobs still heading out of the country – PB/TK
Mexico call centers await ‘huge pool of talent’ if Trump keeps deportation pledge – Rory CarrollFriday 17 February 2017
If Donald Trump deports millions of people, Mexico’s call centers will have one word for him – and it won’t be gracias; it’ll be thanks.
The booming industry needs English speakers to service US customers, and the US president seems set to oblige with a deportation force that could banish record numbers of Americanized Mexicans south of the border.
“That’s a huge pool of talent for us,” said Joe Andere, executive vice-president of Americas Survey Company (ASC), which with its sister company Voxcentrix has 450 call center stations in Tijuana. “We’re looking for people at the moment. All the companies are.”
Employing native English speakers who understand American culture gives Mexican call centers an edge over rivals in India and the Philippines in a competitive, billion-dollar global industry.
Call centers here already employ thousands of people deported under the Obama administration. They do market research, sales and technical support for companies such as McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and Toyota. Their English can be so fluent and idiomatic that customers assume they are in the US.
Luis Vargas Salazar, 53, a former marine deported in 2014 after 51 years in the US, is due to start a call center job this week. “I aced the tests,” he said. “I scored so high on all the English exams they signed me up straight away.”
Call centers post flyers on the noticeboards of migrant shelters where deportees usually spend their first nights after expulsion. The flyers promise dollar commissions, bonuses and benefits, such as free coffee and cookies. Wages, however, are low – about $100 a week.
