Moving from India to the Philippines: Asian Call Center

Our company was one of the first of those who first ventured into the call center industry. At first we set up one of the first call centers in India way back in 1997. Indian call centers were very busy. I did however never get used to the bad smell. It was everywhere, the body odor was overpowering. And the streets also smelled because they had a lot of cows and animals using the streets. Then our company noticed a change in the scene. Several large companies were closing down their Indian operations and were moving to the Philippines. Then all major companies started moving half or more than half of their operations to the Philippines for some reason.

This exodus was followed by our company. We then set up our own contact center operations in the newest fastest growing Asian call center location in the business. The Philippines was a very good choice. For one thing, the horrible body odor-like smell that permeated the whole of India including its cuisine was gone. In fact it’s quite the opposite. Filipinos it seems love to take baths. They take two baths a day in fact. And everyone was very courteous and friendly as opposed to India where you can’t walk in the streets without getting pissed of at some rude passerby giving you the look. It is a cultural thing. Filipinos are known internationally for their warmth and hospitality. I definitely prefer setting up shop there. Eventually we erected two buildings in a couple of the business parks in Manila.

The best part in having a contact center in the Philippines is that the agents were all so easy to train. They teach English there from kindergarten to college. No Filipino graduates without having an intimate knowledge of the English language. This is the edge of the country. Also, they have such a close cultural affinity with the U.S.