Question
Vol 11 Issue 13 | 22 April - 5 May 2005
Daily Updates
EBay considers outsourcing US work to Indian subsidiary
Online auction portal eBay Inc. is considering outsourcing key business functions to its Indian subsidiary in Mumbai, according to an executive of the company. EBay already outsources some work to third party service providers in India.
John Ribeiro
IDG News Service\Bangalore Bureau
Updated: Apr 29, 2005 09:34 AM
Online auction portal eBay Inc. is considering outsourcing key business functions to its Indian subsidiary in Mumbai, according to an executive of the company. EBay already outsources some work to third party service providers in India.
"Some of the functions we are considering moving to India such as customer relationship management, product development, trust and safety, and network management operations are critical to our business, and we are evaluating whether we should do it in house in India," Avnish Bajaj, country manager of eBay India said Wednesday in Bangalore.
Entire Story
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I don't know what scares me more:
customer relationship management
trust and safety
or
product development
Sheeesh! The clowns that live HERE (and alledgely HAVE a clue ) do a good enough job of "enhancing" us to death already!!!
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I wonder what people in India think of Americans as a result of all this customer service outsourcing. They get a lot of customer support, technical assistance, and bill collecting jobs right? I missed a car payment a while ago, just forgot to make it. I got a call from India...
Hello, John?
Yes.
This is.....
Yes?
We're calling about your payment that was due..
Oh, I forgot! I'm making it now online.
Would you like to pay by check or credit card?
I'm making it now online.
How is it that you are making payment?
Online.
When will you be making this payment?
Now, actually it's done.
John, why didn't you make this payment on time?
I forgot.
John, will you be making your next payment on time?
Go suck an egg.
Those last 2 questions really got me. They were so condescending. And for some reason them coming from out of the country just made it worse. As a matter of fact, I resolved to not get another vehicle loan through that company again.
Anyway - between dealing with our late payment excuses and our computer tech service questions and now soon to be trust and safety I wonder if they think we're a bunch of deadbeat illiterates.
That said... with a BILLION DOLLAR PROFIT coming in for 2005 eBay really sucks for doing this. I'm pissed.
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Why can't ebay do their part to support the american economy and hire american companies who in turn will hire amercians and pay them in amercian money so they could shop in american stores and just maybe spend some of their disposable income on ebay ........
this is like cutting the nose off to spite the face.........
Another little straw in the downhill slide of ebay
sooner all latter it will be the proverbial LAST straw, it always happens
an avalanche begins with a single snowflake
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Naw, things haven't gotten as bad as they can. This article adds fuel to your issue.
eBay obviously doesn't read the Newsmax website which today only shows an ocean cruise ship, the Carousel, which has 600 state rooms and is planned to be anchored 3 miles out off Los Angeles, California, "just outside U.S. laws" and which will have foreign computer experts onboard which will be hired out to U.S. companies for cheap labor without paying payroll taxes, or immigration expenses, etc. And the workers get the benefit of working long days and nights without our labor law protections. Company responsible? Seacode and co-founder David Cook.
Photo and link here:
http://www.newsmax.com/
article here:
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/arti...8/170632.shtml
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Rob Chesnut made a promise to quit with the automated mails.
Maybe this is how eBay is going to fulfill that promise without spending 'real' big money .
I just hope automated ones don't turn out better, by comparison.
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A side issue relating to Tax Liabilities.
I am a hypocrite for raising this, as I am registered with the USA arm of eBay, and pay my accounts to them.
Australia has a GST tax system (Goods and Services Tax). Any business turning over more than $50,000 in Australia, should be collecting a 10% GST on sales / turnover. To collect GST a business must register and have an ABN (Australian Business Number). The business liabilities are reduced by subtracting the GST the business has paid from the GST the business has collected, and the difference is submitted to the Australian Tax Office either quarterly or Annually. I collect GST and submit my returns quarterly.
I was recently hunting around eBay Australia for the Australian rule on multiple auctions, and stumbled onto this page:
http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/seller-gst.html
Whilst eBay trades within Australia, and now requires Australian residents to register on the Australian site, eBay Australia treats itself as a Swiss business. They employ staff within Australia, they attend fairs in Australia with staff and stalls promoting the site, and they advertise within Australia - but for some reason whilst collecting fees on more than 600,000 listings within Australia, they have no tax liability here:
What is eBay's ABN number?
The rights and services available at www.ebay.com.au are provided by eBay International AG, located at Bubenbergplatz 5, 3011, Bern, Switzerland. As a foreign entity, eBay International A.G. is not required to be registered for GST and therefore does not have an ABN number.
I do wonder how many sellers claim GST input credits for their Ebay bill, not realising that there is no GST included.
Whilst at the same time eBay expresses how they feel that customers should be treating tax within listings:
Should the item Description include GST?
In all cases, eBay would prefer seller to list their items to include GST in the opening bid amount. If it is the intention of the seller to add GST to the final value price this fact should be explained in advance in the item description.
I believe that ALL non-North American branches of eBay are deemed to be Swiss for tax purposes.
Kevin
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My sister and several of my friends have recently lost their jobs due to outsourcing to India. Last week I had a question for my CC company and had to call their customer service number three times before I got someone I could understand.
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The vessel would dock in Long Beach once a month to take on supplies and dispose of waste
They get the jobs, we get the sh*t
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Online auction portal eBay Inc. is considering outsourcing key business functions to its Indian subsidiary in Mumbai, according to an executive of the company.
HOW do those eBay big shots WALK?....