Outsourcing to India

So today I had to activate my new credit card. I called the number and talked to an Indian woman. After the card was activated, she tried to sell me "credit protection." It's the kind of thing that I would never use but also never bother to cancel, so I was sure to say no. I spent the next 5 minutes saying no again and again. Finally it hit me: she reminded me of nothing so much as one of the "touts" selling souvenirs outside tourist destinations in India. Their strategy is basically to keep talking until you break down and buy whatever it is. Since she probably wasn't allowed to slash the price by 90%, which is typically what the touts do, she could only repeat cliches about how life's difficulties don't announce themselves by knocking. I felt a little bad, but a firm "no" is really all you can do.

Anyway, the point is, you can't just outsource call centers anywhere. India's culture of tireless salesmanship is crucial to the whole enterprise.