After Outsourcing -- Delta Airlines to charge extra for U.S. customers to talk to American call centers

Delta thinks of charging more for American voice on phone
The airline has surveyed some frequent fliers about adding a fee for talking to U.S. reservations agents but says it hasn't made up its mind.
By STEVE HUETTEL, Times Staff Writer
Published July 28, 2004

Airlines have resorted to charging travelers for meals, paper tickets and extra luggage to bolster their sagging bottom lines.

Now, Delta Air Lines is pondering a new twist: charging a fee to send your call to a reservations agent in the United States instead of a call center in India.

[...]

Providing customer service with offshore contractors is certainly nothing new, but charging extra to have calls taken by U.S.-based workers certainly would be.

Delta contracts with two companies, including Tampa-based Sykes Enterprises, to outsource three call centers to India with about 1,000 workers.

The nation's third largest airline saves about $25-million a year by redirecting "a percentage" of basic service calls from U.S. customers to the centers, said spokeswoman Peggy Estes.

Delta still employs more than 5,000 of its own reservations agents at eight U.S. reservations centers, including one in Tampa's West Shore district, and centers in Latin America and London. No Delta agents lost their jobs because of the outsourcing, Estes said. [?!]

But the service has spurred complaints from customers who say the contracted agents in India lack the training, language skills or knowledge of U.S. geography to handle certain types of transactions. The frequent flier Web site FlyerTalk.com has hosted online discussions with titles such as "India Call Center Incompetence..."

Hmm. Curiouser and Curiouser.