Editorials & Other Articles

merrily

(45,251 posts)

43. I used to get very good English speakers when I called Mastercard and Comcast.

Fri Apr 25, 2014, 07:01 PM

Apr 2014

Recently, I'm getting people with very thick accents. I grew up listening to thick accents all around me, but I am having trouble understanding this batch.

Not only that but the Comcast reps are operating either from home or from an incredibly noisy place. Yelling and clatter in the background on both occasions I called recently, one of which was to get support on my broadband connection.

This is offshoring, not HB 1, but it is in reaction to your comment on communication skills. For some purposes, employers seem more than willing to risk it.

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An IT worker writes: 'Emotionally, we are broken' [View all] OhioChick Apr 2014 OP

Been there, done that, have the pink slip. nt Xipe Totec Apr 2014 #1

I'm so sorry. merrily Apr 2014 #18

Don't be, I'm happily back to work now Xipe Totec Apr 2014 #60

Great! Thanks for letting me know. merrily Apr 2014 #61

I think it's absolutely degrading to make an employee train his "replacement" whathehell Apr 2014 #66

Tell me about it. Xipe Totec Apr 2014 #67

What would have happened had you refused? whathehell Apr 2014 #69

Off of being laid off Xipe Totec Apr 2014 #72

I see what you're saying.. whathehell Apr 2014 #73

Yea, it sucks. Xipe Totec Apr 2014 #75

It certainly does...Like you, I don't blame whathehell Apr 2014 #78

The corporations, through their lobbyists, influenced government to change the laws Xipe Totec Apr 2014 #80

Me too, in 2002. Thor_MN Apr 2014 #20

And broken is our congress... ChromeFoundry Apr 2014 #2

Dont you think the Admin should be included? nm rhett o rick Apr 2014 #3

The Admin doesn't set the H1B cap. (nt) jeff47 Apr 2014 #4

But of course. nm rhett o rick Apr 2014 #5

Not a word about it exchanged with Nance or Harry or relevant committee chairs, either. merrily Apr 2014 #23

I should put in my signature line, "The above comments are in no way intended to reflect badly on rhett o rick Apr 2014 #28

"The admin" contains a lot of people in addition to the President. merrily Apr 2014 #30

Sorry but I missed the point. nm rhett o rick Apr 2014 #31

The point is neither you nor I merrily Apr 2014 #35

The Admin is clueless on the impact of the program... ChromeFoundry Apr 2014 #9

Respectfully, how do you know that the Admin is clueless about merrily Apr 2014 #22

And it doesnt take a rocket scientist to recognized that no one is looking to rhett o rick Apr 2014 #32

When Bush said, "These are not jobs Americans want to do," merrily Apr 2014 #37

Do I understand you correctly? Are you an Ayn Rand fan? nm rhett o rick Apr 2014 #45

People at DU are so perceptive. merrily Apr 2014 #46

You are giving me way too much credit. If you were being factious or sarcastic rhett o rick Apr 2014 #48

Oh, my. Did you think I was giving instructions or advice to employers? merrily Apr 2014 #50

I went back to my post. A critical word was missing from the last line. merrily Apr 2014 #51

Yes that is helpful. Thanks for clearing that up. nm rhett o rick Apr 2014 #57

No worries. Got a kick out of the comment when I thought it was merrily Apr 2014 #59

Bill Clinton signed it into law (renewed it) in the late nineties.. whathehell Apr 2014 #65

Now that you mention it, I heard him too. Made no sense to me, especially given the merrily Apr 2014 #68

You are absolutely correct & Thomas Jefferson said it long ago.."The merchant has no patriotism" whathehell Apr 2014 #70

Attributed to Jefferson: merrily Apr 2014 #71

Okay, close enough. whathehell Apr 2014 #74

IBM workers trained their H-IB replacements HockeyMom Apr 2014 #6

training your replacements who are complete nitwits is the worst Skittles Apr 2014 #7

Getting a call at home because your replacement Treant Apr 2014 #12

what kills me is Skittles Apr 2014 #13

Exactly. Treant Apr 2014 #14

from what I can see, they simply lowered the standards Skittles Apr 2014 #64

Mmmmm, how sweet it is! merrily Apr 2014 #17

"anonymous" = Complicity Corruption Inc Apr 2014 #8

"anonymous" also can mean "has something of value to lose". ChromeFoundry Apr 2014 #10

When you train your own H1-B replacement it's self-evident there is no "skills shortage". pa28 Apr 2014 #11

Excellent points. merrily Apr 2014 #24

This story is so true SmittynMo Apr 2014 #15

Sorry for all you've gone through. merrily Apr 2014 #26

You can tinker around with Capitalism...... DeSwiss Apr 2014 #16

Thing is, we're the beast. merrily Apr 2014 #29

And yet..... DeSwiss Apr 2014 #52

Agree merrily Apr 2014 #58

I saw it coming mikeysnot Apr 2014 #19

We got double whammied in a similar vein. Erich Bloodaxe BSN Apr 2014 #42

When people that do not understand the medium mikeysnot Apr 2014 #81

It is not the government's fault. We cannot fall into that trap. The Stranger Apr 2014 #21

You can't fall into the trap that government has no responsiblity either. merrily Apr 2014 #39

No argument here about the enablers. The Stranger Apr 2014 #82

People in governments, local, state and federal can choose not to allow merrily Apr 2014 #83

I've been in IT for 17 years shawn703 Apr 2014 #25

I think the trap is that most companies Erich Bloodaxe BSN Apr 2014 #36

Don't rely on your employer for training shawn703 Apr 2014 #53

I used to get very good English speakers when I called Mastercard and Comcast. merrily Apr 2014 #43

and just this month Hillary was calling for an increase in the H-1B limits antigop Apr 2014 #27

Having seen my job go to India twice, this is another reason I cannot support Hillary. djean111 Apr 2014 #33

and don't expect sympathy from the Third Way sycophants nt antigop Apr 2014 #38

Hello, preacher, choir here. merrily Apr 2014 #44

back in 2007 antigop Apr 2014 #40

Nothing that pays nearly as well, that's for sure. djean111 Apr 2014 #41

The article uses the word outsourcing, but sending jobs to India is offshoring. merrily Apr 2014 #47

But upthread I read that the admin has nothing to do with this Doctor_J Apr 2014 #63

If you have to train the H1-B replacements Erich Bloodaxe BSN Apr 2014 #34

Let's see. Some are too menial or physically taxing for Americans to want to do. merrily Apr 2014 #49

Why do IT workers tolerate having to train their replacements? Brigid Apr 2014 #54

some companies force you to train your replacement if you want severance payment nt antigop Apr 2014 #55

Yep, that's what I thought. Brigid Apr 2014 #56

Mission Accomplished for the globalizers/1%. Doctor_J Apr 2014 #62

Sabotaging my replacement would be more like it. Ed Suspicious Apr 2014 #76

Been that way in the private sector for some time now. riqster Apr 2014 #77

No emotions are allowed in the IT Room Blue Owl Apr 2014 #79

The real H-1B numbers ticktockman Apr 2014 #84