The Impact of Call Center Agents to Customer Experience; Magellan Solutions;

February 3, 2015; http://www.magellanoursourcingphilippines.com/blog/impact-callcenter-agents-accent-customer-experience/

Quote: They say the problem with foreign call centers is their foreign accent. we
can agree to that statement since one way or another , a number of foreign call
centers lack the competence to take on the genuine American accent or tone that
sounds natural to the ears of consumer calling.
Summary: accents, more frank language difficulties, and vague pronunciation as
well, affects the service quality entirely.

Leovina Quinto; Call Center: Philippines Overtakes India as Worlds No. 1; Taking You
Forward; December 15, 2014; http://www.takingyouforward.com/blog/sme/callcenter-philippines-overtakes-india-as-worlds-no-1/
Quote: Although the Philippines has 8 major local dialects, Filipinos are remarkably
outstanding when communicating in English using a neutral accent.
Summary: The five clear reasons why the Philippines overtook India in the call
center supremacy: Culture Compatibility, Neutral Accent, English Speaking
Workforce, Strong Government Support and Hospitability and Devotion to Work.

The Economist; Philippines bests India in call centers; Star Tribune; June 25, 2012;
http//m.startribune.com/Philippines-beats-india-in-call-centers/160297655/
Quote: The main reason for the success of the Philippine call centers is that
workers speak English with a neutral accent and are familiar with American idioms,
which is exactly what their American customers want.
Summary: Last year (2011) the Philippines even overtook India, long the biggest
call-center operator in the world, in voice related services.

Gregory Walton; Sarcasm gives call centres in Manila the edge; Telegraph; March 9,
2015;
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/11460424/Sarcasmgives-call-centres-in-Manila-the-edge.html
Frank Griffin; Heavy Accents Leads to Call Center Job Loss in India; Interactive
intelligence; April 8, 2014;
http://callcenterinfo.tmcnet.com/Analysis/articles/375597-heavy-accents-lead-callcenter-job-loss-india.htm

Quote: This very point was proven by a recent joined study comducted by
Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) and KPMG,
which revealed the one of the reasons the Philippines has been acquiring 70 percent
of all incremental voice and call center business from India is because of the neutral
English accent in which Filipinos speak.
Tracey E. Schelmetic; Its All About the Accent: Philippines Beats India for Offshore
Outsourcing; Cloud Contact Center; May 8, 2014;
http://www.cloudcontactcenterzone.com/topics/cloud-call-center/articles/378204-itsall-the-accent-philippines-beats-indi-offshore.htm
Quote: For starters, as a former US colony, the Philippines can provide workers who
are more in tune with American culture and language quirks.
http://www.philstar.com/business/2014/04/07/1309878/accent-matters-philippinesacquiring-70-india-call-centers

The Philippines is a top destination for business outsourcing of international

companies. It is named as the worlds best country in business English proficiency when
it earned the highest score in the Business English Index beating its western
counterparts in the US, UK, and Australia. As the worlds third largest English-speaking
country, the Philippines has a huge talent pool to meet the manpower demands of call
centers and BPO companies
In a recent joint study conducted by Associated Chambers of Commerce and
Industry of India (Assocham) and KPMG, which revealed that one of the reasons the
Philippines has been acquiring 70 percent of all incremental voice and call center
business from India is because of the neutral English accent in which Filipinos speak.
The Philippines Contact Center Association has previously estimated that 350,000 call
handlers are employed in the island nation, compared with roughly 330,000 in India and
more than 600,000 are employed in the Philippines wider outsourcing sector.
Even though the Philippines has 8 major local dialects, Filipinos are outstanding
when communicating in English using a neutral accent. Indians can speak English
fluently but their noticeable native accent remains challenging. Numerous US
companies find the heavy Indian accent unacceptable to many customers. On the other
hand, Filipinos can immediately adapt to and speak in different Western English
accents.
Filipinos have the exceptional ability to adapt easily to different cultures. This is
attributed to the fact that the Philippines has a lot of similarities to Western cultures as a
result of influences from multiple foreign rulers in the distant past. Filipinos embraced
American culture instead of rejecting it. This is evident in all levels of schools where the
English language is used as a medium of instruction. There is clearly a cultural
compatibility between the Philippines and Western countries, most especially the US.
Manila and Cebu are the top two BPO destinations in the Philippines. These
cities and many more have contributed to the progress of the countrys outsourcing
industry. Recognizing the big contribution of call centers to the countrys economic
growth, the Philippine government has given its full support to the outsourcing industry.
Government support comes in many ways, including offer of subsidies to foreign
investors, reduced cost of facilities, and provision of tax benefits. Educational programs
are implemented by the government to further enhance English language proficiency
and technical skills with emphasis on computer technology. The Philippines is an ideal
location for foreign investors as more overseas companies are either opening or
expanding businesses in the country. On the other hand, Insufficient Indian government
support, has provoked many foreign companies to leave India and transfer their
businesses to other more welcoming countries like the Philippines. Call center
outsourcing is a big factor in the economic growth of the Philippines and India.