Looking to open Small Call Center to grow my company

Will definitely do that.  I'd love to see Cebu.

Art

CharlesHarman wrote:

I'm two years older than you born April 1946, ever come to Cebu look me up will buy you a beer.

Michael


[img align=L]https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/427988_10150616830303915_1593579114_n.jpg[/url]

Thanks Michael..

In fact my wife and I plan to travel there in the next month or so...Perhaps if you have time you can show us around...We are also planning a trip up to Bantayan Island NE of you...

Are you a Vietnam Vet???I spent 2 years there '67 to '68 and '71 to 72...

NICE PHOTO...Send me your email and I will send a few of mine also.

Just message me if you are looking for a call center set up and talented people that can you help you with your business...I myself is a top performer in my previous call center job..Just message me or call me @ 09173115854

where you in cebu michael? can I look at you when i go there? hehehe..

This is an example of what passes for "quality" in a LOT of Philippines call centers:

"I myself is a top performer in my previous call center job"

It speaks for itself (pun intended).

It's such a small thing but the problem is that you've got people who do NOT speak native-English passing their mediocre skills along to other people with even less English experience.

And....the Filipinos (on both sides of the issue) are too (a)complacent or (b)'polite' to say anything about it.

Art

I was a photographer in the USAF and spent a year in Thailand in support of Vietnam in 1970. I flew over Vietnam once and collected combat pay for that month. I have a Ford Everest here it's a 2012 model and I can pick you up at the airport if you like when you come, lots of room in an Everest. Michael

i think any single person looking at investing here  should probably read this link

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2013/ … perate-phl

if this can happen to fedex      a international company operating all over the globe that employed so many filipino's

maybe u should reconsider investing here until things become more stable and their is more security in your investment....

I wondering if all u guys that have been reading forbes and all the spin about the phils's economics actually realise that u can   and obviously( facts above) will lose everything if u are a non filipino corporation 

and think about this       fedex  is an international company and would have dotted all thier Is and Js     yet they still  just got kicked out of this country...

would u really want to invest here    and do business here  if company's like this can't even do business here?

not giving out scare tactics    just pointing out facts

The Philippines is trying to follow all the Law.... the mistakes in the past would face correction..

According to the Philippine Law, Foreign company is allowed only 40% ownership and 60% must be with Philippine Company..

In order to solve this Fedex must look for Philippine partner to hold the 60% in legal way... That law protects all the rights of Philippine national to do business in partnership with foreign firms.

Look! in Saudi Arabia is the same... they have that system too ...

You must understand the law and we are calling all business minded Philippine national to go to the bank to finance their part and invest in partnership with companies like Fedex..

No one is above the law.. whoever you are... Law is the law...

anyway.. for Call center.. foreign companies or foreign person is allowed to own 100% of the business except the other services..

read this link http://www.hikot.com/index.php?do=/Taxa … og/page_2/

I just read that article and I don't think it really gives anybody enough information to judge the merits of the decision that was apparently made regarding FedEx.

As I see it, it's very possible that FecEx bribed their was past an obvious stipulation of Filipino law and then got caught later.  It might very well have been that they got screwed twice....i.e. first by the Filipino's who supposedly told them everything could be done as they wanted, and then secondly by the Filipino who complained about FedEx.

I'm sure that very few Filipino companies could compete with FedEx on an equal basis in a free market.  But on the other hand, if the courts in the Philippines want to practice protectionism at the expense of enabling the countries' market entities to learn through competition...that's their business. 

I can also well assume that once FedEx got in here they'd start throwing their weight around and sooner or later just a different set of people would be 'on the take' and/or getting screwed by a foreigner instead of their own citizens.

The only difference between Filipino corruption and US corruption is that US corruption is bigger and flashier.  Personally, although I know nothing about the particulars of the case, I can't see why FedEx got in this jam.  I'm prone to believe they didn't do their homework properly.  They probably let a Filipino handle it.

Art

We can help anyone to setup a call center in India, Sri Lanka, Philippines or Malaysia.

Our services includes;

Company formation
Deployment of the infrastructure [servers, networks, PCs, VoIP platforms, automated dialers, performance improvement strategies and metrics]
Hiring and training resources
Managing the operations onbehalf of foreign clients

For more information PM me over the Expat.com

Zee

I heard there was more to this story than what is in this news piece. The Filipino side of this business is whre the problem is, they were often not delivering balikbayan boxes to the recipients. This seemed to be happening quite often in fact. I'm sure it was an inside job on the Filipinos that worked here likely corruption within. Fed Ex here is bad also you pay for a shipment in the US it is supposed to get here without additional charges but that is not the case and this happened to me I was charged again on this end on a very small gift I sent to my then girl friend so what if it were a larger shipment could be worth a lot of extra cash. I bought a $70 CD player in the USA and shipped it FedEx to Cebu, It ended up costing me an additional 70 to ship it and on the Philippines side in Cebu it was charged an additional $40 and we had to drive to town to pick it up..., no door to door, nothing like this happens in the USA.
So there you have it. Problem is on this side not from the US company's. Michael

Hello there,

I was wondering if you are still looking for someone to carry out this project for you. I run a call centre based in Albania with Italian, English and Greek speakers. If you would still be interested in the project you were carrying out for your business please do not hesitate to get in contact.

Many Thanks

Fatjona Borizani

Hi borizani123,

Please note that this is an old thread.. 2009

Thank you

Maximilien
Expat-blog Team

Hi, does anyone know any trusted small medium sized call center in the Philippines that offer affordable rates with a 3-6 month contract option? Thank you!

An online search will get you all the information you need.

There is no way in hell anybody is going to get that price....$3.50.  Only an idiot would even ask for a price like that.  That just proves this whole thread is totally off the reservation.

Matter of fact, this whole idea of Filipino agents being business miracles for lead generation is highly over-rated.  They're not.  If you've got a shitty product that people don't want and/or don't have the money for and/or one which everybody and their grandmother is trying to sell....using call centers is going to be a total waste of moeny.  In a case like that you need to use other forms of marketing.

And I can guarantee-damn-tee you that Brits wouldn't listen 2 seconds to the kind of English that those so-called agents would speak.

$3.50........Geeez.  I can't believe anybody would even mention a price like that.  You might be able to get a tricycle driver to work for that!

Art

tricycle drivers only clear 300 to 500 pesos a day if their lucky...average 10 hour day...

hi there! Probably I can help you with that..I have this company that will give you a full call center set up plus productive agent..You can contact me at this no..09173115854.thanks

I have a friend Chris Ducker has a call center in Cebu City.

facebook.com/chrisduckerdotcom

See it that works it did not on my computer

chrisducker.com/contact

I am hoping to get some names based on your experience. Thank you!

Hi expat marketere.mjust sent a pm regarding your requirements.

hello everyone. My name is James and im currently looking into traveling to the phillipines and make my bones there. I am Looking for work. I live in California and havent been to the phillipines in over 23 years and would love to go back and live there. i was looking into starting a call center busines primarily customer support and product support for clients. but i would be happy to work in any firm thats willing to pay me good. I can also work for a marketing firm. lol. Just need a job. as much as i love the US. The corporate greed and obama has turned this country into a war zone

Just thought I'd chime in with my comment.  I think that unless you really have a unique skill your chances of finding US-Level jobs will be slim to none.  #1 You're used to US wages and you damn sure won't find them over here.  #2 I suspect some Filipinos might be intimidated by you because you're too smart for them to intimidate.  They love to fire people before the 6 month Philippines law makes the FT employees (with more rights).

I noticed that you are Eng/Tag bilingual.  That might be some value in the call center niche but you'd just have to do the job-search routine over here.  It might not hurt to send out out some inquiries from where you are now to see if there's any interest.

You might have an issue getting a visa (your ancestry notwithstanding).

I'm affiliated with a call center that, I'm told, pays pretty well and we do have on American who works there as an agent. As we grow there might be an opportunity there for you.  PM me and we might continue the conversation.  Skype would be better.

Personally, I think the Philippines sucks.  I think that if you're used to the mode of thinking in the US, you'd be very disappointed in the Philippines now. 

If you could do it, I'd try to get a job teaching English in Chile, Cambodia, Thailand or even S.Korea (although it's very competitive in SK now too I know).  Look on www.daveseslcafe.com for job leads. 

Matter of fact, I'd be willing to bet that if you just went to any of those places except SK you could get a job within a few weeks if not immediately....and you'd enjoy it a hell of a lot more.

Regards,
Art
Skype: atwill4

thank you for the advice wanderingsalsero.
i do have a friend that teaches english in shandong china and is currently living there now for over 15 years. I looked into it. but my heart is set for the phillipines. Your right that they might be intimidated by my qualifications. but honestly i am open for negotiations with companies willing to hire me for a good position. i dont know much about the pay scale but one of my friends here say i shouldnt settle anything for less than p45000 a month for my skills and experience. so hence maybe its better for me to start a business. looking into the whole restobar thing. my friend says its highly popular there right now

I could relate to what you are saying about what is going on in the US. We moved back here for good in 2010 and living a very comfortable lifestyle. In your case, you might want to explore first if you have the money and resources to do it. Jumping into a business right away is not always a good thing. Explore, examine, evaluate, then, you can make a wise decision. Make sure that you have at least one year worth of money to cover your monthly expenses, and emergency just in case. As to being hired, I suggest you start looking online first and see if you can be matched with the right company who will be willing to hire you. Don't expect too much right away, remember you are also competing with other locals who may be more experienced in your area of expertise.
Another way of doing it will be look for local US companies who are looking into doing outsourcing and be the source for them.

Hope that helps!
Pinaymentor

thanks for the advice pinaymentor

what you suggest is a very sound advice for someone who has been in both places. I dont plan to jump on ship right away into running a business. but i do know some people there who currently owns a couple of realestate businesses.  maybe not the kinda venture i was looking for. but your right. i should look to see who would want to lock me in their staff. i was originally going to hong kong awhile back but my chinese friend from the phillipines said to me unless im in the IT business forget it. hong kong is just waay to expensive to live. i have been looking at ads here but yet to submit a resume as im afraid i wouldnt know how to answer the kinda wages im expecting. well honestly. i want to live in the phillipines and live comfortably. so what would you suggest a pay scale someone like me should be looking at? pinaymentor you mentioned i should save a years moneys worth. how much would you say USD? give me a rough estimate. i plan to go for 3 months to try to look for a job. if i cant find a job in 3 months in the phillipines. then it just wasnt meant to be. lol. but im enthusiastic. seeing what the trend is right now

Sir,
As one who has been three years I would say this to you. I rent a two bedroom house, drive a KIA Sportage, eat relatively good, lots of imported food, very little native food. I have cable television, Globe internet and a prepaid telephone with them. I use Skype as my VoIP, all total my monthly expenses are 45800. Things in Manila are more expensive, If I were you and you have to survive off of your monthly wages, I would not work for less than 50000 peso's a month. I plan on building a house later this year, also buying a different car. These are all planned expenditures and after that I am sure my monthly expenses will not be too much less than they are right now.
Good Luck
Bill

Hi I am also interested in opening a small call center business in the philippines. Did you already open up one?

Are you still looking to open a call center in the philippines ?

wanderingsalsero did you ever make it to Cebu? I have had lots of trouble receiving email here and have missed lots of mail. I was reading over some of the posts here and was wondering if I missed your email.

Michael

Hi everyone! i hope someone could give me insights on how to start a small call center here in the philippines particularly in the province. I used to be an agent for like 3 years. i already have a place i can use as an office just need other equipments. The thing is i dont know how i would start, how to get clients or accounts. Your ideas and suggestions would really be appreciated.


skype id: airam343

Hi Michael:

I was just looking at this guy's post about wanting to start a call center.  I'm certainly not a recognized call center guru but from what I learned about the business during my 2.5 year tenure with the other guy, I think he's asking for nothing but headaches in trying to start a call center....period.  And that's not to mention the perils of trying to start on at this particular uncertain time in the US economy.

I don't know if I'll message him specifically or not.  Seems like
this message thread is kinda mixed up on different subjects.

Anyway...you told me you were doing some work on the internet.  I
have an interest and some moderate skill is certain aspects of internet marketing.  Lemme as you a question:

Are there any particular keywords you'd like to get ranked (i.e. on Page 1) for...on Google and/or YouTube?

If so, I'd like to offer to help you.  I need some testimonials for some new software I've got.  If it works like I think it will, we can discuss some sort of engagement later.

PM me the keywords if you want to. I can also geo-target the keyword focus too, if you want.

Regards,
Art

Brother...if you don't know how to start that tells me right away you're doomed. I really would advise you against wasting your time starting a call center.  I worked as CMO for a call center for the last 2.5 years and the landscape is littered with wrecks of people who got into it for all the wrong reasons and without the right resources.... like you.

I'm not saying I think you're a bad guy but just that I don't think you know what a can of worms you're getting into.   

It was sorta a weird job but I think I learned a lot and I really don't think now is a good time at all to be in that business even IF you know what you're doing.

Regards,
Art

We are medium sized call center in the Philippines. We can give you affordable rates for a contract of 3-6months. You may send me an email at [email protected]

expat marketer wrote:

Hi, does anyone know any trusted small medium sized call center in the Philippines that offer affordable rates with a 3-6 month contract option? Thank you!

We are a medium sized call center in the Philippines and we are offering affordable rates with a 3-6 months contract option.

I got news for you, Miss.  Most call centers here in Manila DON'T require a contract.

And.....they ALL say they offer affordable rates. 

The trick is to make them think that they get a high ROI (Return on Investment) for what they pay.  The money has no meaning unless you relate it more specifically to what they get for it (it's called ROI...Return on Investment).

And another thing you to be careful of is that just about any reasonably intelligent business person in the US knows that the problem with call centers in the Philippines is the English of the operators. Yeah, it's better than the Indians but, even with the more expensive call centers, it sometimes leaves a lot to be desired.

What that means (or should imply) is that saying or implying your rates are low is liable to make people think that the English level of your operators is also low.

It's a tricky wire to walk.

Regards,
Art

You are right. However, there are few disadvantages when it comes to online hiring.
I used to manage 8 agents in different locations here in the Philippines via odesk and e-lance,
however, the quality of work is hugely different.

Managing these people may be easy, but keeping them in their seats is hard.
You will never know if they will lie to you and say their internet is down.
meaning, home based workers has a huge possibilities of being UNRELIABLE.

One more. The internet connection that they use can be also unreliable.
We all know that there's really no good internet connection here in the philippines
and residential internet are definitely a NO NO for a business especially if
you are handling a customer service account.

It will be risky to spend money at first to hire people that is
actually at your office. But at least you can escalate their performances.
BUSINESS is always a RISK though…

I own a center and IT solutions, so I had my up's and downs already in this industry.
But you can't give up

You know it's bad when somebody who actually owns an internet-dependant business says the internet in the Philippines sucks.

I've always said the the supposed 'leaders' in the Philippines are lazy, opportunists and all they care about is making as much money as possible by putting on the fascade of being the 'call center/BPO capital of the world" and smiling while they rake in the money and spend their leisure time behind high walls and security guards here, send their kids to foreign schools, and vacation in foreign countries where things actually work and people understand the concept of quality.

I'm just a little home-based-business, guy and I'm strongly considering taking advantage of the chance I might have soon to get out of this place. 

It's highly over-rated, in my opinion.  I'm not surprised so many Filipinos work abroad.  They know it's hopeless too.

Regards,
Art

I am not really implying that philippines internet connection is bad BUT
what I am trying to say is "RESIDENTIAL INTERNET" can't' really be reliable
when it comes to dialer and voip softwares.

I guess what I was trying to say is, agents that works home based can't really
afford business lines which cost about almost a thousand dollars a month.
Only "BUSINESS LINES " which you will find in big centers
here in the Philippines or everywhere around the world can accommodate such
inbound and outbound calls.

I disagree with leaders here in the Philippines are being lazy or opportunist.
I think its just the same in the other country. It always depends on that specific
person on how he/she will be treating the employees or the clients.
I think EVERY PEOPLE just need to be smart choosing the right persona especially
you are going to be running a business and spending money for this, whether you
are the center OR the client.

I am just basing it all with my experience in BPO industry.
Call center is a tough business to do.. TRUE.. NO DOUBT!
You will encounter scams and accounts that will make you pull your hair at the
end of the day.. however, there's a lot of opportunity in this business and
not just opening your own center. You will need a wide range of connections
and experience in this industry tho..

Best Regards!
Kim