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Airdate: The King of Calls

We've all had infuriating telemarketing calls from India but what's it like to work there?

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We’ve all had infuriating telemarketing calls from India (those liars who tell me I have a virus on my computer especially infuriate me), but what’s it like to work there?

And do they ever actually have any success?

SBS has a doco that goes behind-the-scenes…..

The King of Calls follows the day-to-day operations of a call centre in the Indian city of Hyderabad. Hopeful Indian sales agents embark on a mission impossible – to sell advertising in the American Yellow Pages.

Two million young Indians work in the call centre industry. It’s not possible for American workers to compete with them when they cost five times more than Indian workers.

Work in the call centre starts at 8.00pm India time. It’s morning in the US, when America is beginning to work. A business directory, ‘The American Yellow Pages’, similar to the original ‘Yellow Pages’, has outsourced their telemarketing to India.

Kabith is the Indian executive-in-charge, trying to build his career as a call centre tycoon. Ruthlessly ambitious, he has hired 75 new sales agents to sell listings for $459.95 each. The problem they face is that previous listings in the directory were free.

Equipped with new American names and rudimentary English, the sales agents begin to pursue customers. Confusion reigns supreme, no sales are made. As they frantically dial, fearing the loss of their precious jobs, Kabith grows increasingly desperate. New agents are hired, scolded, and fired.

We’re at the frontier of globalisation. And as always in India, happiness and misery are close companions.

The King of Calls airs 9:30pm Sunday July 17 on SBS ONE.

4 Responses

  1. Why should we have to though Secret Squirrel? Some of us quite like having a landline, they’re reliable and for the moment at least, they don’t rely on electricity (one of the few losses with the NBN). We should be able to choose whatever form of phone we like without these scam artists harassing us constantly.

  2. I had one those “virus”calls . It brightened up my day no end to spend five minutes telling the guy I actually knew how computers worked and that he was trying to pull a scam . In the end he got so frustrated with me he hung up !

  3. If you wish to avoid these types of calls, I suggest getting get rid of your landline phone service. I’ve had VoIP since Sep 2005 and have never had one call from a telemarketer on it. And I can ring any landline anywhere in Australia and talk as long as I like for free.

  4. I’m not a fan of Indian telemarketers, but this show sounds depressing. How can anyone regard this show as entertaining when it clearly deals with Indians frantically scrabbling to make a living, with some failing and losing their jobs and livelihoods?

    No thanks!

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