Has Snap On moved to India?

[Tom Wells]

I sent an e-mail to Snap On asking about an update to the software in my ODB2 code reader.

See if this response makes as much sense to you as it did to me:

Hello Tom. Thank you for contacting Snap-on tools. Please contact Snap-on Diagnostics at 1-800-424-0788 for that information. Please include this entire email in any response. This will allow us to reply in a timely manner to your request.

Thank you,


Wayne Vishneski
Midwest Regional Center
Ecommerce Customer Service
Snap-on Tools

Does this mean they've moved their "support" to India?

Puzzledly,

Tom

[Mr.Fixit]

What part of their reply indicates they have moved operations to India?

[Tom Wells]

Hi Fixit,

To save you some trouble, try to answer the question "How am I going to include the entire contents of their e-mail in a telephone call?"

It makes no sense - same as the response I got from Amazon (India) when I asked them to simply list the contents of a box of equipment I was interested in buying.

In both cases the "answer" to my question was not included at all in their response, and the rest of the inane response was "one from column A" and "one from column B" etc...

In other words, the response did not answer or attempt to answer the question I asked, and showed absolutely no understanding of the question on the respondent's part.

In Amazon's case they admitted exporting their e-mail support. I haven't asked Snap On yet but I'll lay odds...

Tom

[petek]

Give it time... if the customer service doesn't improve, it'll move back to the U.S.

But frankly, I'd put my money on the Indian folks improving. Too simple of a task (once you remove the cultural differences), too well educated of employees (earning too little money compaired to the US, but a nice wage where they live).

Next thing is that the Indian companies will export their phone centers to China (I believe it has already started). The things limiting China are technology infrastructure related ... they know it and they are working on it.

Quick, what are the three countries that have orbited a man?



In order: Russia, U. S. of A., and China.

Next question... if China is attempting to move into the 20th century and if that means they will need oil, do they have the oil reserves to handle the potential demand? If they have ready cash (achieved through trade with the US), could they pay more for Middle East oil than Europe -- or we -- could?

Last question ... will it then matter where the hell the call center is?

[decooney]

Some large corporations are starting to realize the pros and cons of outsourcing, where it makes good business sense, and when it does not.

Some of these companies are paying the price as a result. There are examples popping up all over the place now, and those of you that track this stuff know what I'm referring to. e.g. Financial / investment companies losing good customers due to communication and translation problems with confused money, funds, account transactions through call center support functions and staff now served from India... Health and medical providers outsourcing call functions to 3rd party administrators in India where sensitive medical/patient is being made accessible and in one example being used for ransom where one individual thought they were being cute to prove a point about how unsecure sensitive patient data really is. What do we expect when we outsource programming functions to India too... Getting to be scary when talking about outsourcing job functions to individuals that have open access to peoples records and privacy. Ugh, not good.

I think we've just skimmed the surface about the pros and cons of these outsourcing (Fad) decisions being made by Executives to trip over a dollar to save a nickel here and there... IMO, these Executives better watch out too. Before they know it, their job will be outsourced next along with the entire company if certain checks and balances aren't put into place.

For California, its time to send in the Terminator. He claims he wants to help recapture some of these jobs... I hope so. We'll see.

[Turk]

I have already returned items I bought upon finding out that the Tech Support is elsewhere.

I bought an American product deliberately, and would rather talk to someone who speaks fluent enough English so that they can help me.

I don't need to speak to someone who speaks poor English. I can do that all by myself. It is BS.

I bought American, Paid in American Money, and by God I want to talk to an American for Tech support, return and exchanges.

That's that.

TURK

[Lowell W]

Turk,

Ditto.

[Thorin]

Boy Turk, you really told them!

David Lowell

[Curt C.]

What will really unnerve you is that the majority of tools now made by the big guys, ones that have their name on the side of top fuel cars, are now made overseas. Restructuring has literally taken out whole middle management teams. As a result, tool makers now outsource tool making to other American tool makers who in turn have the product manufactured in Taiwan and China. I cannot divulge any names, but I witnessed this first hand - I did counsulting work for the one of the Companies that is having the product made overseas. Basically, the big tool companies are nothing more than a name and a marketing machine now.

[RaceDeck]

If true about Snap-On, it would be a shame...I too look for American made products and look for vendors that are right here in the USA....I think it is a shame when a company makes the move to outsource to overseas operations...In the case of India, there is a whole industry that is geared up with warehouses full of people on computers either entering data or handling customer service. They do this because you can have a dozen people for the price of one.....I personally this is not a good way to run a Made in the USA business...

[Turk]

Thorin,
2 Cheesburgers, large fries and medium diet Coke to go please.

Enjoy YOUR job.

Yes, I really really did tell them. If you and others did the same, you might be surprised what the outcome might be.

Do you like the extra challenge of needing the tech support on some difficult to install item and turn for help to the company offering the same, and have it nullified by the poor quality of help available due to language barrier?

If it doesn't bother you, go for it.
You told them too.
I just cancelled you out.


TURK

[rdorman]

The whole made in the USA thing has gone to he!!.

Evolution of the meaning of "Made in the USA" during our life times:
- the best
- the most expensive
- assembled in the USA

How much do you think those Kirkhams would cost if they where all made here

Rick

By the way, the please include this entire email is pretty standard form any more. What it means is that if you respond to the email using email, reply with history. They don't spell it out but that is the intent.

[Turk]

Lest someone thinks I am a racist, or protectionist because of my feelings on foreign goods, let me explain.

In a way I understand when a company moves their operations overseas to stay alive and to remain competetive. It is another when they do so out of sheer greed, and not give a damn what the impact is back at home other than increased bottom line.

Example. Sunday Pat and I went to see the Kings play the Lakers.Our company has season tickets. We usually sit at the floor level, and pay dearly for the seats.
This time my boss took those seats, and we had to sit at the cheap seats . $120.00 each, rather than the $895.00 each!!

Plus $8.00 for parking, easily $30.00 to $40.00 at the snack bar.

The family who owns the team also owns the PALMS Resort Casino in Las Vegas, and many many other businesses.

This was one night they handed out "Glow in the Dark sticks" as we entered the arena. they were part of the opening ceremonies.

Sticker on the stick.."MADE IN CHINA".
What do they cost? I dunno. .10 cents, a quarter?

What would they have cost if they were American made? Double? A buck? I doubt it.

If the ticket prices at $895.00 each did not give the team owners enough profit to buy American sticks, that they had to go to a supplier who served them Chinese goods to increase the bottom line, they can take those sticks and stick them where the light don't shine.

I hate to see jobs going overseas when they don't need to. It irks me when we are making a concious decision to buy foreign goods when the benefits are even only pennies.

It just ain't right.

TURK

[aumoore]

Turk
You are the man. I assume from your nickname you are of Turkish decent? If so you are really what America is all about. You came to this country(or maybe your parents) and you actually care about other people who work here(Dare I say it AMERICANS). Ther are too many greedy people who call themselves Americans but who only think of themselves.

As for Corporate greed I know a guy who used to buy for a large department store chain who lost his job because they were bought out. They could buy Levi jeans made in the USA or China. The American product cost about $2.00 per pair more than the similar pair Outsourced to China. I do not know the stores cost but they sell them for about $38/pair so I doubt the $2.00 would break them by buying the USA made product. He told me that they would sometimes put two racks out with one with the USA product right next to the Chineese product. Many people voted with their wallet and bought the cheeper product while many voted with their head and helped their fellow American by paying the extra couple of bucks. It is too bad that more stores don't give us the option of choosing USA vs the OUTSOURCED product. I hate the PC term outsourced. Lets be honest and call it what it is a sellout.

Before you buy a foreign product at least check if there is a USA option. Sadly that is hard to do today.

[Turk]

Aumore,

I am far from a knee jerk reactionary to this.
I am very pragmatic about it all.

I work in an industry that is profit driven. I spend every day trying to find a way to put a few more dollars to the bottom line. Unfortunately for me, if the stick maker was a company close to where I sell my goods and the employees all got laid of as a result of this mass exodus of jobs, it would do me no good that the sticks were acquired from a less expensive source if the local stick makers were unemployed and broke and couldn't buy what I sell.

It is a selfish thing more than a flag waiving knee jerk reaction.

Yes I am a first generation immigrant,and have been here 39 of my 58 years. My parents never came. I came solo.

TURK

[joea]

Turk I couldn't agree with you more. I'm tired of the outsourcing of American Jobs, I'm tired of the endless relaxation of our immigration policy ( and I am the son of immigrants and married to an immigrant). God forbid we might hurt someone's feelings...even if they want to fly planes into our buildings. What the hell happened to the Republican Party....are there any Conservatives left?

[REDSC400]

Well, an interesting thread...

If you all step back and think about the origin country of many of the Cobra chasis and bodies (ie: Kirkham, Shelby, SuperFormance, and the list goes on) what you see are outsourced or imported products.

Most all of the tubular and square stock steel for chasis originates overseas now. As do many of the bolts, washers, nuts, wire, etc. No longer does a familiar American industrial name mean that it's products originated in the USA.

Which Cobra marques (replica or kit) are made here in the USA?
ERA and Factory Five, VSE, Antique & Collectible Autos, B&B, Unique come to mind.

[trularin]

These are exactly the same discussions that have been conducted for the past 100 years. But nobody does anything about it.

Simply "buying american" isn't going to fix the problem. The structure of american commerce should be changed. This is a structure that is driven by the consumer.

We, as a member of the social structure in the united states, should demand american products where we can.

We are victums of our own actions. ( lord, please help me with my spelling ).

Just a thought.

[Lowell W]

Complex issue. Part of it's the unions, part is the "me first" attitude, part is the welfare mentality and suit-happy climate, part is the America-hating liberal culture which has been trying to destroy the country for generations (read "Treason" by Ann Coulter), together with those who come here with the express purpose of causing trouble.

But back to the Chinese tools (and all other goods): If they don't work, I'm not interested. I don't care how cheap they are. So what if they come with a "lifetime replacement"? When a wrench breaks or rounds off in the middle of a job, I don't care how many wrenches they give me for free; the aggravation isn't worth it. Ditto for all the other Chinese-made crap I do everything possible to avoid.

Whew.

Thanks.

[Mike Hausner]

Hey, next thing you know you'll pull up to the drive thru at the local fast food joint and the voice from the box will be originating from INDIA ! I'd like to laugh but it's not funny.

I got laid off from brand "X" copier company last December. ( I'm a CAD designer ) Any "new" machines from this company will be designed overseas or just their name on another company's product.