Call Centers and Philippine Culture

Phone-Center Workers Live In an American 'Bubble' Cheesedogs and Hip-Hop. -- "The Philippines' growing share of the multibillion-dollar call-center market is creating a subculture of Filipinos with American accents, tastes and time-zones.... There are 30,000 people answering phones and e-mail queries in Manila, doing work -- for $600 to $800 a month -- that generally pays better than bookkeeping in a bank or similar white-collar employment. That figure could double over the next couple of years, call-center operators predict, creating a middle class that actually stays in the Philippines rather than one that must emigrate to work overseas, as millions of Filipinos have done."

Call Center Operations in RP Booming - BOI Head. 17 May 2003. (Marianne V. Go, Star) -- "From seats of less than 1,000 in 2000, there are now more than 15,000 seats," Trade Undersecretary and Board of Investments (BOI) managing head Gregory Domingo said. Some of the major contact centers in the country are AOL, Convergys, Sykes, eTelecare, People Support, Cybercity Teleservices, Ambergris, InfoNXX, Vocative and C-cubed.

Aside from expecting convenience stores such as Mini Stop and Seven-Eleven to continue flourishing in the Philippines, we'll also see an increase in Pinoy Blogs as these Filipinos struggle to keep in touch with their non-call center friends.

You can also expect 24-hour hang-out spots, as the streets will never seem to run out of multi-timezone Filipinos. Imagine, twenty-somethings with a disposable monthly income of P35,000 taking coffee breaks at 2am? What about dimsum treats? :-)

(I wonder if the changes in diet patterns will increase the demand for facial products. Maybe that will make my friend Rix happier.)

I just hope the call center industry will help boost our economy next year, especially if you-know-who wins the elections.

[ First posted on 12/08/2003 by Manuel Viloria ]