Re: More VM Jobs could be lost to the Philippines.
 

...and there was me thinking the unemployment rate was currently the lowest rate for over 40 years.

Re: More VM Jobs could be lost to the Philippines.
 

Simply another figure that has no relation to the people who are actually 'unemployed' but not eligible to go onto the database as being 'unemployed'.

Re: More VM Jobs could be lost to the Philippines.
 

You mean, because they are lazy so and sos and refuse to go for job interviews? The jobs are there if people want them. Full time, part time, flexible zero hours contracts, whatever. If you don't want to work but want to appear hard done by, these people are running out of excuses.

Re: More VM Jobs could be lost to the Philippines.
 

I can't believe you posted that on an internet forum. Think of all the messenger-boys you've put out of work!

Your argument is based on the mistaken belief that there is a fixed amount of work to do. There isn't. As jobs are replaced by automation or off-shoring, the economy grows, and new and hgher-value jobs are created.

Despite all the automation and off-shoring that's already happened, UK employment is at an all-time high.

Re: More VM Jobs could be lost to the Philippines.
 

I don't see why. We have full employment now and young people are offered apprenticeships instead of benefits to help them get a foot up the ladder.

Virgin Media is not a social service anyway, it is a business. Using foreign call centres saves money, and that helps to ensure prices don't go up even higher. People keep moaning about price increases and then people moan again when the company tries to do something about it. They can't win.

The generalised comments I am hearing sound to me as if they betray a bit of a racist attitude. I have received good service from all of Virgin's call centres. I had an Indian gentleman dealing with a computer problem I had about three years ago, and although it was a little difficult to understand him at times, he was very patient and about 20 minutes later he had solved my problem.

I keep hearing these stories from the usual suspects on here, and yet not once have I come across a problem of rude or unhelpful people at Virgin Media, whether I've dealt with a call centre based in the UK or one based in India. I have not yet dealt with a call centre in the Phillipines, so I can't vouch for them.

My advice to anyone who is always getting the response they say they are getting is to examine their own behaviour before blaming anyone else for not getting satisfaction.

Re: More VM Jobs could be lost to the Philippines.
 

Agency work (zero hour contract) and Part Time. . . you are classed as working full time (and therefore not eligible for the benefit) if you do 16 hours or more paid work per week.

Could you survive on £120 a week?

All I'm saying is that the unemployment figures are skewed by how they are arrived at

Re: More VM Jobs could be lost to the Philippines.
 

Well, the consequence of choosing a part time job is that you get paid less. What would you expect, seriously?

If everyone was paid the same whether they worked full time or part time, then wouldn't everyone choose to work part time?

I'm sure that would do wonders for the economy!

Re: More VM Jobs could be lost to the Philippines.
 

Entirely agree OB, I'm not arguing against that. But if zero hour is all you can get . . .

Re: More VM could be lost to the Philippines.
 

Every time I have called Sky I have spoken to someone in the UK, with a UK accent and could understand them.

Think they must have a call centre t'up north as it's an Ant and Dec kind of accent :)

Re: More VM could be lost to the Philippines.
 

Vodafone are currently in the process of expanding their UK call centres as they will eventually stop using oversea call centres.

Re: More VM could be lost to the Philippines.
 

It's cyclical, insource - outsource - in source - outsource.

Re: More VM Jobs could be lost to the Philippines.
 

We don't have full employment and never will again. The Government is going to have to do something about the massive job losses caused by automation, companies using foreign cheap labour and immigration policy.

As others have said, the increased employment is due to people having to take part time, temporary and zero hours contracts (whilst being told that they cannot take another job with another employer to boost their hours/income).

Zero hours contracts do have a place in society, I myself am now on one as I cannot guarantee that I will be able to work due to my brain damage.

The vast number of unemployed people want to work, in addition do you really think that one can just walk into a Jobcentre and claim benefits without having to prove that you are available for and active seeking work?

If you still think that they are all lazy, have a chat to some of these people:

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/sh...3698667&page=3

Take a look at Osems thread about automation:

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/sh...php?t=33705674

I wondered how long it would be before the R word was brought up, someone once said to me that criticising black people was a racist act! None of us is above criticism.

I acknowledge that some of them are capable of doing the job as I have had experience of this too, but have had far more bad experiences of ridiculous and bizarre conversations eg one didn't even know what a V6 was!

Employing cheap foreign labour doesn't keep down prices, it increases profits as VM will charge the maximum that the market (or individual customers) will stand.

Nobody has thus far made any mention of rudeness or anyond being deliberately unhelpful, it appears to be down to their lack of ability to speak English well enough.

How on Earth can any cases of poor English causing problems be the fault of any customer :confused:

---------- Post added at 17:38 ---------- Previous post was at 17:34 ----------

You make a good point, but in the future I believe that a growing economy will not be able to make up for the forthcoming job losses due to automation, extra requirement for jobs as our population increases ever more and the outsourcing of jobs overseas (whether or not they are capable of doing the job to an acceptable standard).

Re: More VM Jobs could be lost to the Philippines.
 

I kind of feel like this discussion has gone way, way past what Virgin does and is now much more about dealing with automation in future - which is something well beyond Virgin.

Re: More VM Jobs could be lost to the Philippines.
 

Well, VM have started automation already. When I recently rang them with a fault the system took my details, took me through security and then checked my services.

When it found a problem it said that it was sending some sort of signal down to try to rectify it and that I should call back after 10 minutes if the fault hadn't been rectified. Not once did I speak to a human being.

I'm sure that VM aren't alone in seeking to cut costs with automation where possible, supplemented by cheap foreign labour when human intervention is needed.

Then we have all this tax avoidance on top.

If something isn't done to deal with this I cannot see how we can continue to function as a society.

I'm glad that I'm gearing up towards retirement, it's the younger people that I feel sorry for and for selfish reasons I hope that things can carry on for a bit longer before my life expectancy is up.

Re: More VM Jobs could be lost to the Philippines.
 

Not sure why the tax avoidance issue impacts on our ability to function as a society. Its been going on for donkeys years, what makes me laugh is how people go on about the rich doing this but then pay their plumber cash in hand for work carried out.