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In Phone Clones, Kiran Mirchandani explores the experiences of the men and women who work in Indian call centers through one hundred interviews with workers in Bangalore, Delhi, and Pune. As capital crosses national borders, colonial histories and racial hierarchies become inextricably intertwined. As a result, call center workers in India need to imagine themselves in the eyes of their Western clients – to represent themselves both as foreign workers who do not threaten Western jobs and as being ‘just like’ their customers in the West. In conversation with Western clients, Indian customer service agents proclaim their legitimacy, an effort Mirchandani calls ‘authenticity work’, which involves establishing familiarity in light of expectations of difference. In their daily interactions with customers, managers and trainers, Indian call center workers reflect a complex interplay of colonial histories, gender practices, class relations, and national interests.
Table of Contents
Introduction: The Authentic Clone
1. Transnational Customer Service: A New Touchstone of Globalization
2. Language Training: The Making of the Deficient Worker
3. Hate Nationalism and the Outsourcing Backlash
4. Surveillance Schooling for Professional Clones
5. "Don`t Take Calls, Make Contact!": Legitimizing Racist Abuse
6. Being Nowhere in the World: Synchronous Work and Gendered Time
Conclusion: Authenticity Work in the Transnational Service Economy
ISBN - 9789382264866
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Pages : 188
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