ABSTRACT
The Internet cartoon Neurotically Yours featured several cartoons in which
the atavistic hero of the cartoon, a squirrel named Foamy, dealt with “Smell
Computer” technical support off-shored to India. In the first installment, Foamy
asked indignantly, “Why am I paying for first-rate support from a third-world
country?” After figuring out how to fix his computer himself, Foamy completed
the cartoon by chanting, “Please keep the jobs in the U.S. so I can under-
stand you and talk to you too” (Mathers, 2002). Foamy is not alone in his
frustration. A large computer manufacturer vowed to improve its customer
service and received this response: “Does this mean you’ll be moving your
call centers back to a native-English speaking country?” (Seas, 2002). Clearly,
in this customer’s mind, good customer service and Indian call centers are
mutually exclusive.
