I really don’t have any political issues with outsourcing. I do have issues with connectivity and operators understanding American English. Case in point, many of the airlines have moved their reservations centers to India. I certainly understand the cost benefits, but when the operators have problems hearing (volume of the call) and/or understanding American English, it is a frustrating situation. I have no problem understanding them as I have worked in international business for many years. Why can’t they take the time to learn the language and accents of the regions they are serving? I recently flew Delta and when I booked my ticket, the agent in Mumbai had difficulty hearing me and understanding me. Nearly every sentence needed to be repeated very slowly and my name had to be spelled as follows: G as in goat, A as in apple, L as in light, L as in light, A as in apple, G as in gate, H as in hair, E as in ear and R as in red. Even with this, I had to repeat and repeat….and repeat. When I tried to check in online, I could not find my reservation. I called again and they found it. I tried online while they were holding in Mumbai and still could not find it. Then I was transferred to tech support and they found it. Why could I not find my reservation? Because my name was spelled Gallacher with ‘c’ instead of the second ‘g’. Great, I love to waste time like this – I guess ‘G’ and ‘C’ sound similar. Some pretty good, award-winning airlines are doing the same. It’s a cheap fix and I understand. But it is frustrating for customers. Asiana Airlines reviewed this and decided against moving their North American reservation center to Mumbai – smart move Asiana! -Fran Gallagher, publisher and CEO