Delta stops using India call centers - WSJ

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Delta Air Lines Inc has stopped using India-based call centers to handle sales and reservations, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.

The move makes the airline the latest U.S. company to decide the cost benefits of directing calls offshore are outweighed by backlash from costumers, the newspaper said in a story on its website.

Delta said it stopped routing calls to India-based call centers over the first three months of the year. Customers had complained they had trouble communicating with Indian agents, the newspaper said.

"The customer acceptance of call centers in foreign countries is low," Richard Anderson, Delta's chief executive, said in a recorded message to employees, according to the newspaper. "Our customers are not shy about letting us have that feedback."

Earlier this month, SLM Corp the student loan company commonly known as Sallie Mae, said it plans to move its overseas operations back to the United States, pulling jobs from India, Mexico and the Philippines.

Delta isn't pulling back from the use of all foreign call centers. It will keep some Jamaica and South Africa centers, which haven't generated such vociferous complaints, the newspaper said.

A Delta spokesman could not be reached for comment on the story.