Apple Responds to Call Center Worker Complaints About Plans to Monitor Them With Cameras at Home

Jackorias said:
My employer doesn't need to see my pick my nose or scratch an itch. They can see what I do on the computer and that I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing. They don't need to watch me.

100% an invasion of privacy and it's just more middle management getting insecure over the fact the climate has completely changed and they can no longer micromanage every little aspect of their employees day.
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from the article "does not appear to have come from Apple. Amazon and Uber are also among Teleperformance's clients.

A spokesperson for Apple, Nick Leahy, said that the company "prohibits the use of video or photographic monitoring by our suppliers and have confirmed Teleperformance does not use video monitoring for any of their teams working with Apple."

But other than that I agree with you. What creepy language
 
Johnny907 said:
The fact that Apple outsourced its contact center to Columbia explains a lot about my most recent few interactions with that department.
You’re telling me a trillion dollar company can’t afford to employ workers in the country it is headquartered in?
Between this and that CASM dumpster fire, what is up with Apple lately? Tim has straight up lost his mind.
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Exactly and that's why he's kicking back smiling and enjoying his 1.5 billion dollar net worth while others are just talking about him. That must be how people become billionaires...by losing their minds. 😂
 
While I don't agree with what was proposed here... It isn't necessarly APPLE that is doing this.... The way I read it was that "Teleperformance in Colombia" was trying to do this, and APPLE happens to be a client.
 
DaveSanDiego said:
While I don't agree with what was proposed here... It isn't necessarly APPLE that is doing this.... The way I read it was that "Teleperformance in Colombia" was trying to do this, and APPLE happens to be a client.
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Exactly right, and exactly what about half of the posts here are totally overlooking!
 
HappySponge said:
Look give your WFH employees their goals/metrics/criteria for success/whatever corporate jargon you like to speak, and if the people are hitting those goals that is all that matters. if I can fold laundry and solve a problem on the phone at the same time who cares?
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Metrics are tunnel vision management. Crapy support companies do it solely that way. People figure out how to game the system. On floor supervisors need to be involved as well. But, I agree with you. No reason to physically watch people. Just listen in on calls.
 
Teleperformance is requiring it. Not Apple.

I am US Born, Colombian citizen. Lived the majority of my life between both countries.

I was hired years ago as a consultant for the company that is now Teleperformance in Colombia. Their idea was to start using Colombia as a call center for the clarity of Colombian Spanish and quite a few Colombian speak English fairly well.

So I was working as an IT manager for a local college and I got pinged to be a consultant via the uni because I was a native English speaker and was technical. They asked me to pick some of the best English speaking students from the school for a 30 day test.

The idea was that we would do test calls with American companies and they would evaluate us and then they would use the calls to recruit clients.

Well, one day I was asked to do about six hours of test calls under guise of "So they can see how Americans talk to each other."

So I did. And on one of the calls the guy says. "Stop right there, you are awesome dude, a Colombian who even mimicked my NOLA accent." Narrator: I am from NOLA.

Turns out they were using me as a ringer.

On the flip side. Colombian culture is very different. And while my people are the nicest in the world. They are the masters of not following rules figuring they can ask for forgiveness later. Blame it on the church.

So a Colombian getting paid like **** and treated like **** is gonna do something shady because they have no loyalty to the company.

I am the libbiest lib who ever lived, but I would not run a business in Colombia unless I had cameras on people.

I can guarantee they will not be behind a closed door, that kids, and relatives are gonna be running around, loud noises, music, and maybe having a couple of beers.
 
Johnny907 said:
The fact that Apple outsourced its contact center to Columbia explains a lot about my most recent few interactions with that department.
You’re telling me a trillion dollar company can’t afford to employ workers in the country it is headquartered in?
Between this and that CASM dumpster fire, what is up with Apple lately? Tim has straight up lost his mind.
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Bean Counter Tim is all about and really only about ... counting the beans.

Sadly, the company has ended up in a very predictable spot given the amazing trajectory it was on when Steve passed.
Printing money, but somewhat a rudderless ship and that's starting to rear its ugly head in many areas.
 
donguevas said:
I am the libbiest lib who ever lived, but I would not run a business in Colombia unless I had cameras on people.
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I guess we should ask why the most valuable company on the planet --- that has ever existed in fact -- is operating this portion of their business in Colombia at all.
 
turbineseaplane said:
Jesus Christ...
What has happened to Apple?

My god. The last few weeks of news is making me never want to give them a nickel again.
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Okay, just look up all the companies that subcontract through Teleperformance and stop giving them your nickels while you're at it.

Hint: They're a huge provider of customer support, with 383,000 employees employees operating in 83 countries. Blaming Apple for this is more than a little absurd. But hopefully the visibility that comes with a controversy surrounding an Apple subcontractor might help improve things for employees. Who knows?

en.wikipedia.org

Teleperformance - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 
Actually, MR is really just supplying click/troll bait here. This story could easily have been headlined with something accurate:

Apple Responds to Call Center Worker Complaints About Customer Service Subcontractor Teleperformance's Plans to Monitor Them With Cameras at Home​

It's long, I guess, but at least it's correct. But hey, they're probably getting more clicks with the dodgy, borderline irresponsible headline they chose...
 
I find this far more disturbing than the CSAM story. Yeah that one has surveillance, but it is limited, semi-optional, and targeted toward bad people (even if the targeting has the potential to be wrong). This is simply all-out mandatory surveillance of everyone.

And really it is part of a larger issue that businesses believe the way to get the best treatment for their customers is to give the worst treatment to employees.
 
I think Apple is just beginning have a serious image problem. Demanding own workers being video monitored is not just unhealthy but also creepy.
 
norbinhouston said:
Lot's of slackers posting hate on Apple. We all know that the reason companies do this is to keep people from cheating. Even my college age kids that did online classes during covid had an AI monitor them during tests, via camera during the test so that they couldn't cheat. Like tracking their eye movement screen monitoring, audio, etc. This is no different. If a company is paying you to work, even from home, they should be able to verify that you're doing the work.
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I remember when I attended graduate school at Stanford University the honor code prohibited the professor from proctoring the exams. If you had a question for the TA during the exam you had to go to the next room.
 
maxfromdenmark said:
I think Apple is just beginning have a serious image problem. Demanding own workers being video monitored is not just unhealthy but also creepy.
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Ugh... it's not Apple, it's Teleperformance (French company, founded in 1978, 383,000 employees, 83 countries). Apple uses their customer support services, as do a bah-zillion other companies... it's ugly, and hopefully Apple can help improve things, but it would continue with or without Apple. In fact, given how huge the company is, it's quite possible that Apple is a relatively small client. I don't know, and I'm not going to research it to find out...

en.wikipedia.org

Teleperformance - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 
No one said they don’t have the right. But it is invasive, Big Brother-esque, and not Apple-y. It should be illegal even if it’s not.

Also, “bumb” is not a word.
 
mikethemartian said:
I remember when I attended graduate school at Stanford University the honor code prohibited the professor from proctoring the exams. If you had a question for the TA during the exam you had to go to the next room.
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Umm, did they let you take the exam home on honor code? lol. Apples and oranges. Are you sure you went to Stanford?
 
tcphoto1 said:
Let me get this straight, large Companies farm out their support to lower waged workers that barely speak English and now they want to monitor them in their homes. Funny, I have had issues with AT&T and had a difficult time understanding their Philipines based call centers. At one point, I ask where they are based and they have started saying," We are not allowed to comment for security reasons". BS, they are simply propping up the profit margin of the company.
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I don’t know where they’re based, but I thought I heard a chicken being slaughtered in the background the last time I called.
 
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