I always giggle when I see the decision by some large company to outsource customer service jobs or even technical support positions to overseas call centers. More and more, these call centers are located in India -- the world's capital for telephone-based support services for industries ranging from wireless carriers to computer hard drives to flat-panel televisions.

The theory goes that Indian support counterparts have the needed language skills, and the incredible cost benefits make outsourcing a direct cost savings for most companies. While that "hard cost" can be proven on paper, the "soft costs" that can't be measured -- but which are way more important -- are rarely (if at all) considered. For example, the nuances of the English language and even the slang that American consumer and business customers expect when needing support on a product or service are lost in many cases when talking with an outsourced call center representative, causing extreme frustration for the customer. I have experienced this so many times firsthand that I stopped doing business with companies that subjected customers to this (as much as I could, anyway).

The ill-gotten feelings customers have after speaking with someone who 1) can't understand the problem, 2) can't effectively communicate in a way I can understand and 3) has no empathy for my problem linger on and on -- and it can cost companies dearly. While not directly related to hard cost savings, companies like Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) and Hewlett Packard(NYSE:HPQ) really need to re-think all the "great cost savings" that can be had by treating your customers as assets to be dealt with later. Dell has moved much of its support back to the U.S. as a result of huge failures in customer support, a move I applaud. Some companies, though still do not get it. When customers start leaving, maybe they will.