"Sir, you're being transferred to the Philippines now"

[Hyena Dandy]

As much as I approve of the spirit, I have to disagree with this bill. See, I like Americans, and I like Americans having jobs, but I dislike government interference as well.

And I've never had a problem with not being able to understand out-of-country call centers. Last time I called the center that my router goes to, I was able not only to go with something off-script and have it fixed, but I was also able to talk about the latest football* scores while we waited for a signal to send.


*Soccer. Damn, I suck at this American thing, don't I? Weird, considering I've only been out of country once.

[Kimmik]

There's a reason wal-mart pays low wages to their employees

Ok I hate this line.. my husband makes over 10 bucks an hour at wally land and 20 something an hour when he pulls over time. Wal-mart despite what people say does pay reasonable.

Sorry for the OT but that always chaps me. But I have a hard time with foreign call centers because of my hearing.. I just cant make out somethings when there is a thick accent. I even had a hard time when I was a cashier with accents... which lead to some real fun times. I understand why we outsource... I just wish that I had a better ability to hear more clearly.

[Arcade Man D]

Ok I hate this line.. my husband makes over 10 bucks an hour at wally land and 20 something an hour when he pulls over time. Wal-mart despite what people say does pay reasonable.

Sorry for the OT but that always chaps me. But I have a hard time with foreign call centers because of my hearing.. I just cant make out somethings when there is a thick accent. I even had a hard time when I was a cashier with accents... which lead to some real fun times. I understand why we outsource... I just wish that I had a better ability to hear more clearly.

How long has he worked there, and what's his job title?

[Kimmik]

How long has he worked there, and what's his job title?

He has been there 4 yrs soon he started as stock and is now support. i was making almost 9 an hour as a cashier. He probably makes more then 10.. I know that it is a bit over 20 for over time... and he will get a 35 cent raise in Feb if not more based on his performance... not to mention all the stuff that Wal-mart offers to employees.

[smileyeagle1021]

Sorry for the OT but that always chaps me. But I have a hard time with foreign call centers because of my hearing.. I just cant make out somethings when there is a thick accent. I even had a hard time when I was a cashier with accents... which lead to some real fun times. I understand why we outsource... I just wish that I had a better ability to hear more clearly.

Really going OT on this one, but if you keep having problems understanding people on the phone, PM me, I can send you a link to the voice carry over service that the company I work for offers. We can do everything from full invisible presence where the person you are calling has no knowledge that we are there to fully announced and explained, and for that service you do not have to be completely deaf, just have difficulty hearing on the phone... in fact most of the people we do VCO for can still hear a little bit on the phone and just have us as a fall back if they miss anything.

[Boozy]

Kimmik, may I ask what state you live in, and what the minimum wage is there?

As a Canadian, I have trouble with perspective when people start talking about wages and cost of living in the US. In my province, for example, minimum wage is $10/hour and it provides nothing more than poverty-level subsistence, if that.

[smileyeagle1021]

Wow, Boozy, it must be really expensive up there... down here (in Utah) $10 an hour is considered a decent wage for those without a college education, hell, a couple both making $10 an hour can live relatively comfortably in Utah. At full time that's $3200 before tax, assuming 25% tax (between federal and state, which sadly may be a low estimate) and that is $2400 after tax. Rent in Utah for apartments, nicer ones too, can easily be found for $500 to $600, leaving (if you are just doing a small but nice apartment) $1,800. Insurance in Utah aint going to be pretty (I pay roughly $150 per month), but that is made up by ample free parking everywhere and competitive dealers that can get you a lower cost of ownership. Utilities are pretty low too, despite my boyfriend's obsession with air conditioning I've never seen an electric bill over $50, and keep in mind I voluntarily pay an extra $10 per month to contribute to renewable energy. Sp. taking out insurance and utilities, that leaves you, let's say $1500 (leaving extra room for if you somehow use more energy than my boyfriend and allowing for natural gas, trash, and water), to spend on car payments, food, entertainment, savings etc...

[AdminAssistant]

My pay is averaged out as around $10/hour (unfortunately, all TA's are salaried as if we work 20 hours/week, but we all put more time in than that. Stupid state of Kansas.) At any rate, if I were full time, it would be plenty for me to live on here. Ditto Arkansas. Hell, when I was in Jonesboro and working retail, I was living on $6.25/hour and doing okay. My share of the rent was only $225/month, and our utilities in that place weren't that expensive. But now national minimum wage is $8.25/hour.

[Boozy]

Wow - the cost of living differences are insane! I knew the difference was significant, but even I'm surprised.

A $500/month apartment in this city is simply not to be had. With that said, you could get away with paying $500 or less per month in rent, but you'd need roommates.

$225 per month is less than my car payment (car prices are another significant difference). I paid more than that in rent over ten years ago in a much cheaper city than where I live now.

[jackfaire]

Mine is based on where I work compared to where I live. I always work in places where the cost of living is higher than the cost of living where I live because with as low as I make that's necessary to be able to live on my own.

[smileyeagle1021]

$225 per month is less than my car payment (car prices are another significant difference). I paid more than that in rent over ten years ago in a much cheaper city than where I live now.

That sounds a bit like Reno... for a time it wasn't unusual for people (those who had been living in the city for at least a decade, my mother was one of them before she refi'ed to do renovations) to have car payments higher than their mortgage. I can understand the huge fluctuation in rent/mortgage expense, but I will never understand the huge difference in car expense... there are places in Utah that will sell you a new car for $188 a month... in Reno I'd praise deity to get a used for that.

[Boozy]

Actually, my car payment is a very small fraction of our living expenses. I'm saying that everything is more expensive here.

[Kimmik]

Well $7.40 is the minimum wage.. I live in the Capital of Michigan.
Hell when I first started at Wally land.. I was over 8 and hour.. and min wage went to where it is now.. they gave me an increase because they wanted me a decent bit above it.
Our duplex is a 3bd 1 and a half bath with a garage and a large yard and a full basement in a "nice" area and it is 700 a month. My car payment is 200 a month.. and I think my insurance for said car is 98ish dollars.
Does that help?

[Boozy]

Thanks Kimmik. That was actually more than I needed. Like I said, I was having trouble understanding if $10/hour was a good wage where you live.

[Crazedclerkthe2nd]

Wow - the cost of living differences are insane! I knew the difference was significant, but even I'm surprised.

A $500/month apartment in this city is simply not to be had. With that said, you could get away with paying $500 or less per month in rent, but you'd need roommates.

$225 per month is less than my car payment (car prices are another significant difference). I paid more than that in rent over ten years ago in a much cheaper city than where I live now.

I'm going to venture a guess you're in Ontario. As a former Ontario resident, I can attest to the high cost of living in some areas (*cough* Toronto *cough*) but it's not just big cities. K-W is expensive (used to live there too), even my birth home of Ottawa is pricey in a lot of areas.

I live in the U.S. now in a state where the min wage is $7.50/hr. That's also a pittance and it's difficult to get by full time on that (put it this way, I make more than a $1 over that and I still have a tough time keeping my bills paid). My last job (the first I got after being in this country) paid $10/hour and that seemed like a small fortune.

However, knowing the higher costs of practically everything in Canada, I can see how $10/hr wouldn't get you very far.