How is BPO in the Philippines?

A newspaper article recently wrote about the BPO potentials of the country and the fact that it is not getting enough of the Japanese IT market.

The newspaper interviewed a number of Japanese execs who explained the following:

1. Despite the potential, most Japanese perceive the country as politically unstable and "Scary" in terms of peace and order;
2. Most of the Japanese firms engaged in BPO business in the Philippines are the big firms who's been in the country for a long time; and
3. Successful Japanese businessmen do not want to share their secrets.

A Japanese businessman even said something like "Initially, the Japanese are afraid to come to the Philippines. But when they do, they realize that this place is very good. However, when fellow Japanese ask them how they find the business climate in the country, they say; Ahh, It's very hard!"

Really Funny! ...... BAKERO!!!! -- joke!! :D

IF YOU BUILD IT, WILL THEY COME? -- Continued

What made me select the previous post for publication (in this blog) is my disbelief at the consultant's brazen attempt, whether intentionally or unintentionally, to increase her inventory (of properties to offer), at the investor's peril.

Some liars are difficult to spot. However, there are those who can be smelled from miles away.

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"A consultant's role is to present the best possible options to the clients. In the BPO industry, making property owners spend while awaiting possible locators is never an option. The money invested sleeps, the facilities become outdated therefore reducing the possibility of it being used. Furthermore, the equiments can burn to the ground or get stolen. There is no real guarantee that money will ever be recovered."
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First of all, her example is fallacious. Among the things that I didn't mention to her, is the fact that I was a part of that particular building's construction. Seven years ago, when the country was going through a period of economic difficulty, that infrastructure was built with the intention of making it an Information Technology (I.T.) hub. The building is supposed to house IT developers. For quite sometime after construction, the building had a low occupancy. It was only later, when the call cnter industry boomed, was the building fully occupied. I can hardly consider cantact centers as IT developement companies.

During our meeting, the "Consultant" also noted an operational call center (near my client's property) which was built without any client in mind. She added that they offered that facility to their long term client, only that, the decision was to locate elsewhere. Why did her client locate far from that facility? I know the reason. That particular building is far from the present popular call center locations. The company probably did not want to risk being the first to locate in that area and have a hard time recruiting employees. That is actually my main hesitation. My client's property hardly has a call center nearby. Though my assessment (based on experiences) showed that it is a good spot, I am not sure if the prospective locators sees it the way I do.

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"No consultant worth his salt, will ever lead anybody in a
road to perdition

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I didn't bother pinpointing the lies that I heard so that others will recognize her, as easily as I did. Had I told her, she would have modified her story before talking to the next potential client (victim?).

In my opinion, a consultant's role is to present the best possible options to the clients. In the BPO industry, making property owners spend while awaiting possible locators is never an option. The money invested sleeps, the facilities become outdated. thus reducing the possibility of it being used. Furthermore, it can possibly burn or get stolen. There is no real guarantee that money will ever be recovered.

That property consultant, in my opinion, was simply out to make money out of her retension fees. In so doing, she is also increasing her inventory of properties that can be offered to her clients. That is not the way to honestly live. If clients make money out of the options presented, the consultant's presence becomes indispensable. Otherwise, there is no reason why any investor should hire one. No consultant worth his salt, will ever lead anybody in a road to perdition.

IF YOU BUILD IT, WILL THEY COME?

One client chairs a group of companies that successfully developed several real properties during the past few decades. Not long ago, he consulted me regarding the BPO prospects of his company. He mentioned having noticed the boom in the office leasing business due to the upsurge of BPO firms. Call Centers have taken over a number of previously empty office buildings and numerous projects that are yet to break ground have already been fully committed.

I was given a preview of their inventory that can possibly be converted into BPO facilities and asked of my opinion and help, being an industry insider. The following day, I wrote a few Call Centers and made a preliminary presentation of my client. Several replies came but I find a particular response worth sharing in this space.


A consultant to a giant call center company, called and asked to meet with me in their office. I agreed while asking if their client has a requirement that matches our inventory. The reply was positive. Arriving on time for my meeting, I was made to wait for half an hour while the person I was to meet, rummaged through her things. During the meeting, I described the properties available for BPO use and asked for its prospects (with her client). She then enumerated a number of projects that my client should put into effect. In summary, my client was being asked to build an expensive BPO facility, with a minimum size of 5,000 square meters, among other things.

Very politely, I asked if their call center will lease our building, should my client spend for the infrastructure that they ask for. The reply blunt was "First, build your facility, then we will offer it (to clients)." A bit surprised, I explained that my client is willing to invest, but no businessman will spend (that much) without any indication that money will be made from it.

The reply was "You have to show to your prospective lessee/s that you have the confidence in your company and the capability to spend & maintain the facility, before you even talk to them."

She added; “Look at this particular building at _ _ _ _ _ _. It was built without any lessee on the list, but now it is filled to capacity.”

Geesh!!!! TO BE CONTINUED....

New jobs posted

The other blog posted a couple of new job opportunities.

Please click the BPO Job Opportunities at the sidebar of this page.

You may also opt to go direct by clicking here.

Online BPO and Work at Home Opportunities

Browsing through the internet, several work at home ads can be found. A few require do not require a membership fee in order to gain access to (online jobs) but a big majority does. Some membership fees may be as low as US$5.00 but there are those that can go to as much as US$199.00 or even more.

Through the years, a lot of news articles claim that fraudulent advertisments are all over and that unsuspecting viewers have easily fallen victims of unscrupulous sites.

I created a new site that will publish vacancies that are personally known to the author/s to be in actual existence. The blog will also post advertisements found through the net but all of it will be accompanied with short notes/ reviews. The authors of this site will also browse through, but not limited to Google advertisements and will try conduct verifications and authenticate some ads.

Ads that are personally found to be truly reliable and those that were verified and authenticated by reliable sources, will be accompanied by this site's "Seal of Approval".

Check the site regularly and tell your friends about it.