Could Homeshoring Call Centers Help Dell?

As reported by Businessweek, Dell has some serious problems with customers service, in particular, making callers wait and then transferring them.  The solution Dell is coming up with comes from the factory floor: they plan to make call center reps hyper-specialized in a given area.   Read more about in the Dell section in the above linked article.

I think homeshoring has more potential here.  First of all, a major reason for crappy customer service if the low-quality of the workforce.  So you have to improve that first.  how do you do that?  Two ways, by paying them more and making Dell a more attractive place to work.  Nothing of the sort was mentioned in the above article, which makes me seriously doubt Dell's commitment to improving customer service, then again, this doesn't necessarily bode ill for Dell since it's competitors aren't rushing to make serious improvements in customer service.

Homeshoring offers a serious solution because it can keep cost constant (assuming all of the gains from cutting back on office space go to higher salaries, otherwise costs are actually reduced).  It offers a much more attractive employment option than being herded into call center cubicle farms every day.  Furthermore, it make it easier to find emergency replacements in the event of a surge in call center activity.  It also would allow Dell to take advantage of low-cost-of-living parts of the country without having to set up a whole office there.

When will major corporations realize the benefits of homeshoring?  When they start feeling pressure from their competitors, which lead to an increase in the share price of their competitors and a decline in their own share price.