Outsourced Customer Support Directory: SourceSouth

While taking advantage of the IT strengths and favorable pricing found in Argentina, SourceSouth prides itself on its flexibility in accommodating each client's individual needs.

by Jeff Goldman [December 5, 2007]

Scott Unkefer founded SourceSouth in March of 2006 after spending a few years in Buenos Aires, Argentina, working for an IT consulting firm. The country, Unkefer says, may be one of the best kept secrets in the IT world, and he says it's a perfect place from which to offer outsourced phone, e-mail and chat support.

As an IT destination, Unkefer says Buenos Aires' strengths include the very favorable exchange rate and the quality of the infrastructure. "Just before the [financial] collapse in 2001, they had installed a massive new data telecom infrastructure," he says. "They had done a very good job of putting the infrastructure in place… so it's a good combination of talent pool and currency exchange."

SourceSouth 6676 Gunpark Drive Suite D Boulder, Colorado 80301 Voice: (800)310-1458 mailto: Info@sourcesouth.com

Another asset, Unkefer says, is the high number of English-speaking expats living in Argentina, including Americans, Brits, and Australians. "It's a unique place in the world, in that you have the currency exchange that is very near equivalent to India, and you can also hire Americans or native English speaking people in the computer field on that currency exchange," he says.

Keeping it in Argentina
At the same time, Unkefer notes that Argentina also offers advantages for clients looking for services in languages other than English. "A nice selling point, coming out of South America, is that Spanish is a standard supported language along with English," he says. "That opens up the customer base for ISPs. We also do Portuguese, and we can, on a per-account basis, deal with Italian and other European languages."

In addition to its Buenos Aires office, SourceSouth maintains an office in Boulder, Colorado. The company keeps the Colorado office, Unkefer says, for two main reasons—to maintain a basic presence in the U.S., and for both bookkeeping and front end sales and marketing to U.S. clients.

Still, all support operations are based in Buenos Aires, which Unkefer says is crucial in ensuring that everyone's on the same page. "There are other support companies that have an office in the States and an office in the Eastern Bloc or an office in India—and that adds some complexity to troubleshooting and resolving issues that we don't incur since we're all in the same place," he says.

Focused on flexibility
SourceSouth's key differentiator in an increasingly crowded marketplace, Unkefer says, is flexibility. "We find that there's a lot of customization that needs to occur on a per-account basis," he says. "A lot of the guys that are pretty well established and have been around for a long time say no to a lot of business because there's too much customization or ramp-up there—and we like that stuff."

As long as the client is willing to be billed for the work, Unkefer says, SourceSouth is more than happy to spend four to six weeks making sure that the service is perfectly matched to their needs. "I'm told time and again, 'I've talked to other service providers and they've just told us to go away, because we're too unique for them,'" he says. "We pride ourselves on taking the work that people that are bigger and have been around longer than us don't want because it doesn't fit into their cookie cutter model."

Similarly, Unkefer says all pricing is negotiated to meet the needs of each individual client, and can be structured per minute, per incident, or on a flat monthly rate. While there's basic pricing listed on the website, Unkefer says that's only a guide. "I work with every one of my customers on pricing," he says. "I don't know that I've had an account yet that has taken the pricing off the website."

A collaborative relationship
Think of it, Unkefer says, like a real estate developer renting out space. "They want their tenants to do well, and if their tenants do well, they do well," he says. "As long as my relationship with my customers is reasonable, and they understand it has to be a win/win, I'm willing to work with them… we'll just take it as it goes, and we'll work together and make it a viable solution."

That's also reflected in the way the client receives reporting data from SourceSouth. "We've run into customers that say, 'We really want to use our own helpdesk system,'" Unkefer says. "A lot of traditional call centers want their customers to use their helpdesk system, simply because they can charge for it. We don't care—we prefer them having ownership of all their issues."

And Unkefer says SourceSouth also provides the customer with a number of services for which other providers might charge additional fees. "We throw in knowledgebase, FAQ work, and other helpdesk installations with the customer as well—and I tend not to charge for that, when maybe I should," he says. "We're really working to out-service anyone else: that's what we feel is our obligation as a new player in the field."

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Related articles:
	[Dec. 27, 2002]	We Need Cheap Overnight Tech Support
	[Jan. 22, 2001]	When Your Help Desk is Distant
	[June 2, 2000]	Building an ISP Business Plan Part 4: Operating & Organizational Plans

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	Outsourced Customer Support Directory
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