Call centres for "Elderly Companionship"

Remember, you heard it here first - I think call centers to provide companionship to the elderly in the West is a big business opportunity. Call it EC-BPO if you will.

Our culture makes us more respectful of age - sometimes to a fault - at least while we live in India (for what happens when we emigrate, read "Invisible Immigrants - Old and Left with 'Nobody to Talk to'" in the New York Times... you may need to log in). The situation is different in the West, especially in the US I think, where there is little time in busy lives to spend on slow, elderly people. Many of the young energetic Americans you see will live out the end of their lives in old age homes, visited by their families perhaps once a week, perhaps once a month.

I do not imply a value judgment here; the US has its history and culture, we have ours. But it does open up an opportunity. Like elderly people everywhere, these elderly Americans want to talk and be heard. Meet an elderly American in a pub or on a plane and he or she will talk with you at length about all matters in a way that most younger Americans simply won't. Indian call center employees report of having elderly Americans hanging on the conversations. Visit an old age home in the US and you will find people desperate to talk to you, to hold on to you as a link to the outside world.

In the world of telephony and even telepresence, this is a business opportunity. It's a chance to do good and to make money at the same time.

It will not be an easy job. The callers must be prepared to be shouted on from time to time, and then will be tearful rapprochements. It'll be emotionally stressful and possibly even traumatic.

In other words, it'll be just like family!