How to Select an Outsourcing Partner

3. Dismissing offshore providers. Magram, whose company provides offshore contact center services, says many merchants don't know that outsourcing can be done more cheaply than keeping it all in house. However, he cautions, if you're considering going offshore, look for a provider operating in a Westernized country, one that understands American consumers' wants and expectations and whose reps are perfectly fluent in English. "Our contact centers are in the Philippines, which is a very Westernized culture," Magram notes. Its Columbia, South America, office primarily handles callers who prefer to speak in Spanish.