Final answer:
The business practice described in the question is called outsourcing. It involves hiring an outside firm, sometimes abroad, to perform tasks that were previously done internally.
Step-by-step explanation:
The business practice described in the question is called outsourcing. Outsourcing occurs when a company hires an outside firm, sometimes abroad, to perform tasks it used to perform internally. In this case, when a U.S. citizen phones an American company with a problem and reaches someone in India for the answer, it means that the company has outsourced its customer service or call center operations to India.
Outsourcing to countries like India has become a common practice for many companies due to factors such as lower labor costs and availability of skilled workers fluent in English. This allows companies to provide customer service or support at a lower cost.
Examples of outsourcing can be seen in various industries, including technology support and online sales companies, where customer services are often outsourced to countries with a skilled labor base and lower employment costs.