Foreign Call Centres

[Sparks]

They've got a job to do just like you have.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 4

[Stranger]

you know what I hate...Customer services lines...YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR...

[Marc]

you know what I hate...Customer services lines...YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR...

 

However I would gladly pay for some of them if they removed the "press 1 to speak to another robot, press 2 if your still annoyed at this message" etc etc

[Stranger]

However I would gladly pay for some of them if they removed the "press 1 to speak to another robot, press 2 if your still annoyed at this message" etc etc

 

 

Oh yes I agree with you.

 

You spend at least a couple of £ just getting to the right option and then proceed to sit...On hold in the queue

[Elyse]

Atleast they play jazzy music you can groove to while you're waiting.

[Jay]

I know!!

 

I had to call my wireless phone provider, AT&T, if you ever heard of them...and it took me 5 minutes just to get to a live person!!!  And what I really hate is when you have to say what you are calling for, and the recording on the other end always say "I'm sorry, I do not understand". 

 

However I would gladly pay for some of them if they removed the "press 1 to speak to another robot, press 2 if your still annoyed at this message" etc etc

[Storm Angel n Auroras Mum]

Atleast they play jazzy music you can groove to while you're waiting.

oh yes over and over and over...

[Chula]

Having spent most of my adult life surrounded by non native english speakers, I'm always impressed by people who have learned the language. English is a hard language with nonsensical grammar rules and illogical pronunciations. I think native speakers take it for granted.I try to always remember that learning a language is hard, and speaking it on the phone is even harder. Especially since people tend to use colloquial English and regional slang without even realizing it.

I know it is frustrating. Patience and kindness go a long ways though.

[Storm Angel n Auroras Mum]

Having spent most of my adult life surrounded by non native english speakers, I'm always impressed by people who have learned the language. English is a hard language with nonsensical grammar rules and illogical pronunciations. I think native speakers take it for granted.I try to always remember that learning a language is hard, and speaking it on the phone is even harder. Especially since people tend to use colloquial English and regional slang without even realizing it.

I know it is frustrating. Patience and kindness go a long ways though.

yes i understand that. but when its an important phonecall and you have to call three times before you get someone you understand its frustrating! 

thankfully I wont need to use that company again.

[Marc]

Having spent most of my adult life surrounded by non native english speakers, I'm always impressed by people who have learned the language. English is a hard language with nonsensical grammar rules and illogical pronunciations. I think native speakers take it for granted.I try to always remember that learning a language is hard, and speaking it on the phone is even harder. Especially since people tend to use colloquial English and regional slang without even realizing it.

I know it is frustrating. Patience and kindness go a long ways though.

 

That is quite right, however these people should not be in an english speaking call center to be fair. Its highly frustrating when for example I call an internet service provider and I cannot explain a technical problem Im having as the person on the other side of the phone does not understand what I am saying. Have absolutly no quarms with people who learn english, in fact its an excellent thing and as the worlds most used language everyone in my opinion should learn to speak it regardless of where they are from. 

 

We have a guy who works in our office who is polish. The guy does actually speak relativly good english, however he does not answer the phones unless it is absolutly nessesary as it agrevates customers when he cannot understand something. Nothing wrong with the guy, there are just some things he does not understand as of yet. Prime example being someone asked him "can I mail it over to you" and he did not understand what that meant as in correct english it actually doesnt make any sense at all. If the person had said "Can I send you an email with it on" he would have understood perfectly what the person meant. In the office we will have a laugh and a joke about it and tell him what the guy meant, after all this is how we all learn, however to an already annoyed customer it doesnt go down too well (which ironically is another statement some would not understand who do not speak good english)

[Chula]

Oh I understand the frustration, but the frustration should be with the company who is outsourcing to save money, not the poor guy on the other end of the line who is just trying to support his family. In many of these areas, the person you are talking to probably has more education than most of us, but jobs are scarce, and the mega companies know this and take advantage of it.

[Storm Angel n Auroras Mum]

That is quite right, however these people should not be in an english speaking call center to be fair. Its highly frustrating when for example I call an internet service provider and I cannot explain a technical problem Im having as the person on the other side of the phone does not understand what I am saying. Have absolutly no quarms with people who learn english, in fact its an excellent thing and as the worlds most used language everyone in my opinion should learn to speak it regardless of where they are from.

We have a guy who works in our office who is polish. The guy does actually speak relativly good english, however he does not answer the phones unless it is absolutly nessesary as it agrevates customers when he cannot understand something. Nothing wrong with the guy, there are just some things he does not understand as of yet. Prime example being someone asked him "can I mail it over to you" and he did not understand what that meant as in correct english it actually doesnt make any sense at all. If the person had said "Can I send you an email with it on" he would have understood perfectly what the person meant. In the office we will have a laugh and a joke about it and tell him what the guy meant, after all this is how we all learn, however to an already annoyed customer it doesnt go down too well (which ironically is another statement some would not understand who do not speak good english)

exactly! Thankyou marc that was exactly what i meant!

[Removed #5]

Chula your last comment is probably all too true.  I had a friend in Houston (from "Persia" - which covers a lot of territory ( and is often used by people from Iran) ) who had been a doctor - he was now clerking behind a counter in a convenience store as he was working to get his accreditation here so he could really earn a living.

Since the education system in most of the "third world" counties leaves a lot to be desired, I think it would be safe to say that it's generally the affluent who have the opportunity to learn a second (or third or fourth) language.  The people we talk to in the call centers are probably there so they can get some real practice in their chosen language(s) before they go on to something better paying.  Meaning we get stuck as involuntary teachers by example.

 

Uh, Marc - Mandarin still holds the lead as the most spoken language with over a billion (1,000,000,000) people who speak it, English comes in a sorry second at approximately 500 million (500,000,000) (( numbers added since million / billion don't mean the same thing in different parts of the world! sheesh! Whatever happened to the miliard?? )

[Chula]

Yeah my ex husband was a mechanical engineer running an entire manufacturing plant in his home country. Came here and ended up driving a taxi to pay his way through graduate education in Boston. He struggled with English sometimes, but it drove me nuts that people determined he was stupid or uneducated because he had an accent and drove a cab. Anyway. That's a bit of a tangent, but I have a soft spot for people who struggle with English but who are really trying.

[Marc]

Chula your last comment is probably all too true.  I had a friend in Houston (from "Persia" - which covers a lot of territory ( and is often used by people from Iran) ) who had been a doctor - he was now clerking behind a counter in a convenience store as he was working to get his accreditation here so he could really earn a living.

Since the education system in most of the "third world" counties leaves a lot to be desired, I think it would be safe to say that it's generally the affluent who have the opportunity to learn a second (or third or fourth) language.  The people we talk to in the call centers are probably there so they can get some real practice in their chosen language(s) before they go on to something better paying.  Meaning we get stuck as involuntary teachers by example.

 

Uh, Marc - Mandarin still holds the lead as the most spoken language with over a billion (1,000,000,000) people who speak it, English comes in a sorry second at approximately 500 million (500,000,000) (( numbers added since million / billion don't mean the same thing in different parts of the world! sheesh! Whatever happened to the miliard?? )

 

Its the most spoken yes, however there are not more people speak it which is a distinct difference. A lot of that billion people will also speak english, however the same cannot be said for people who speak english (or any other language) as a first language speaking mandarin. Therefore english is actually spoken by more people.

[Danny_Caity]

I avoid ringing call centres up as much as possible. I'm that person that if something gets delivered that is not what I ordered or damaged, I keep it so's not to cause fuss!

It's very frustrating when you ring them, because you're almost always ringing call centres because you've got a problem, so you're annoyed for a start! But I'm pretty good with accents, I receive phone calls on a daily basis from service stations down motorways, and I every single one of them has a strong accent, be it Southern English, Scottish, Indian, I've had the lot talking to me, so you have to get used to it! 

 

With my family being Scottish, I understand when Scots ring me up more than I'd understand a Southerner! You guys down there just don't make ANY sense to me!

Everyone at work gets me to talk to our Scottish engineer, because they're just at a loss! Although he could make it easier on them, instead of coming out with corkers like (almost perfect quote) 'I dinnae ken hen! I've naw ben doon that wai since I was a wee bairn! I dinnae mind where I'm goin!'

 

 - Caity