Customer service rant

[simon1]

Anyone get sick of trying to deal with customer service where the rep. has such a thick Indian accent that you can't understand them?

I just tried to call and pay a mobile phone bill on a phone I had cancelled a few weeks ago. Entered my phone number and the automatic answering said it did not recognize it. Got a live rep. and couldn't hardly understand a word. I gave him the account number...three times and he got it wrong twice. He asked for the first name of my first born child and I spelled it out for him, even phonetically, and he still got it wrong. He put me on hold to check on things. I have the paper bill so I just hung up and put the bill in an envelope with a check to mail off.

When I had the account cancelled awhile back I went through about the same thing with a guy I couldn't understand. It took forever to close the account and the guy kept trying to do a hard sell for another account and a new phone, even though I told him I already had a new phone and another plan. It took me almost an hour just to close out the account.

I recently closed a business phone account with another company and got a rep. that appeared to be a native English speaker. I got the account closed in about 10 minutes. I've heard if you get someone you can't understand that you can request a native English speaker and they have to transfer you, but I haven't tried that yet.

 

[martym]

This is Peggy!!

 

[Macfrommichigan]

It is a global marketplace. Imagine lots of folks get frustrated by Americans who refuse to speak French, Italian, Spanish, Korean, German, Chinese, etc.

In a situation such as you described, I would ask for another rep.

 

[BigFoot]

I am normally pretty good understanding foreign accents. For some reason I struggle with the India one. My wife struggles with Spanish, I think to myself you live in freaking Texas!

 

[pault]

I cant understand most indian phone reps.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[simon1]

I think to myself you live in freaking Texas!

Whut ya mean by dat, pudna?

I'll have you know, young man, that I did not grow up in Texas. My accent originates from another state.

 

[Raissermesser]

It is a global marketplace. Imagine lots of folks get frustrated by Americans who refuse to speak French, Italian, Spanish, Korean, German, Chinese, etc.

In a situation such as you described, I would ask for another rep.

And if they have the same problem canceling their credit card at a call center in the US, then they can have the same gripe. And it's not "refuse" to speak, it's having no need to speak, thanks to geography. Learning a second language is standard for anyone in the US on a college track, but keeping even a working usage of that second language is hard because if you don't have a need to use it, you forget it.

 

[martym]

My given name is Federico Martinez Jr.
I was speaking one night with a customer service rep and after we finished she said to me:
Sir, you really speak great English for a Mexican!!!
I almost wet myself laughing. It was hilarious!!
Thinking back to that helps keep my head on straight!!

 

[H4nk]

My wife went through the same thing trying to cancel the newspaper. She finally hung up and turned off auto-pay. A year later, we still get the paper. I guess 19 years earned us a little loyalty.
I worked for a jeans company and part of my job was to interpret between the Indian programmers and the Southern women customers. Neither could understand each other. The women refused to even try to understand them and they liked to talk in textile "code" that I only knew because my wife was a lint head. I remember Shiraz looking at me bewildered and I told him "She is talking about getting her hair done". She went from greige goods to frosting in one sentence.

 

[BigFoot]

Whut ya mean by dat, pudna?

I'll have you know, young man, that I did not grow up in Texas. My accent originates from another state.

We are both Yankees by birth. I can say y'all with the best of them now though.

 

[Mr. Scruffy]

 

[Macfrommichigan]

My wife went through the same thing trying to cancel the newspaper. She finally hung up and turned off auto-pay. A year later, we still get the paper. I guess 19 years earned us a little loyalty.
I worked for a jeans company and part of my job was to interpret between the Indian programmers and the Southern women customers. Neither could understand each other. The women refused to even try to understand them and they liked to talk in textile "code" that I only knew because my wife was a lint head. I remember Shiraz looking at me bewildered and I told him "She is talking about getting her hair done". She went from greige goods to frosting in one sentence.

Huh. Never heard of lint head. Textile worker, yes? Where I grew up, guys on the assembly line in the car factories were called shop rats.

 

[simon1]

And if they have the same problem canceling their credit card at a call center in the US, then they can have the same gripe. And it's not "refuse" to speak, it's having no need to speak, thanks to geography. Learning a second language is standard for anyone in the US on a college track, but keeping even a working usage of that second language is hard because if you don't have a need to use it, you forget it.

Very true. I had several Spanish courses in college. Now...forget it, no way. SWMBO had Spanish in high school and was good at it. Now...no way. A friend of mine was in the Border Patrol and used Spanish at work everyday. Now, he struggles with it.

If you are going to use a language for work you need to be fluent in it. They may use the correct words, but if they cannot pronounce them where they can be understood they are not fluent.

 

[Macfrommichigan]

Bought the "learn a language" CDs. Talk about distracted driving! At the rate I am mastering Italian while behind the wheel, the only thing anyone will be able to comprehend is my hand gestures.

 

[simon1]

Bought the "learn a language" CDs. Talk about distracted driving! At the rate I am mastering Italian while behind the wheel, the only thing anyone will be able to comprehend is my hand gestures.

I am flatulent in 5 languages. Everyone understands.

 

[DC_MPA]

Amazon is the worst. I’ve ended my purchasing on amazon. They charge taxes now which make them equal to my local stores in terms of pricing. They’re inability to comply with the 2 day free shipping and when I contact them everything is in broken English. My last few customer service chats with amazon was with several agents. I was told if they don’t reply within 2 minutes of the previous response, it gets transferred to another rep.

Buy local, America is back open for business, let’s keep the trend going.

 

[simon1]

I contact them everything is in broken English. My last few customer service chats with amazon was with several agents. I was told if they don’t reply within 2 minutes of the previous response, it gets transferred to another rep.

Buy local, America is back open for business, let’s keep the trend going.

I saw a humorous sign outside of a shop in southern Mexico several years ago, that was put there on purpose, that said "Broken English Spoken Perfectly Here."

 

[Ad Astra]

This is Peggy!!

"You're not fooling anyone! Your name is Sandeep! Stop lying to me and help fix this! You're not 'Peggy!' "


AA

 

[oc_in_fw]

Anyone get sick of trying to deal with customer service where the rep. has such a thick Indian accent that you can't understand them?

I just tried to call and pay a mobile phone bill on a phone I had cancelled a few weeks ago. Entered my phone number and the automatic answering said it did not recognize it. Got a live rep. and couldn't hardly understand a word. I gave him the account number...three times and he got it wrong twice. He asked for the first name of my first born child and I spelled it out for him, even phonetically, and he still got it wrong. He put me on hold to check on things. I have the paper bill so I just hung up and put the bill in an envelope with a check to mail off.

When I had the account cancelled awhile back I went through about the same thing with a guy I couldn't understand. It took forever to close the account and the guy kept trying to do a hard sell for another account and a new phone, even though I told him I already had a new phone and another plan. It took me almost an hour just to close out the account.

I recently closed a business phone account with another company and got a rep. that appeared to be a native English speaker. I got the account closed in about 10 minutes. I've heard if you get someone you can't understand that you can request a native English speaker and they have to transfer you, but I haven't tried that yet.

A few decades ago, we were told that we were entering a new time, where we would be moving to a service industry economy and away from production. Now that it is, by and large, true, they are outsourcing a lot of the service jobs. With the rise of automation and AI, we are going to have to have a hard look at how money is distributed in this country (we aren't the only ones who will have to). What happens when the day arrive that you only have jobs for 50% of your workforce- mass dying in the streets?

 

[oc_in_fw]

This is Peggy!!

I love those commercials.