Foreign Accents at Call Centers

[Jdeere562]

Anyone else sick of the accents you can't understand? I'm an old man and have bad hearing, then you get one of them to top it off! Have to ask them to repeat everything they say about 6 times. Sometimes I just give up and hang up, then call back and hope for a better English speaking person.

Not to pick on them, at least they are working folks. Am I they only one complaining about them?

 

[dishdude]

I rarely have to call anyone in a call center, almost everything can be done online.

 

[FT92]

same here, i can 't really understand them i hate it when i do have to call about a problem

 

[dnewton3]

The issue I see isn't the person on the other end of the phone. They are speaking a non-native language and I don't know that I could do any better in their language, either. That doesn't make your complaint any less valid, but perhaps we need to focus on where the real problem exists ...

The real issue is that of farming out the work to a foreign entity; its corporate greed. They are the ones that don't care about you, or else they'd assure better customer service. IMO that is where the problem originates. It's not wrong for a company to make money and exist on profits; that keeps them afloat. Rather, it's just a matter of how deep they will cut a budget to squeak out every last penny from a job.

Some companies have indeed reversed course; keeping work "in house" as it were.

 

[Jdeere562]

I rarely have to call anyone in a call center, almost everything can be done online.

That normally entails setting up an account, user name and password. I HATE that crap, have too many to remember now.
Should probably get one of those fancy password manager gadgets. Maybe I'm old and stubborn, and write them all down.

I just called today to get a paper copy of a 401K account. So when I pass, she has a place to start tracking down my $

 

[Trav]

Some of them are terrible, when I get one on the phone I hang up.

 

[Rand]

While I dont speak their native language better than they speak english.. I'm not working at a call center providing support in that language either.

I'd say 1 out 3 is fine, 1 out 3 is hard to understand and 1 out of 3 is hang up and call back tomorrow.

I had to call wells fargo because my online account wasnt working.. giant phone tree then person I could barely understand.. they passed me off to online support and she was definitely native english speaker and great.

 

[Hall]

The real issue is that of farming out the work to a foreign entity; its corporate greed

Exactly - don't blame the worker, blame the company that hired them (or the company that they work for 'cause the business we pay isn't employing that worker directly).

 

[dnewton3]

I realize it's hard to endure; it's happened to me also. I actually have very good hearing, and I still struggle at times to understand people in c/s who don't have English as their primary language.

What I have had to learn to do is treat them nice and ask for someone else. I've literally said to a few of them "I'm sorry, I just can't understand you well enough for me to feel comfortable conducting business. I don't mean to be rude, but can you pass my call on up to your supervisor, please?" If you say that in a nice tone of voice, it typically gets passed on quickly. Yes, it's a PITB to have to do this. It might even take more than one step upwards; perhaps multiple requests.

Again, we have to realize that the process (the customer service experience) is a function of several things and that person on the other end of the phone is only a small spoke in a big wheel. Treat the other person on the phone as you'd want to be treated, and push your anger towards the company. It's OK to do a follow-up call and log a complaint about the c/s reps effect. Just do it politely. If you don't complain, nothing will get changed for the better.


And to be accurate, I've had some really crappy customer service experiences right here in the good ol' USA. The problems are not unique to foreign call centers. I've had folks right here at home make life miserable. I may understand them better, but the service was just as crappy, and sometimes worse.

 

[4WD]

We have an engineering center in Indian - these are super smart and hard working people that still know math and science …
They can be hard to understand - sometimes I ask them to summarize in an email - often that comes back with attachments and references …
Fact is our schools are not keeping up with the high GPA’s we need …

 

[y_p_w]

I don't mind accents. But I like clarity and proper grammar. If I can understand through the accent, that doesn't bother me. And part of the problem is that many non-native speakers don't understand that they have an accent. I've heard that many can't even discern how an American accent is different than an Indian accent.

I get a lot of calls from job recruiters from India. It does feel a little awkward when it's a "Charlie Smith" and I know that's not the caller's real name. I'd just like to be able to understand what they're saying, and for them to avoid their own colloquialisms or poor grammar like "revert me" (respond), email ID (email address), or "explain me" (explain to me). However, I've encountered a few who get it just right - not by faking a name but by doing their homework and working on their grammar and understanding of American geography (no Florida is not close to California).

Some of the best call operators (and many work from home) I've dealt with were in the Philippines. There's certainly an accent, but they on average they have much better clarity and grammar than call operators from other parts of the world where English isn't the primary language.

 

[demarpaint]

Some of them are terrible, when I get one on the phone I hang up.

I use the same accent as them, hoping they'll understand me.

 

[gman2304]

Op, did you not get your answer when you posted this same topic about three weeks ago….? I’m old and hard of hearing as well but….

 

[andrewg]

I'm a bit hard of hearing as well. Whenever I talk to a call center that is based in a foreign country, I have a terrible time understanding them. To me it's unconscionable why any company would subject its customers to somebody with very hard to understand accents. I can't stand it. While I'm not mean to the people on the phone, I tell them that I am sorry but I can't understand you. Then I hang up and try later. My wife comes from Mexico and has a slight accent....but I've gotten pretty much used to hers but still occasionally ask her to repeat what she says.

 

[vavavroom]

I have lived in enough places to be familiar with many accents and they don't faze me. Dialects can be problematic. Think of an 80-year-old drunk Irish guy with three teeth and nasal congestion.

 

[Jimmy_Russells]

I have the same problem whenever I talk to someone in the south. Or Newfies.

 

[Boomer]

I am 76 and I have the same problem! I know the folks I speak are generally well meaning and most try to be very helpful but it is a real trial for me to understand them. I have used the Internet whenever possible but sometimes a phone call is unavoidable. Case in point: only a phone number given on a medical bill to supply insurance information and I got a person I could barely understand.

 

[y_p_w]

I have the same problem whenever I talk to someone in the south. Or Newfies.

A former coworker fit that description, other than I understood him pretty well. There were a few other Canadian expats, including one who told me that his accent/dialect was easily understandable and basically a generic Canadian accent.

 

[RoadDukie]

Another issue with this that has not been mentioned is the fact that many of these calls are conducted over VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) and very low quality. Additionally, many of these offshore CS folks are inside a very cramped and noisy workplace with a lot going in the background.

 

[Chris142]

Anytime you get a call from someone with an India accent it's a scam call anyway. Just hang up.