Accents do not bother me, I understand not everybody I run into speaks english, or good english..not a problem! However if I am trying to make major arrangements, I want to be able to understand the person on the other end. We finally got offered a house, away from this crazy neighborhood, however it's looking like transportation is backed up until December. Hubby suggested that I contact PODS(moving and storage) and see if I could do a partial Dity move. I had forgotten all about them and got right on it.

I call and a man with a thick accent answers, he tries to answer a few questions but I have NO idea what he just said, by then, I'm realizing I need to get off the phone b/c we had an event to go to. I tell him I'll call later at a better time(secretly hoping he doesn't answer again when i call) He calls an hr later when we are at the event, and I tell him I'll call back.

Another 4hrs later,a woman calls me back and just waits on the phone for me to say something. I ask how they do business, how much it'll run me etc...again, I can't understand a word she says. I said, ma'am could you please repeat yourself again. She says slowly... 3 5 7. I thought that was the price, so I say, oh that's not bad at all, then she says no no no. I then say, I'll call you back later.

I find it odd #1 that they called me back twice without me even giving my number,and odd that they are being so persistent, it's not like they are about to go out of buisness. All I know is I won't be calling them back. Is it so much to ask, that if you are working in an area of the world/country where everyone speaks english, to hire english speaking telephone ops??

Aww you are just being jingoistic.

America is a melting pot salad bowl and you are being unreasonable.

You should go in there with a fist full of cash and ask, gesture, to them to take what they think is fare.

I have the other side of that problem. I am one of the people who take calls from Medical professionals when their Medical imaging /endoscopy /surgical equipment and accessories are down.

We have a huge number of foreign nationals working in the Medical community in the US.... and sometimes it is all but impossible to help the customer because we can not communicate due to the language barrier.....

I have to ask questions that are sometimes quite technical in nature, in order to ascertain where the issue is and what we need to do to resolve it, and when they are having a hard time understanding me, and I am having a hard time understanding them..... quite frustrating

Bought, I have been working in customer service for 15 years and nearly every job out there in my industry is asking for bilingual agents and the efficience is not on if their English skills are up to par.

It is a piss poor trend and I'm dragging my feet every inch along the way.

The fact is that upper management looks at it this way, that they don't want to risk losing the business of those that aren't proficient in English and believe that native English speakers are not complaining enough to effect the bottom line.

Until people like you complain and loudly they are going to continue down this road.

All they care about is trends and acquiring more new customers than they lose.

Silent_Surface, I've worked in medical insurance before and the terminology is a bear to begin with with out accents.

quote:

Originally posted by Silent_Surface:
I have the other side of that problem. I am one of the people who take calls from Medical professionals when their Medical imaging /endoscopy /surgical equipment and accessories are down.

We have a huge number of foreign nationals working in the Medical community in the US.... and sometimes it is all but impossible to help the customer because we can not communicate due to the language barrier.....

I have to ask questions that are sometimes quite technical in nature, in order to ascertain where the issue is and what we need to do to resolve it, and when they are having a hard time understanding me, and I am having a hard time understanding them..... quite frustrating

____________________________________________

You would enjoy The Angry Pharmacist blog. He rants about Physician's assistants and nurses who phone in prescriptions in some unrecognizable language. Somebody could get killed...
The inabiliy of persons in customer service to speak the native language is a good reason for outsourcing tech support to India, they speak funny, but coherent, English.
If I come across as an ogre for asking somone to find an English speaker to handle my business, they have but to say so, I'll go elsewhere...

Outsourcing anyone?

Even though it was an 866 number I had hoped that they could give me a local number. Little did I know they don't work that way. I was thinking it was like UHAUL/RYDER. Silent, and opfor, I don't know how you guys deal with this daily. I'd be praying for phone patience everyday lol.

btw- I thought I put this in ''general discussion" Could a mod move this over there?

Moving this now.

quote:

Originally posted by gypsysnipe:
Moving this now.

Thanks. They need a kiss on the cheek smilie. Can I get that too?

Let me check into that. In the meantime, what do you want for dinner?

quote:

Originally posted by gypsysnipe:
Let me check into that. In the meantime, what do you want for dinner?

LOL, you're good!

Thankew, thankew, kind Lady.

bought. You mean you didn't have the option of 'Press 1 for English?'

Dennis is hard of hearing. One evening we called the VA in Houston to check on a Marine we know. Well, the lady who answered the phone spoke good english along with her accent, but Dennis could not hear or understand her. So I got on the phone and I asked her if I could speak to a person who was born and raised in the U.S. without an accent. Just a regular born American.... I got someone too.

I can't stand these companies who hire people that don't speak english very well and when they try, they make it worst. And it is hard for the hard of hearing to understand them too.

Dennis has a Marine friend who is married to a Philopino (sp) and she is hard to understand sometimes, but I love her bunches.

I had to call the IRS recently
The lady who answered the phone had a very thick Indian accent. . .it took me by surprise!! Before I could even think about “what” was coming out of my mouth I said “Am I calling the United States or are you located in India?” Lucky for me she burst out laughing and said she’s never heard that question before. . .She said she was in Colorado and gave me a government ID#.
I’m still not COMPLETELY 100% convinced I was talking to someone in the USA

I hate being rude, but when I have an issue like that, I just ask for someone else, someone who speaks English.

Bought: Check with ABF freight lines. They have a "you load, we haul" program for moving. They'll bring a small trailer to your house, you pack it, then they'll let it sit on their yard until you tell them where and when to take it.