Shop Talk
NPR report on call centers -cornell study
NPR call center report
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId ... »
Cornell study
India, Anywhere USA
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId ... »
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId ... »
Cornell study
India, Anywhere USA
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId ... »
...
Anyone who says people think the call center is "just around the corner" has never talked to one.
...
They're right, low pay and high turnover contribute to a number of new people always being on the floor. That coupled with lacking training makes it horrible. Our new reps are trained for two weeks and then dropped straight into the que in the highest setting. It's sink or swim. They loose half a class in the first month because people just can't handle it... especially if they are not getting paid enough to afford the full body massage and shrink every night when they leave.
...
It's pretty much the same thing with being a cashier. I have been one with a few different companies, and they are all the same. They train ya for a week or two, then throw you on a register. If the complaining customers don't get to you first, it's the long hours standing, the low pay, or the fact that most companies don't get the budgets they need to schedule a sensible amount of staff.
At Home Depot, the one thing that bothered me the most is people coming up to me for help. I'm a cashier, not in a department, sorry, I can't help you. I know there is only one person covering three departments on a Friday night, no I can't leave my station, yes I'll call a manager, no he won't do anything for you... 🙄
And they wonder why the tu...
(continues)
At Home Depot, the one thing that bothered me the most is people coming up to me for help. I'm a cashier, not in a department, sorry, I can't help you. I know there is only one person covering three departments on a Friday night, no I can't leave my station, yes I'll call a manager, no he won't do anything for you... 🙄
And they wonder why the tu...
(continues)
...
Calling into a call center and reaching someone you know is working in New Delhi is frustrating enough. what makes it worse is when an Indian man or woman answer the phone they give you a completely Americanized name. "Thank you for calling tech support, this is BOB, how may I help you?" Now, I personally have NEVER been to India but I know the world is getting smaller. However, is it realistic that in a matter of 5 or 6 years EVERY Indian telecenter rep has had their name changed to BOB, BILL, SALLY, or TOM? Unfortunately, the companies that hire these outsourced reps. do nothing to try to give these individuals speech therapy or studies in English. If they could train these reps to better communicate with English speaking consumers and cou...
(continues)
(continues)
...
India has more english speakers than any other target for outsourcing.... your stance on this matter is quite disturbing....
...
Irrespective of how many "English speakers" India has, the customer has to be able to understand what the hell they are saying in order to acomplish their purpose.
Your stance is equally disturbing for a different reason.
Your stance is equally disturbing for a different reason.
...
You are an outsourced rep, right? You would say something like this. My stance is one of truth and opinion.
...
No, I'm not an outsourced rep, but it's funny that is the first thing you assume. Maybe not funny "ha-ha" more... funny "HOLY FREAKIN CRAP WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?" On a lighter note though I am worried about outsourcing, just look at our child prostitution industry, it hasn't been the same since pimps found out chinese kids do the same job for a much lower price.
...
alejandro said:
On a lighter note though I am worried about outsourcing, just look at our child prostitution industry, it hasn't been the same since pimps found out chinese kids do the same job for a much lower price.
What does that mean? Your statement is either worded incorrectly or you have made yourself sound like a perderast! If you are worried about outscourcing of child prostitutes, it must be hurting your business. Without getting political, for what reasons should we be excited to expect that every time we call an American company for help we will be speaking to "David" who can't pronounce his "own" name? I think it is ridiculaous that people (with very little information or knowledge of a subje...
(continues)
...
I was marginalizing you since with most debates nothing can ever be said to change another's mind.
Let me do it again....
We are in America, I speak English to you and you better speak English to me. And if you use words like "ridiculaous" again I am going to have you deported to whatever country you crossed the border from.
Let me do it again....
We are in America, I speak English to you and you better speak English to me. And if you use words like "ridiculaous" again I am going to have you deported to whatever country you crossed the border from.
...
I like college profs that can't speak a lick of English and yet teach some of the most difficult classes. I actually spent an hour trying to figure out that my Chem prof was saying "light-path".
...
You are one who is awfully quick to blast another for a simple mis-spelled word when you can't even speak English yourself. What country did you learn that the proper way to end a sentence is to use a preposition such as from or at? You obviously have a Harvard degree or you wouldn't be able to call me out on something as simple as typing with a fat finger.
...
Why do you keep insisting that English is not my second language? You are just making things worse for yourself.
...
How do I insist English is not your second language? By simply asking you in which country you learned that English is spoken or written with prepositions placed at the end of the sentence? What am I making worse for myself? Are you proving anything yet? Not really, I am really excited for you to get to that point though.
Congratulations, you speak English as a second language. You are entitled to defend every single person in the world who can speak a second language, and I applaud you for that really I do. Just because you learn English as a second language doesn't mean you speak it well, or even well enough for native English speakers to understand you. That's called the "rub" 😲.
See, I speak Spanish (not as well as my family) an...
(continues)
Congratulations, you speak English as a second language. You are entitled to defend every single person in the world who can speak a second language, and I applaud you for that really I do. Just because you learn English as a second language doesn't mean you speak it well, or even well enough for native English speakers to understand you. That's called the "rub" 😲.
See, I speak Spanish (not as well as my family) an...
(continues)
...
The trouble really isn't the accent, its the ioability of the reps to cave into customer demands. In my experience, reps in India are not willing to deviate from what they understand is company policy for any reason whatsoever. Unfortunately, once a caller started going off about foreign reps, any desire to bend rules or placate customers would desert me like courage at the edge of a bungee jump. 🤣
...
You spoiled spoiled brat
Whose idea do you think it is to have the reps calling themselves by those names?
And do you think those ACTUALL Bobs, Bills and Sallies do it because they woke up one morning and felt it'd be nice to have them say that?
Or dont you think they might have done some market reaserch, and came to the conclusion that the average american will put up with the rep better if they agree to be a little more american by lying about their name?
Be honest, when you ask for their name. would you relly want them to say something like Swaminathan?
Whose idea do you think it is to have the reps calling themselves by those names?
And do you think those ACTUALL Bobs, Bills and Sallies do it because they woke up one morning and felt it'd be nice to have them say that?
Or dont you think they might have done some market reaserch, and came to the conclusion that the average american will put up with the rep better if they agree to be a little more american by lying about their name?
Be honest, when you ask for their name. would you relly want them to say something like Swaminathan?
...
Gotta love the companies that do that outsourcing, you could not find a job in the united states that would have the nerve to tell you "Ok, dave sounds too boring, we are going to put "chuck" on your nametag, answer to it or you are fired chuck"
...
Obviously you have never worked for Disney. Employees at ALL Disney theme park locations are given false names (these names change as time goes on) and places of origin. Many of you may think this is a joke but in fact, Disney supports its alias based work force and states that they do this in order to ensure their employee's safety. God bless America, we change people daily to make things better for US!
...
Have you read anything else in that post or just taken that out of context. If you took the time to see the quotations around the people's names you would notice that I have already come to the conclusion that in fact "Bob" is not a name indigenous to the Indian people. What I would prefer, in all reality, is buying products or services from companies that are interested in ensuring their customers can resolve whatever issues may arise. What purpose does cheap labor serve if it is ineffective or results in your customers losing faith in your company? And next time you decide to fuel the fire, don't be an idiot, read what is posted and don't try to act smooth.
...
I oppose outsourcing because it is American companies taking jobs overseas because not only do they want to pay employees as little as possible but they want to be able to treat them however they want and fire at will.... you seem like you oppose it because when your cell phone breaks you dont want to talk to some "furiner" named haji who talks funny and tells you his name is frank.
...
I am opposed to outsourcing for many reasons, however, I choose not to air my political laundry in such places. The main concern I have with outsourcing (as far as this discussion goes) is the fact that it is proof that some companies in the US do not value their customers enough to give them quality service. Regardless of the country in which these people work, they can not speak the same language as the people who are calling them for support. Just a hypothetical, but let's pretend that an Egyptian company wants to save some money by hiring a bunch of Americans to answer phone calls regarding such product. Now, let's pretend that we have taught 1000 Americans to speak "conversational" Farsi in order to communicate (in the most basic way be...
(continues)
(continues)
...
well besides the fact i have never encountered an outsourced rep who cannot understand me, they all repeat the same parrot script no matter what country they are from. You are over simplifying and mis-leading people by equating the people we talk to and people who have only been taught "conversational" language when it isnt the case, its english taught to them since grade school and continued study through it. Hamid "Bob" Al-Harki wasn't hired off the street. You are tying to moderate your view without looking like too much of a wack job, but your problem boils down to the accent and the fact that you cannot stand the accent, which is something you have stated many times, not just this time but in other threads, namely buffo's first. I have ...
(continues)
(continues)
...
It's all money. No US company outsources for the sole intention of pissing off Americans. When exec management puts it all on black & white, they see: We've spent billions on hiring/training our own CSR staff. We still have issues they were unable to resolve and our customers still got upset. Here comes a bid from some firm specializing in CSR duties, managing/training their own staff for one set price. The location of that firm is irrelevant, it could be Pakistan or New Jersey. The point is the contract is signed and it's static. On the books for whichever carrier, they pay a flat price and their entire CSR dept is staffed and handling/fielding calls...
...
Absolutely. Simply stated and factual. The companies responsible for outsourcing have created an issue that their customers may see as a problem. Our jobs here are as customer service people in some way. In order for us to provide the best services we can it is important for us to communicate clearly what we are doing. Unfortunately, the concerns of these firms revolve around dollars and cents and not "How easy is it for our customers to get help from the new call center?" If the goal is efficiency, they should create smaller call centers that are language-centric. At our location we deal with customers from the South Pacific, Asia, Eastern Europe, Middle East, and South America (not so many Western Europeans). Many times we have felt it wou...
(continues)
(continues)
...
If my posts make it seem that the accent is my issue, maybe you should read a little more into what has been written. The issue that I have is the simple fact that using outsourced representatives makes what should be easy communication difficult. The complaints that I have stated are complaints that are common among many people with whom I have spoken. Sure it is a little narrow-minded to say "I want the guy on the other end of the phone to sound just like me." Yet I don't expect to call a company and have the American rep. answer the phone speaking Ebonics or Creole while trying to communicate with me. It is not considerate of the consumer. That is my point.
When it comes to accents, people who speak Americanized English do a good job o...
(continues)
When it comes to accents, people who speak Americanized English do a good job o...
(continues)
...
I dont think you understood that when I said
"And do you think those ACTUALL Bobs, Bills and Sallies do it because they woke up one morning and felt it'd be nice to have them say that?"
I ment to say that there are actuall americans behind that... Its called sarcasm, idiocy is what causes you not to understand it
"And do you think those ACTUALL Bobs, Bills and Sallies do it because they woke up one morning and felt it'd be nice to have them say that?"
I ment to say that there are actuall americans behind that... Its called sarcasm, idiocy is what causes you not to understand it
...
No, your statement was idiotic. You took something out of context and with little success, tried to be humorous and make someone look bad. My original post was not an attack on the outsourced workers, it was an attack on the method. Just as this post is an attack on your statement(s) not you. With simple observation, it is pretty apparent from the post that the problem I describe is a procedural problem that arises when a company decides to outsource its work force. In no way does that post read that I have hostility toward the people involved on the other end. If you read a post I created that said, "I hate outsourcing because they hire those no good Indians in India to speak Indian... yada, yada, yada," I could better understand your point...
(continues)
(continues)
...
You are unbeliaveable, you think its stupid for foreing agents to fake their name, but they should fake their accent in order to make YOU feel beter?
For what purpose?? I do agree with you if you mean that they should be clear, but anything other that that is just bull...
I have a couple of questions about your original post
"Calling into a call center and reaching someone you know is working in New Delhi is frustrating enough" WHY? ( aaand a little racist dont you think?)
"If they could train these reps to better communicate with English speaking consumers and could get them some therapy to remove the very harsh Indian accents, the world really would be a better place."
WHY would you want to REMOVE /nice choice of words/ their a...
(continues)
For what purpose?? I do agree with you if you mean that they should be clear, but anything other that that is just bull...
I have a couple of questions about your original post
"Calling into a call center and reaching someone you know is working in New Delhi is frustrating enough" WHY? ( aaand a little racist dont you think?)
"If they could train these reps to better communicate with English speaking consumers and could get them some therapy to remove the very harsh Indian accents, the world really would be a better place."
WHY would you want to REMOVE /nice choice of words/ their a...
(continues)
...
First off, YOU NEED HELP. It can not be written more clearly. There is nothing racist about saying that a person gets frustrated when they have to call a place for help and they are met on the other end of the line by someone who can not speak the same language. Also, nowhere did I say that these outsourced reps. should "fake" their accent, you twit. I said they should receive BETTER training that will help them acquire a "native" voice. The way I know this works (immersion training) is because I am in school to teach foreign languages. The fastest way for any adult to learn a foreign language (pronunciation, accents, and proper usage) is to be immersed in an environment where the new language is being spoken 100% of the time. The people tha...
(continues)
(continues)
...
YOUUUUUU AAAAREEEE NOT saying you'd like to speak with someone you can understand and that can understands you. Thas what you'd like to think you are saying so that you wont be such a square, if you would really like me to think that is really your opinion you should stop saying things like
"I said they should receive BETTER training that will help them acquire a "native" voice."
Because my hole fricking point is that there is no NEEEEDDDDD for that other than feeding your big fat ego or whatever spoiled & twisted reason to want other people to sound JUST-LIKE-YOU (even if you could understand perfectly well with or without the accent, but you are too lazy, too ****y and I repeat, too SPOILED to try)
All that the companieslook for (and a...
(continues)
"I said they should receive BETTER training that will help them acquire a "native" voice."
Because my hole fricking point is that there is no NEEEEDDDDD for that other than feeding your big fat ego or whatever spoiled & twisted reason to want other people to sound JUST-LIKE-YOU (even if you could understand perfectly well with or without the accent, but you are too lazy, too ****y and I repeat, too SPOILED to try)
All that the companieslook for (and a...
(continues)
...
A steroetype or a stereotipe? Just trying to figure out if you know what you just said. Anyway, you are too ignorant to get past the judgemet you have made about me and my opinions in particular. You are right, anybody with an opinion other than, "They try really hard," must be a racist. I hope you sleep better knowing you have solved the world's problems.
...
i dont think your racist just woefully ignorant on this particular subject. A lot of us oppose outsourcing but your priorities on the matter are not the way to convince people.
...
If you have the impresson that my PRIORITY on the matter is the fact that out sourced reps don't sound like us you have missed my point from the begining. My original post was in reply to the first two (one of which was about Indian reps representing themselves as something they are not on behalf of their company) and argued simply that the companies that are doing this are offering a dis-service to their customers. I also gave my opinion about something that would help make the conversations that outsourced reps have with customers a bit more easy.
Through further posts (yours and Malory Knox) we have gotten on to a pathe were some of my comments were taken out of context. Since then the only discusion we have been having is back and for...
(continues)
Through further posts (yours and Malory Knox) we have gotten on to a pathe were some of my comments were taken out of context. Since then the only discusion we have been having is back and for...
(continues)
...
