Why?!? (customer service mini-rant)

WSUCougar · 07-31-2006, 08:50 AM

Why? WHY? Whywhywhywhywhywhywhy?!?

WHY do companies employ people that can barely speak English for their customer service call-in jobs? It is just unfathomable to me.

stevew · 07-31-2006, 08:53 AM

We had this thread last month.

WSUCougar · 07-31-2006, 08:54 AM

No, we didn't. This is MY thread.

Bee · 07-31-2006, 08:57 AM

And I think the thread last month had more question marks...

WSUCougar · 07-31-2006, 08:58 AM

Que??????????????????????????

Samdari · 07-31-2006, 08:59 AM

They don't want you to get customer service.

WSUCougar · 07-31-2006, 08:59 AM

Well, that certainly was the end result.

st.cronin · 07-31-2006, 09:01 AM

This is why we need to erect a fence, manned by United States Marines with orders to shoot to kill, between the USA and India.

WSUCougar · 07-31-2006, 09:02 AM

India had nothing to do with this one.

gottimd · 07-31-2006, 09:03 AM

Between US and India? Thats a damn long fence.

stevew · 07-31-2006, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by st.cronin

This is why we need to erect a fence, manned by United States Marines with orders to shoot to kill, between the USA and India.

[bad deja vu]
Why do you just make a blanket assumption that bad customer service comes from people from india?

st.cronin · 07-31-2006, 09:11 AM

It must be too early for humor here.

sachmo71 · 07-31-2006, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WSUCougar

Why? WHY? Whywhywhywhywhywhywhy?!?

WHY do companies employ people that can barely speak English for their customer service call-in jobs? It is just unfathomable to me.

Because their accents are sexy, making people forget their problems.

Glengoyne · 07-31-2006, 09:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevew

[bad deja vu]
Why do you just make a blanket assumption that bad customer service comes from people from india?

Have you never used a phone?

JonInMiddleGA · 07-31-2006, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WSUCougar

WHY do companies employ people that can barely speak English for their customer service call-in jobs? It is just unfathomable to me.

Because they work cheap. And because so far the loss of business from the aggravation created for consumers does not cost as much as the savings on the labor.

gottimd · 07-31-2006, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sachmo71

Because their accents are sexy, making people forget their problems.

Thank you, come again.

MizzouRah · 07-31-2006, 10:55 AM

Must be an HP product.

being a techician and having to call, "Joe", is quite an adventure..

saldana · 07-31-2006, 10:59 AM

i would second this sentiment, and add why do restaurants in america think its a good idea to have someone that can barely speak english working the drive through window.....the audio transmissions are shitty to begin with, added to an employee that you can barely understand when you are standing in front of them....i was at a taco bell yesterday and didnt understand a single thing the woman said...i was about 3 seconds from yelling "A LARGE ORANGE DRINK...DRINK DAMNIT...A LARGE ORANGE DRINK"

wishbone · 07-31-2006, 12:00 PM

I do tech support /helpdesk work for a company that works with many clients. We lost one of our contracts recently and they are moving their helpdesk functions to an India call center. I can't wait to hear some of the calls. Some of the callers claimed that we were hard to understand due to our "Oregon accents". Wait til they hear the new accents they will be working with! The new helpdesk beat our bid by 20%. I'm told.

ice4277 · 07-31-2006, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saldana

i would second this sentiment, and add why do restaurants in america think its a good idea to have someone that can barely speak english working the drive through window.....the audio transmissions are shitty to begin with, added to an employee that you can barely understand when you are standing in front of them....i was at a taco bell yesterday and didnt understand a single thing the woman said...i was about 3 seconds from yelling "A LARGE ORANGE DRINK...DRINK DAMNIT...A LARGE ORANGE DRINK"

I can spot your mistake here. You should only order a Mountain Dew product from Taco Bell.

Toddzilla · 07-31-2006, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saldana

i would second this sentiment, and add why do restaurants in america think its a good idea to have someone that can barely speak english working the drive through window.....the audio transmissions are shitty to begin with, added to an employee that you can barely understand when you are standing in front of them....i was at a taco bell yesterday and didnt understand a single thing the woman said...i was about 3 seconds from yelling "A LARGE ORANGE DRINK...DRINK DAMNIT...A LARGE ORANGE DRINK"

I have zero tolerance at drive-thrus. If the jabrone in the window can't understand me, or I him/her, I just drive up to the window and place my order face-to-face. If that doesn't solve the problem, then "Get your manager" seems to be universally understood.

WSUCougar · 07-31-2006, 12:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wishbone

Some of the callers claimed that we were hard to understand due to our "Oregon accents".

As a native Washingtonian, this amuses me to no end.

lynchjm24 · 07-31-2006, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toddzilla

If that doesn't solve the problem, then "Get your manager" seems to be universally understood.

You of course now risk having all sorts of unseemly things done to your order.

wishbone · 07-31-2006, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WSUCougar

As a native Washingtonian, this amuses me to no end.

Yeah, I wasn't sure what to say to that one...

stevew · 07-31-2006, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ice4277

I can spot your mistake here. You should only order Baja Blast Mountain Dew from Taco Bell.

Fixed even more.

Johnny Slick · 07-31-2006, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WSUCougar

As a native Washingtonian, this amuses me to no end.

"

I actually had to transfer a woman with a severe case of Pidgin English because she could not understand my accent. I mean, I do talk pretty quickly, even for a left coaster, but from my understanding and experience the Pacific Northwest "accent" is the least noticeable one in the country.

WSUCougar · 07-31-2006, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnny Slick

but from my understanding and experience the Pacific Northwest "accent" is the least noticeable one in the country.

Agreed. Actually, my wife's journalism/speech professor at Temple University (in Philadelphia) told her class that Pacific Northwest natives have the closest thing to no accent at all.

JonInMiddleGA · 07-31-2006, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WSUCougar

Agreed. Actually, my wife's journalism/speech professor at Temple University (in Philadelphia) told her class that Pacific Northwest natives have the closest thing to no accent at all.

I always thought that distinction belonged to parts of the midwest, but thinking about it a little I can see where the PacNW would be similar.

saldana · 07-31-2006, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ice4277

I can spot your mistake here. You should only order a Mountain Dew product from Taco Bell.

LOL...i guess my joke didnt go over as well as i had hoped.....the orange drink thing was a bit from a comedy album called Dr. Demento that i listened to when i was a teenager...the guy at the drive in is trying to order a cheeseburger, onion rings, and a large orange drink, and the only response he gets sounds like charlie brown's teacher...after numerous tries, he just yells at it and drives away.

WSUCougar · 07-31-2006, 10:50 PM

I remember that bit!

JonInMiddleGA · 07-31-2006, 11:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saldana

LOL...i guess my joke didnt go over as well as i had hoped.....the orange drink thing was a bit from a comedy album called Dr. Demento that i listened to when i was a teenager...the guy at the drive in is trying to order a cheeseburger, onion rings, and a large orange drink, and the only response he gets sounds like charlie brown's teacher...after numerous tries, he just yells at it and drives away.

If it's any consolation, I knew exactly what you were talking about. I quote that bit, complete with the "whah whah whah" sound effect, quite frequently.

saldana · 07-31-2006, 11:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

If it's any consolation, I knew exactly what you were talking about. I quote that bit, complete with the "whah whah whah" sound effect, quite frequently.

thanks...i'm glad at least a couple people got it....i have always considered that one of my favorite comedy bits right up there with eddie murphy doing the ice cream man.

AZSpeechCoach · 08-01-2006, 12:26 AM

I was reading a story on Something Awful today about a guy who would start his Dairy Queen drive thru spiel with some gross item, knowing that the people never listened to the greeting anyway. "Welcome to Dairy Queen. Would you like to try our chili cheese dog blizzard today?"

Brian Swartz · 08-01-2006, 11:57 AM

There are two sides to every coin. I've worked in the food business for several years, and I can assure you for every stupid thing I've seen workers do(and there are ohhh so many), I've seen at least dozen far more absurd things from customers.

But I agree with the last post. I once heard an Assistant Manager answer the phone ... "Thank you for calling McDonalds, how may we sacrifice your goat today?" -- the caller clearly wasn't listening, and didn't miss a beat. And if I had a dollar -- hell, a nickel -- for every time right after I answer the phone giving the name and location of the store and my own name, where they ask "Is this ________" or "Where are you located?", I wouldn't have to work a day the rest of my life.

These are only a few of the more absurd ones that have happened to me personally.

KFC

-- At drive thru, while looking at the menu board: "How many pieces of chicken come in an 8-piece meal?"

-- Complained that I was TOO FAST getting their order, because they didn't have time to get out their money at the window, and therefore their food was getting cold in the bag while I waited for them to organize it.

-- Called the customer service hotline to complain that I was too nice to them(seriously). This resulted in an increase in my raise on my next performance review.

-- Then there's the pranksters, the ones who think it's just gosh darn hilarious to call and ask if you choke your chicken or how large your breasts are.

-- A lady late at night, after close, comes through drive thru pounding on the window like a maniac. She wanted to order, and didn't believe me when I said we were closed. After some lengthy discussion, I produced the printout from the register with the time printed on it showing that the entire system had been shutdown for more than twenty minutes and I couldn't ring through an order even if I had more product left to sell. Proceeded to call me a liar and swear at me for about ten more minutes until I told her she had to leave, finishing with the brilliant riposte "I hope you burn in hell!!"

-- At one location that has a bulletproof drive-thru limo, a customer asked for salt but I couldn't understand them(similar to the examples in this thread, the intercom system was a POS even by industry standards). He stormed inside, glared at me and demonstrated his literary wit thus: "S is for sucker! A is for Asshole! L is for Loser! T is for Trailer Trash!" He got his salt and never came back -- and neither of us is sorry about that.

NCG - Neighborhood Cinema Group, a small movie theatre chain

-- When The General's Daughter was coming out, the location I worked at(five screens only) decided not to show it. A customer called and threatened to sue us and the movie studio for false advertising since the commericals say "Now playing at a theatre near you", and we were the only theatre near them, yet we weren't playing it.

-- During the opening weeks of Mighty Joe Young, on Christmas night, a reel broke. There weren't many in the showing, but one of them found it appropriate to jump over the concession stand counter and assault the manager who was trying to explain to him how a movie projector isn't a VCR -- you can't just rewind it and push play, the film had to be spliced and it took a whole TEN MINUTES(which for those of you who have experienced this, that's damn fast in general unless it's a very minor issue).

There are so many more I could cite here, but suffice to say that it definitely is a two-way street, particularly since many people either 1) Take their daily frustrations out on you or 2) Assume you're an idiot simply by the fact that you work in the food business, irrespective of whether or not you've actually done something to deserve that characterization.

Brian Swartz · 08-01-2006, 12:07 PM

Oh, and I almost forgot the best one ever, another KFC example. It was a late night situation with maybe three people in line(in the restaurant), and this one lady decided it was her turn to become unglued. At this time it was my boss who got the full brunt of it. She was upset because she'd ordered a chicken only order and thought mashed potatoes came with it. Problem being -- she wouldn't accept any reasonable resolution. Eventually she found it necessary to start swearing at the top of her lungs(after calling my boss a low-paid minion and several other things I won't repeat here). Eventually he told her she had to leave. She refused.

He went back to call the police, and she turned to storm out of the store. Apparently thinking better of it, she returned to the counter and, directing it at me, said "Tell your boss he's number one!", giving him the bird with both fingers before finally marching out. The lady behind her in line was ticked at her by this time, and said what all of us were thinking ...

"What's your problem, b****!?"

as little miss attitude finally left.

rkmsuf · 08-01-2006, 12:10 PM

I see your Swartz is as big as mine....Now let's see how well you handle it.

ISiddiqui · 08-01-2006, 12:18 PM

Quote:

When The General's Daughter was coming out, the location I worked at(five screens only) decided not to show it. A customer called and threatened to sue us and the movie studio for false advertising since the commericals say "Now playing at a theatre near you", and we were the only theatre near them, yet we weren't playing it.

LOL! I would have liked to have seen that scene in a lawyer's office

.

sachmo71 · 08-01-2006, 12:22 PM

Dane Cook's Burger King bit is hilarious.

AZSpeechCoach · 08-01-2006, 10:15 PM

Yeah...I work at the BK Lounge. You can't get in without coups. You need coups.

07-31-2006, 08:54 AM	#3
WSUCougar Rider Of Rohan Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Port Angeles, WA or Helm's Deep	No, we didn't. This is MY thread. __________________ It's not the years...it's the mileage.

07-31-2006, 08:58 AM	#5
WSUCougar Rider Of Rohan Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Port Angeles, WA or Helm's Deep	Que?????????????????????????? __________________ It's not the years...it's the mileage.

07-31-2006, 08:59 AM	#6
Samdari Roster Filler Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Cicero	They don't want you to get customer service. __________________ http://www.nateandellie.net Now featuring twice the babies for the same low price!

07-31-2006, 08:59 AM	#7
WSUCougar Rider Of Rohan Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Port Angeles, WA or Helm's Deep	Well, that certainly was the end result. __________________ It's not the years...it's the mileage.

07-31-2006, 09:01 AM	#8
st.cronin General Manager Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: New Mexico	This is why we need to erect a fence, manned by United States Marines with orders to shoot to kill, between the USA and India. __________________ co-commish: bb-bbcf.net knives out

07-31-2006, 08:53 AM	#2
stevew Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: the yo'	We had this thread last month.

07-31-2006, 08:57 AM	#4
Bee Pro Starter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Fairfax, VA	And I think the thread last month had more question marks...

07-31-2006, 09:02 AM	#9
WSUCougar Rider Of Rohan Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Port Angeles, WA or Helm's Deep	India had nothing to do with this one. __________________ It's not the years...it's the mileage.

07-31-2006, 09:03 AM	#10
gottimd Dearly Missed (9/25/77-12/23/08) Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: DC Suburbs	Between US and India? Thats a damn long fence. __________________ NAFL New Orleans Saints GM/Co-Commish MP Career Record: 114-85 NAFL Super Bowl XI Champs In memory of Gavin Anthony: 7/22/08-7/26/08

07-31-2006, 09:11 AM	#12
st.cronin General Manager Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: New Mexico	It must be too early for humor here. __________________ co-commish: bb-bbcf.net knives out

07-31-2006, 10:55 AM	#17
MizzouRah Hall Of Famer Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Troy, Mo	Must be an HP product. being a techician and having to call, "Joe", is quite an adventure..

07-31-2006, 10:59 AM	#18
saldana Pro Starter Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Bethlehem, Pa	i would second this sentiment, and add why do restaurants in america think its a good idea to have someone that can barely speak english working the drive through window.....the audio transmissions are shitty to begin with, added to an employee that you can barely understand when you are standing in front of them....i was at a taco bell yesterday and didnt understand a single thing the woman said...i was about 3 seconds from yelling "A LARGE ORANGE DRINK...DRINK DAMNIT...A LARGE ORANGE DRINK"

07-31-2006, 12:00 PM	#19
wishbone High School JV Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Hillsboro OR	I do tech support /helpdesk work for a company that works with many clients. We lost one of our contracts recently and they are moving their helpdesk functions to an India call center. I can't wait to hear some of the calls. Some of the callers claimed that we were hard to understand due to our "Oregon accents". Wait til they hear the new accents they will be working with! The new helpdesk beat our bid by 20%. I'm told.

07-31-2006, 10:50 PM	#30
WSUCougar Rider Of Rohan Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Port Angeles, WA or Helm's Deep	I remember that bit! __________________ It's not the years...it's the mileage.

08-01-2006, 12:26 AM	#33
AZSpeechCoach College Prospect Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Phoenix	I was reading a story on Something Awful today about a guy who would start his Dairy Queen drive thru spiel with some gross item, knowing that the people never listened to the greeting anyway. "Welcome to Dairy Queen. Would you like to try our chili cheese dog blizzard today?" __________________ The dumber people think you are, the more surprised they'll be when you kill them! Visit Stewart the Wonderbear and his amazing travels http://wonderbeartravel.blogspot.com

08-01-2006, 11:57 AM	#34
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	There are two sides to every coin. I've worked in the food business for several years, and I can assure you for every stupid thing I've seen workers do(and there are ohhh so many), I've seen at least dozen far more absurd things from customers. But I agree with the last post. I once heard an Assistant Manager answer the phone ... "Thank you for calling McDonalds, how may we sacrifice your goat today?" -- the caller clearly wasn't listening, and didn't miss a beat. And if I had a dollar -- hell, a nickel -- for every time right after I answer the phone giving the name and location of the store and my own name, where they ask "Is this ________" or "Where are you located?", I wouldn't have to work a day the rest of my life. These are only a few of the more absurd ones that have happened to me personally. KFC -- At drive thru, while looking at the menu board: "How many pieces of chicken come in an 8-piece meal?" -- Complained that I was TOO FAST getting their order, because they didn't have time to get out their money at the window, and therefore their food was getting cold in the bag while I waited for them to organize it. -- Called the customer service hotline to complain that I was too nice to them(seriously). This resulted in an increase in my raise on my next performance review. -- Then there's the pranksters, the ones who think it's just gosh darn hilarious to call and ask if you choke your chicken or how large your breasts are. -- A lady late at night, after close, comes through drive thru pounding on the window like a maniac. She wanted to order, and didn't believe me when I said we were closed. After some lengthy discussion, I produced the printout from the register with the time printed on it showing that the entire system had been shutdown for more than twenty minutes and I couldn't ring through an order even if I had more product left to sell. Proceeded to call me a liar and swear at me for about ten more minutes until I told her she had to leave, finishing with the brilliant riposte "I hope you burn in hell!!" -- At one location that has a bulletproof drive-thru limo, a customer asked for salt but I couldn't understand them(similar to the examples in this thread, the intercom system was a POS even by industry standards). He stormed inside, glared at me and demonstrated his literary wit thus: "S is for sucker! A is for Asshole! L is for Loser! T is for Trailer Trash!" He got his salt and never came back -- and neither of us is sorry about that. NCG - Neighborhood Cinema Group, a small movie theatre chain -- When The General's Daughter was coming out, the location I worked at(five screens only) decided not to show it. A customer called and threatened to sue us and the movie studio for false advertising since the commericals say "Now playing at a theatre near you", and we were the only theatre near them, yet we weren't playing it. -- During the opening weeks of Mighty Joe Young, on Christmas night, a reel broke. There weren't many in the showing, but one of them found it appropriate to jump over the concession stand counter and assault the manager who was trying to explain to him how a movie projector isn't a VCR -- you can't just rewind it and push play, the film had to be spliced and it took a whole TEN MINUTES(which for those of you who have experienced this, that's damn fast in general unless it's a very minor issue). There are so many more I could cite here, but suffice to say that it definitely is a two-way street, particularly since many people either 1) Take their daily frustrations out on you or 2) Assume you're an idiot simply by the fact that you work in the food business, irrespective of whether or not you've actually done something to deserve that characterization.

08-01-2006, 12:07 PM	#35
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Oh, and I almost forgot the best one ever, another KFC example. It was a late night situation with maybe three people in line(in the restaurant), and this one lady decided it was her turn to become unglued. At this time it was my boss who got the full brunt of it. She was upset because she'd ordered a chicken only order and thought mashed potatoes came with it. Problem being -- she wouldn't accept any reasonable resolution. Eventually she found it necessary to start swearing at the top of her lungs(after calling my boss a low-paid minion and several other things I won't repeat here). Eventually he told her she had to leave. She refused. He went back to call the police, and she turned to storm out of the store. Apparently thinking better of it, she returned to the counter and, directing it at me, said "Tell your boss he's number one!", giving him the bird with both fingers before finally marching out. The lady behind her in line was ticked at her by this time, and said what all of us were thinking ... "What's your problem, b****!?" as little miss attitude finally left.

08-01-2006, 12:10 PM	#36
rkmsuf Head Coach Join Date: Dec 2001	I see your Swartz is as big as mine....Now let's see how well you handle it. __________________ "Don't you have homes?" -- Judge Smales

08-01-2006, 12:22 PM	#38
sachmo71 The boy who cried Trout Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: TX	Dane Cook's Burger King bit is hilarious.

08-01-2006, 10:15 PM	#39
AZSpeechCoach College Prospect Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Phoenix	Yeah...I work at the BK Lounge. You can't get in without coups. You need coups. __________________ The dumber people think you are, the more surprised they'll be when you kill them! Visit Stewart the Wonderbear and his amazing travels http://wonderbeartravel.blogspot.com

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