How to beat Indian call centres.....

This still amuses me ... a couple of years ago I recieved a call from an asian girl early one Saturday morning whilst I was still in bed. I wasn't

100% awake and the girl had a strong accent which I was struggling to understand. I managed to make out a few words and then I realised that the call was for Abbey the previous tenant. I explained that Abbey no longer lived here, abuptly wished her well, hung up and rolled over for some sleep.

A minute later the girl rang back and this time I realised (or so I thought) this girl wasn't calling for Abbey, she was Abbey! The conversation restarted but I was still struggling to understand her. She quickly became frustrated and then blurted out something like "no,no,no, I not Abbey this is Abbey Bank a calling you!!!"

Why does it matter what geographic location in the world your call is answered at? What if the call was transferred to the UK and handled by a UK citizen of Indian descent with a name you found equally unpronounceable?

I suggest you stop burying your head in the sand and accept that the world in getting smaller. If you made more effort to adapt yourself to the way the world is changing instead of moaning about it you might be a little less frustrated.

Chris

It's a matter of accent and rhythm. The English spoken in India is hard to understand for most British people, especially on the phone.

I agree and the English spoken by those North of Birmingham is equally hard to understand.

I normally write to organisations but their replies often reveal the poor quality of written English in the UK.

A global village fast becoming divided by a common language?

Can't win.

For myself, I do my best to not deal with any companies that use call centres outside the UK. The main reason is that I have difficulty understanding (for example) a strong indian accent over a phone line that is thousands of miles long :-) Also, I find that I tend to want things that are not easily found on the script, and in my experience it`s much easier to get what I want when dealing with a UK/ROI based call centre since they understand me more clearly - I`ve got a strong scouse accent, and we have a much more similar cultural background, helping them to understand exactly what it is that I am trying to order from them.

Plus, which is better to listen to when you`re talking to someone on the phone - someone called "Timothy" with the strongest Indian accent in the world, or a cute sounding irish girl? I know which I prefer! :-) You`ve got to think about these things too!

The smile is there because of the line being thousands of miles long?

Of course the line isn't that long.

Surely you, like many, have difficulty understanding the strong Indian accent.

Yes I hate trying to understand the accent. But the fact that they are thousands of miles away, sometimes down a very poor quality phone line, doesn`t help at all.

Plus I regularly get calls to the house from Indian call centres, despite being registered with the TPS. I alternate between trying to order a take away curry from them, and warning them that they have committed a criminal act within the UK, for which they themselves would face jail time if they ever visit the UK, or anyone associated with the company dialing in who is in the UK can face jail time. They don`t seem to understand the relevant laws and think that I am totally serious - I`ve had ore than one person crying down the phone by carrying on with this for a few minutes. All good entertainment! :-)

What is wrong with expecting to speak to somebody who can pronounce my name correctly, can communicate with me in a language that I can understand. I don't care if I am speaking to an Indian person in Newcastle as long as they can understand me and I can understand them. All the Indian call centre workers that have called me speak with a very heavy accent that is impossible to understand. Is that my problem or their problem. I got into a row with a snotty east European girl who worked at my local station because she couldn't undertand my standard southern English accent. Now the Czechs and Poles can come here legally but is it my responsibility to ensure that I speak in broken English with a heavy accent just so that they can understand me or that they can actually speak and understand English. I just spent a week on holiday in Norfolk and what a pleasure it was to have been served exclusively by somebody who was able to communicate with me in English, something that is becoming rarer by the day in London. I for one am getting fed up with being made to feal guilty because I can't understand a Pole, Czech, Sri Lankan, Indian or anybody else who can't communicate with me effectively.

Kevin

Kevin

Bill wrote

I got a caller who said she was calling from Nationwide. I said: "How can you be in so many places at the same time"?

Quite, and they all talk faster than I can listen. :-)

Kev wrote

Ever watch Little Britain? ;-)

Pay your bill, they never ring anymore :-)

In Norfolk? Must have been an immigrant.

tom

You have to accept reality not be PC for the sake of it.

I was talking to someone in India about an executorship account but they kept saying "executive" account.

I kept explaining that it wasn't an executive account but an executorship account. I also explained what an executorship account was.

None of this had any effect on the Indian. He kept saying executive account and didn't understand anything.

The Indian culture is different to the English. Indian's try not to admit that they don't know something.

I had a client who would get beds made in India to order for individual customers and then ship them to the UK. It would take six weeks for the beds to arrive. The client would call India and ask if the bed had been put on the ship. The Indian's said it had. The client would tell the customer when the bed would be delivered. When the ship arrived in the UK the bed was found not to be on the ship. The client would call and the Indian would admit that he hadn't been able to finish the bed in time before the boat left. The client would have to get the bed airlifted at great cost resulting in a loss on the order.

The Indian didn't want to admit that he had failed until he had no choice. We think that is ridiculous. They think it is reasonable.

Kevin Kevin

There's more Polish immigrants in East Anglia than in London.

In message , Kev writes

Got in a row? now who caused that then? Who was the more snotty, you or her?

These two sentences sum it all up. It appears its all their fault, not yours....

Standard southern accent? you wont get far 'up north' mate.

Peter Saxton wrote

But how representative is that one incident of the overall way business is done in India? India achieved an economic growth rate of

7.6% in 2005, whereas the UK managed just 1.8%, so they have to be doing something (a lot) right.

Chris

If they have a problem a problem understanding your name shorten it for them and optionally add "sy" on the end.

Thats what English people did to my name and I ended being called wooks or wooksy. As u can see from my handle I have learnt to accept it.