Customer Service

[daphnep]

Dear Dell:

I'm trying to be understanding about the whole "outsourcing jobs to India" thing, really, I am. But please, please, please, can you put your customer service staff through a better ESL class? I know my rep is trying really, really hard, and is doing a better job than I could do in any other language but English, but I still can't understand a word he's saying. If you ever go through your recordings (those "This call is recorded to improve our customer service" recordings) and notice customers like me saying "ummmmm....hmm" an awful lot, that's because we're trying desperately to figure out what that last sentence meant. And please, please teach your reps that talking faster isn't the same as talking more clearly, in fact, it's really the opposite. I'm glad this rep can spit out words-that-sound-English-to-him at a very high speed, but in the end, when I have to ask him to repeat himself so many times, it doesn't really help, does it?

Yours,

Daphne

Comments

[fizzyland.livejournal.com]

My father swears a blue streak at those poor people every time he has a problem - usually caused by some virus/adware/spyware he downloaded from some pron site.

I'm very fond of people from India that I've met. But tech support is a desperation call for me after I've tried everything obvious - and those people are rarely educated enough to do anything but follow their standard procedures.

[daphnep.livejournal.com]

re: "following standard procedures"

I could never swear at them, because it's not their fault they're not adequately trained for the job. Poor guy had his script he was following, saying "I understand you are trying to .... is that right, ma'am?" "What I will do is......send email....what I will do...transfer your call to sales....is that right, ma'am?" so I know they have these stock phrases that they teach the reps, "safe" phrases, but it's almost like talking to a robot: they don't know what those phrases really mean.

[cynica.livejournal.com]

I had someone like this from Microsoft the other day (I was interpreting).. She was asking for a specific number and the person was trying to explain that they had another number... She just said, "I need [the other] number, please." I said, "Do you understand that I'm saying this customer does NOT have the number?" She says, "Yes. Please tell me the [other] number."

...

[daphnep.livejournal.com]

*laugh*

Robots, I tell you! It's so sad.

[phlegmato.livejournal.com]

Hmm.. could an Indian tech support person pass a Turing test if it were given in English?

[daphnep.livejournal.com]

I understand.

Let me see what I can do.

;)

[ernunnos.livejournal.com]

You didn't check the "I want American-based tech support" option? They actually do offer that for business customers.