broken english sucks

[Enyafan]

ever get on a customer service line just to hear someone whos english is so bad that you just want to cancel the service? i know i am a hick from arkansas but damn ..... i even tried to get a new job the other day and the first question was are you bilingual? i just got up and left. i respect other peoples cultures but when i as an american have to deal with customer sales reps that speak english pathetically or i have to speak two languages to get a job something is wrong in my book.

[shelvingunit]

Yes... I had problems with Verizon DSL and could not understand a word of what anyone was saying, I called 3 times! When I finally got in touch with someone I could understand they told me I was a "remote node" customer. To me and you that's someone who is too far away from the CO to get reliable service but they take your order anyway, cross their fingers and hope it works. Needless to say I'm enjoying my Comcast HSD service a lot better.

I agree, do not put someone in a customer service position handling phone calls when they have broken english, that is just common sense. Very frustrating...unfortunately I do not think it will get any better.

[Commander Quan]

A lot of companies are outsourcing their tech support to foreign countries, and the techs are actually using English names such as Matt or Joe so that you don't know this.
This is a real sore spot for me here in America people coming to the country and not wanting to conform to our culture. Instead everyone else is supposed to bend over backwards to accept their culture. I heard somewhere that one of the states has their written driver’s tests in 16 languages. The absolute first requirement to get your drivers license should be the ability to read a stop sign!

[(909)]

I see where you guys live in Virginia and Arkansas, I live is So Cal where every fast food and low paying counter job is taken by a Hispanic person with very little English language skills. I hate to sound like a cranky old man but you can hardly understand them and the job pays so little that they don't even make an effort to be understood. If you are on the front line of the transaction shouldn't you be clear in your communication?

Hey F1 on another note, I'm psychic and with 80-90% accuracy, I know who's going to win the next 10 F1 races.

Shumacher
Shumacher
Shumacher
Shumacher
Shumacher
Shumacher
Shumacher
Shumacher
Shumacher
Shumacher

And I don't mean Ralph

Wheres Ayrton when you need him.

[LeafHog]

A lot of engineering is being outsourced to India now, and unfortunately that also means a lot of tech support for engineering software is being outsourced to India. I call those guys up and I can't tell if they asked for name, rank, serial number, or just told me to go fondle myself. What's really frustrating is when their software is WRONG and they don't understand english well enough to be able to grasp my explanation of why!

On the other side of the issue, I live in NW Arkansas where poultry is king, and if it weren't for immigrant and illegal workers who can't speak a word of english a package of Tyson chicken breasts would cost $25. Machines cannot do the work they do as cheaply, and it is god-awful nasty work. My hat is off to the men and women who come to America, legally or illegaly, and work their asses off.

[Enyafan]

i have relatives in huntsville so i knew what you mean. i agree that it makes sense for companies to use mexican labor for jobs in poultry and other jobs americans don't want. but on the phone i want someone fluent in english.

[CigarHoss]

My wife is the most patient, understanding woman in the free world. With the exception of my personal behavior, the only thing she does not have patience for is people in a customer service positon who cannot speak clear English. Whether it's someone working a drive through or if it's someone at a big corporation, she can't stand it. I have to take the high road on that issue with her most of the time and try to explain that they're doing the best they can. I guess I'm a little more empathetic than most since my mother is Japanese. She's been here for over 30 years now and still has a heavy accent and problems with perfect grammar.

However, my experience JUST YESTERDAY with a customer service person from Dell really REALLY peeved me off. It was the absolute WORST broken, un-understandable English that I've ever heard attempted. This young lady had to repeat herself over, and over, and over again because I just couldn't understand her. We're dealing with a lot of numbers, addresses, e-mail addresses, etc. and she is not getting ANY of it right. Finally, after 40 minutes of what should have been a 10 minute call, I explained to her that I would have to end this transaction and call back another time because I had a teleconference waiting for me. I called back and got a very helpful gal from Alabama who could see who I had worked with (from whatever was typed in their computers) and said that the particular lady I was working with initially had had many complaints because of the same thing.

Why not move her to a different position???

[(909)]

Originally Posted by LeafHog

On the other side of the issue, I live in NW Arkansas where poultry is king, and if it weren't for immigrant and illegal workers who can't speak a word of english a package of Tyson chicken breasts would cost $25. Machines cannot do the work they do as cheaply, and it is god-awful nasty work. My hat is off to the men and women who come to America, legally or illegaly, and work their asses off.

Working a crew of 20-30 construction guys in the 90's, I learned to appreciate cheap illegal labor. Now in 2004 So Cal, I see the downside, the schools are suffering with kids that can't read and therefore diminish the learning opportunities for others, hospitals are shutting down because they are over run with non paying customers that they cannot turn away and a legal system that is overloaded that claims that 70% of the rank and file members of Los Angeles largest street gang with an estimated 20-30,000 members in So Cal is illegal aliens.

I'm now paying more for schools and my kids are getting less, more for health insurance for diminished service and higher taxes for law enforcement with less protection.

I'll take the $25.00 chicken.

[Quixote]

Originally Posted by CigarHoss

However, my experience JUST YESTERDAY with a customer service person from Dell really REALLY peeved me off. It was the absolute WORST broken, un-understandable English that I've ever heard attempted. This young lady had to repeat herself over, and over, and over again because I just couldn't understand her. We're dealing with a lot of numbers, addresses, e-mail addresses, etc. and she is not getting ANY of it right. Finally, after 40 minutes of what should have been a 10 minute call, I explained to her that I would have to end this transaction and call back another time because I had a teleconference waiting for me. I called back and got a very helpful gal from Alabama who could see who I had worked with (from whatever was typed in their computers) and said that the particular lady I was working with initially had had many complaints because of the same thing.

Why not move her to a different position???

I was reading this thread, already forming what I would reply with and you beat me to it. I would only add a warning- if you need Dell tech support, only call during US business hours. That way you might have a decent chance of getting a native-English speaker. Otherwise- Forget it! It took me two days of off and on calling to fix what should have been resolved in about 30 minutes.

-Q

[smokemifyagotem]

In my last job I had to take a lot of incoming calls and many of the people calling were very hard to understand. What really made me mad was when one of these people called in and would get MAD AT ME for having to ask them to repeat themselves!!!
I came to the conclusion that it must happen to them a lot and they are sick of it - therefore you would think they might stop and say to themselves "wait a minute..maybe I SHOULD learn to speak english a little more clearly as opposed to getting pissed at everyone else".

And another thing - what is the deal with ILLEGAL imigrants getting free health care, drivers licenses, etc...? If I went to any other country (France, Germany, Canada, etc...) and tried to get these things I would be deported back to the USA immediately!

[Bruce5]

Don't move to southern Florida unless you habla Espanol!

[soulskater]

Well, theres the rub. Cheap labor and services or super expensive chicken. What bothers me more than the thick immigrant accents are Americans who cant speak or write english, but like to point out that very same fault in the immigrant populace. In reading through this thread I found some errors in spelling, grammer and syntax. Then again what do I know... English is my second language.

[c2000]

I also have called the Dell info site,,, I am hard of hearing anyway and then I get a female with a high voice, I got embarrassed asking her to repeat herself so I just hung up... My experience with the Indian reps for Dell is they use one fix and that is the system restore and if that does not work they want to clear the hard drive and use your rescue disks..


Jerry in Minnesota.

[IHT]

Originally Posted by soulskater

In reading through this thread I found some errors in spelling, grammer and syntax.

but what does that matter when we're talking about SPEAKING ENGLISH, not writing it?

but i agree completely with the part about americans who can't speak english properly. i went to a public school as well, i do not have a problem with being understood when i speak to someone.

[rkt]

I do high level tech support and the calls I get from Mr. Alphabetsoup are attrocious. They speak English so poorly and they get angry when we cannot understand them. We ask them to email their questions and we will try to answer them. The only problem is they cannot hear English spoken correctly. Example: You give them the email address billt@company.com and spell it for them. They send email to tuiele@company.com and get upset when we don't receive it. (The above is true. The company name has been changed.) We finally got them to send the email in to the correct address and we saw where they sent it the first few times.

Then the problem is they write like they speak. He is an actual email I received this week...

"I ecas. Don kno get -353 when try slect dabase be bug all get plus in ouput.
In email I sad I had chck lease note 2.12 from up current verton I kno arything aboat error change as divelopar or user or anyone litle knoledges od sotware davelpoomint will say slopey wok lease you doo change snotware which impactalates manly peple who use snotware you kno rocumant dose change and knot tell uses that what has happyned I kno think wirte down ther cataracts with clint it the way a company develops and maintional their snotware produces.

tousands error code list manal do you think auiry time users do procnerds to tap error change wrote your email, "a change would need to be made to the procedure to make it trap for a different error code" do proceedures all these TOUSANDS error codes? Then, who do? If it is one step do upgrade please horest wite done not and tell users the user resaponsebitionality tap snotware behavor change not wite not. And qearly wrtie change snotware behavor WITOUT NOTEES to clents.

I kno you cand fine all these change intearnal docamantals if pissible please some research for us.

If you like, you report top manglers why I so disppaoint. Snoftware behavar change documinted noticified to snotware uses. "

Now how am I supposed to figure out what this moron is trying to say. This was his letter complaining about something in our "snotware". We do not produce "snotware". I'm not sure if anything is "Pissible". I wish I had "Tousands" of dowrahs. We don't lease a "slopey wok". I told the "top manglers". And this was after 3 phone calls and 4 emails and a weeks worth of work. A total waste of time. On the phone it is total jibberish. He can talk for 10 minutes with out a break and when he gets done we have no idea what he said. So we ask how the problem started and he takes off for another 10 minutes. If we understand anything he said we ask him about it and he takes off for another 10 mins. A call takes up at least an hour and when you get done we ask him to send in his question in email and we will try to answer them.

We also know that Mr. Alphabetsoup (meaning there name is so long it uses each letter in the alphabet at least 3 times) does not recognize US holidays. The week of Thanksgiving or Christmas almost every call you get is someone that does not speak English. And you know, that 1 minute before closing time the phone will ring with Mr. Zybevatlayajnafhfrli Iqoxmanakauia on eastern time wanting to do a major program change or upgrade to the production machine without first testing it on a development machine and he has a problem that will keep you at work on New Years Eve for an extra 3 hours. Yes it has happened more than once. I really like getting home to the New Years party at my house at 10:45pm! Get a life! Go to a party somewhere! Call us tomorrow during regular business hours.