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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Indian call centres.

52 replies

Tortington · 17/02/2010 15:20

and English names. really winds me up. Just had a call from 'Ricky' i think it must be bloody horrible to change your name cos the English don't understand.

i think i would be a bit put out if i had to change my name to Aadarshini if the roles were reversed.

Plus i get this 'dumbing' down feeling about it all.

what do you think?

OP posts:
PandaEis · 17/02/2010 16:28

so...just a question...

why does a person with an indian accent simply HAVE to be lying when they say their name is 'steve' for example?

i work in a company who employ people in indian call centres and there are a fair few who i have spoken to who do actually have an "english" sounding name as their given name!

our company also have a policy where on all accounts we have to put our correct name and the customer needs to be told the correct given name of the agent they are talking to. i would assume that it is not a forced change but rather the preference of the person taking calls

Pogleswood · 17/02/2010 16:42

No reason why they shouldn't have an english name - but always? However that might be a false impression caused by irritation.

megapixels · 17/02/2010 16:44

I did tell a "David" that I didn't think his name was actually David. Maybe it was my accent, I am Asian myself, but he admitted that he wasn't really David. He was very apologetic, said his name was Rahul or something and that they are asked to take on a western sounding name for the benefit of the callers.

coldtits · 17/02/2010 16:48

this is call centre work summed up. YOu hand over your soul in exchange for a telephone headset. You are no longer a person, you are a voice, and they will give that voice the most convenient name for themselves.

I had my name 'changed' to Emma once, because my real name "Didn't sound like someone who answers phones for a living, and people don't like that"

boundarybabe · 17/02/2010 16:49

Talking of scripts this really made me laugh - a few weeks ago I phoned to cancel my card as I'd lost my wallet. While I was on the phone I cleared my throat and the guy I was talking to said "I notice you are coughing Mrs X - have you consulted a physician?". Seriously!!

5Foot5 · 17/02/2010 17:07

"This is one of my top rant topics - someone with a heavy Indian accent rings up and tells me he's called Kevin. It insults me - do they really think I will react differently if he tells me he's called Sanjay? Do they assume we're all either thick or racist? "

Sadly, yes. I think they probably do assume that is the case with many people.

I hope I am neither but I suppose I do feel unhappy about off shore call centres because it probably means there are some jobs that used to be done in the UK and are now lost.

Not quite the same but I have twice worked for companies where some of the IT was outsourced to offshore suppliers, on one occasion this resulted in my redundancy. Also DH lost a company primarily because the work was outsourced to India.

So if there is a resentment in the UK about this work being done overseas it is not necessarily racist I would suggest, more a feeling of insecurity about how this will affect the workforce here.

nickelbabe · 17/02/2010 17:15

I don't mind on the whole having calls from call centres in India (and I know it's done because i've worked for a couple of large companies that outsource)
What I mind is that they have Indian accents, the call has obviously come from India (because it has "international" on the caller screen) and they tell me their name is an English name (not just one that soudns English but with a different spelling).
I had a call today from a very English-sounding boy, who was calling from England, and his name was Asian. I much prefer a boy/girl with an Asian accent to tell me their proper Asican name.

that way i feel like i can trust the company that's calling too: if they're lying to me about the location of their staff, what else are they lying to me about?

i only mind the foreign callers when it's for a problem: you have to have English as your first language to fulyl understand an english person and be able to sort out the problems. foreign call centres should only be employed for standard stuff.

rainbowinthesky · 17/02/2010 17:17

Dh is Asian and has an english first name. English is also his second language but as he was taught it properly his english is far better than mine.

rainbowinthesky · 17/02/2010 17:18

Perhaps he could make up an Asian name for you, nickelbabe .

PandaEis · 17/02/2010 17:21

coldtits sorry you were told to use a different name but it isnt the case with all call centres. i have a not-heard-often-outside-a-nursing-home name and i have NEVER been asked to change/amend/shorten it in any way. yes my name is an english name but i always have to repeat or spell my name to customers. i have worked in customer services for nearly 10 years aswell (with a break in the middle)

juneybean · 17/02/2010 17:26

I've noticed this in restaurants, our kitchen porters came from all sorts of places, some asian and we did indeed have a Kevin. Not sure what the motivationn is for them changing their name?

juneybean · 17/02/2010 17:27

Sorry I should add that their application form would have their real name on and "Kevin" added on lol

LynetteScavo · 17/02/2010 17:30

coldtits, the name coldtits really isn't suitable for someone workig in a call centre, no wonder you had to change to Emma.

rainbowinthesky · 17/02/2010 18:23

Sorry - my messages look a bit arsey. Should have put a instead of .

probono · 17/02/2010 18:28

I think you may be fantasising if you think someone who got a call centre job in India has this as a very high priority on his or her list of things to be upset about.

EdgarAllenSnow · 17/02/2010 18:40

there is a cultural significance in having an english name - it is committment to learn & think in the language..

i wish i could change my RL name too to make it easier to understand on the phone (i always get a double-take, or they get it wrong) - it would be easier just not to have to spell it out every time. i'm guessing my counterparts in overseas call centres may well feel the same.

although with the company i work for our Sri Lankan call centre colleagues retain their own names.

EdgarAllenSnow · 17/02/2010 18:43

we also have a call centre in the midlands, and many of the staff are english-Asian, so have names such as 'deepak smith' or indeed 'Vicki Kapoor' - and slightly Asian accents (though predominantly Brum) they get pretty pissed off when people demand to speak with our English call centre...

runnybottom · 17/02/2010 21:26

I have a lot of friends from China and Taiwan,they all have an "English" name as well as their own, its ubiquitous, and its not seen as a bad thing at all.

Don't assume that people are forced to change their name either. I used to do directory enquiries and later credit card sales and had to say my name in the intro. I have an unusual name and got really sick of people asking me to repeat it or ask me where it was from etc, so I changed it to a really plain english name for MY convenience.

Kaloki · 17/02/2010 21:36

On the other side, I worked for a telemarketing company where we had an English member of staff, but he had a Chinese name, so he got renamed so that people wouldn't argue with him about being in a call centre.

megapixels · 17/02/2010 21:55

I have noticed that a lot of Chinese people have an English name in addition to their "real" (as mentioned on the BC) name. I knew some people in Brunei who actually used to refer to it as their Chinese and English names and used them interchangeably, depending on who they were with.

Many, many South Asians have English first names and even English surnames too, but they are in a minority.

serinBrightside · 17/02/2010 23:18

Fiveisanawfullybignumber.....actually Elvis is a really popular name in India bit of you to laugh.

Kaloki · 18/02/2010 02:12

serin Don't thing five was wrong to laugh, it's an unusual name over here, and does bring up the image of the King.

Same goes for my Polish friends who giggled at a man called Dick, who brought up the image of... well.

ArcticFox · 18/02/2010 02:58

Runnybottom/ Megapixels are correct.

In China/HK, pretty much everyone has their given "Chinese" name and an "English" name which they choose themselves. This is a proper name which is registered with the authorities on your ID card- it's not just made up on the spot. Business cards are written in Chinese on one side and English on the other with your 2 names.

The reason is that firstly, Chinese names dont follow the same "First name, Last name" convention and are really hard for westerners to remember/ get right. Also, the alphabet isnt the same and you cant write some names very well using the English alphabet.

You do get some quite funny ones- my cable guy is called Maverick Wu and my Dh's friends swears there is a guy in his office called Chewbacca.

I think the call centre thing is partly for these reasons. Maybe they'd rather pretend to be called Dave than spell their name 200 times a day.

springaporesling · 18/02/2010 04:04

I work for a large multinational which has outsourced a number of its call centre operations to Asia. Including some to India but also to China, Sri Lanka, Malaysia etc. I currently live and work in Singapore (as might be obvious by the name ). Anyway here and also in Hong Kong, China and Malaysia as well as being given a Chinese name they often are also given or choose (hence some interesting name choices at about age 10) an English name as others have already mentioned. In my office alone we have lots of what I would call 'not often heard outside a nursing home names' - we have several Agnes, Mabel, Geraldine, Dorothy, Belinda, Agatha, Valerie plus some which were possible mis-heard or just have creative spelling!

Arctic can relate to that I work with a lady called Cactus Li and there is another guy called Randy Stanley

Kaloki · 18/02/2010 13:25

"Dh's friends swears there is a guy in his office called Chewbacca"

That's brilliant!!

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