Call centres and “difficult” accents

[twiddlingthumbs69]

i have just spent two hours on the phone to a call centre trying to sort out my private pension.

id say 40% of that time was trying very hard to understand the Indian (?) accent.

im not hard of hearing, before anyone asks.

im at quite an important juncture in this and wanted some clear guidance on forms i needed to fill in etc but im afraid the accent was so strong I really could not make head nor tail of the advice.

ive since received an email stating that if i need more help to ring them.

AIBU to hope to speak to someone with a basic grasp of the English language?

How did he even get his job?!

He is quite young, maybe it’s an age thing and he has the right qualifications? Maybe they want a diverse workforce? I’m not sure. My mum has the correct qualifications but as she was older maybe it’s an age thing.

And she got rejected*

Actually, further to earlier comments about bereavement departments normally speaking very clear English, there is obviously a conscious decision to make sure that those dealings are smooth and easy. Why do the other departments not bother? We all know it's cost. You don't fuck with the bereaved unless you want a sad face local news spread.

It often isn't that they have poor English, on the contrary Indians usually have excellent English (as they learn it as a first language in school) it's because the accent is very thick. My DH kept asking his pharmacist (Indian) to repeat what she was saying on a phonecall as he couldn't understand her, she hung up the phone and sent a text saying she won't tolerate racism. The funny thing is that DH isn't even a native English speaker!

I’ve recently moved and had to deal with a number of services on the phone. It is really difficult when trying to sort things out but you’re struggling to understand what the person on the other end of the phone is saying.

I’ve struggled with overseas accents but also call centres where you can hear other conversations going on in the background and call centres where although I could clearly understand what the cc worker was saying they clearly couldn’t be bothered to help.

The worst was Virgin Media where it took nearly an hour to sort what should have been a really simple issue. Exacerbated by me having to get the cc worker to repeat themselves again and again as I couldn’t understand what they were saying.

I really struggle with strong Scottish accents. I can’t seem to tune in and it’s so embarrassing to have to keep saying pardon. I don’t know what the answer is.

I have been back and forth for several weeks with a large company trying to solve an issue. The agents have all had pretty strong accents and some are difficult to understand.

the final straw came when I got a very un helpful one who, after I'd explained the problem for the umpteenth time said, "I can't understand a word you're saying"

Yes, thank you.
I used to really dread this, after I hit 42 years
I think, no more dread, but it's such a waste of time. Unfortunately, good standard of spoken English is not their priority.

@JustAloeVera
Same - virgin and vodafone have awful amounts of background noise which don't help.
I always ask them to see what they can do - and then ask them to repeat themself when it's not clear. They can usually adjust something to improve it but often it'll get worse again.

I've had a GP who had a very thick accent which I just gave up asking her what she was saying after 3 times. She clearly hadn't understood what I was saying either.

My mum has recently had a GP who speaks with a thick accent that she struggled to understand too. She's quite good at asking them to repeat things normally but this time she got the feeling he was getting frustrated with her.

Should we complain about GPs being hard to understand? I suspect we should, but no one is going to want to do that.

Yep.

This is what the wage buys, is the answer to the question. If there were applicants more likely to be more easily understood by a larger group of the clientele, they'd be in post. Companies can have all the requirements they like, it wont create people who meet them and want the role.

Did you complain? This is so basic for a customer service role, I am not sure why they are even getting through one interview stage.

what a ridiculous response from Auntieden...

What have you done about it?

Try dealing with Virgin Media. Only the operatives who deal with sales can be understood

I worked in a call centre 20 years and am still traumatised by the rudeness of the general public. God knows what it's like now.

While being able clear enough for people to understand should be a pre requisite it's amazing how many people don't try to listen. I have a pleasant northern accent (so I'm told) but I had to put on an EastEnders accent for one woman to understand me. I was leaving and didn't care if someone thought I was rude but she was all " why didn't you say so in the first place".

As someone who used to live in Cambridge I was shocked at the amount of people who didn’t understand northern or Scottish accents

I find this issue really frustrating. I told a caller once that I couldn’t understand him and he answered that I was racist. But I couldn’t understand what he was saying.

I have an A * in English language plus an a level in it and a BA hons degree plus a v mild accent
People still say they can’t understand me

Cheap labour. Barclays use call centres in Chennai and Mumbai and it's near impossible to understand.

I have no idea why there aren't more stringent selection processes for call centres. It's not a sensible job for someone who doesn't speak clearly. I don't think that's any more racist than saying that surgery isn't a good career choice for anyone with less than excellent eyesight or with only one arm.

I was once phoned by British Gas as I'm on their disability register because of my hearing. I repeatedly had to ask the person who rang me to speak more slowly and more clearly. She was calling purely because she knew I have a hearing problem. She seemed unable to articulate more clearly or to slow down so goodness only knows why someone thought that would be a good task for her.

Because they aren't in a position to be that fussy. Its not about racism, its about practicality and labour markets.

@twiddlingthumbs69 usually scottish power phones me about meter change!! cannot understand shit! I eventually say "does scottish power supply your electricity" (knowing full well it doesnt!) "Until they do then I wont be speaking to you!"

Spot on.

Its not so much a good standard of english that is the issue - it is diction, speed and clarity. I had a wonderful doctor once who was originally from China - lovely woman, but fuck me, trying to understand what she was asking me was a nightmare. She had to spell out some words because I could not make head or tail of what she was saying. And I had worked in China, and with a lot of people learning English there, so was used to listening carefully.