Call centre staff quit over racial abuse

[Verizon]

Re: Call centre staff quit over racial abuse

@nikhil25

“Back off, Paki, and don’t call me again”

it’s unfortunate that the street trash pakistanis of the UK have soiled the image of all south asians…probably the only accomplishment to their name.

either way, the fact that these employees have those new jobs to quit from is good enough for me.

Well if I were an indian I would be offended too.

[RaMo]

Re: Call centre staff quit over racial abuse

@nikhil25

i know the whole bad accent thing is the call center worker’s new stereoytpe…but with any prominent firm nowadays, these call center worker’s have all undergone rigorous accent training and it would be an outright lie for any random english-speaker to claim he can’t understand what is being said.

While their english might be ok technically, they’ve still got a long way to go when it comes to accent. 99% of the time i can tell instantly when I’m talking to someone in India and I’m sure most British people can as well. I just don’t think an English accent is that easy for people to pick up, let alone get right (and thats before you consider the huge variation in accents between regions). I would think American accents are easier for people in the call centres to learn.

[minah_pa]

Re: Call centre staff quit over racial abuse

Beg to differ for the one who says no reason to complain.

I have a hearing loss and have a very hard time hearing anything on the phone (I hear and translate sound, I really don't hear words) and anyone with an accent is impossible for me to figure out (because the stressors and the pronunciation are different, I can't figure the sounds out). I don't get abusive, but I will request another customer service rep. I don't discriminate - I won't listen to English, Swede, Dutch, Italian, or Indian.I would rather not give myself a headache trying to figure out what exactly I heard.

Aside from that, I doubt most Americans know an Indian from Pakistani accent, most don't even know what Pakistan is if it wasn't for the war now. If the abuse came from Americans it would have been only been directed to Indians (sorry people).

[Goliko]

Re: Call centre staff quit over racial abuse

@nikhil25

my company’s internal helpdesk is based in Bombay…when i first called, i had absolutely no idea that it was an Indian.

Don’t lie…that obnoxious Indian accent stands out everywhere …

[Mr_Fraudia]

Re: Call centre staff quit over racial abuse

There are 4 issues

1) company policies and approaches to customer service, which for some companies like AT&T suck globally and service is just as pathetic here as it is in India.

2) People working in call centers overseas may have had the accent training or may not have it, depends on the company as well as the person, I have had some very good experiences and some bad experiences as well. e.g. Sony's customer service which goes to India in after hours is simply fantatstic, at&t on the other hand is pathetic at best.

3) The people on the other end may not be able to relate to your issue. After all they are not here, not in your shoes and even if they are trying to be very helpful and do their best sometimes its not enough. But your concern is not really with whether they are doign what they can, but whether your issue is resolved. the element of "foriegn-ness" comes into play when they cant seem to understand what the issue is. With at&t I had to walk several people point by point so they can see where they had screwed up. I had to guide them to look up account history and what could have taken place..and once would have been fine but once they had already pulled the infoi had to repeat the same damn detail to every person i was transferred to.

4) It is a very bad idea to bounce a customer from dept to dept, and it happens whether your call center is here, In europe or in India...and the worse thing to do is after 2 hours on the phone and an evening shot because of it, when before you are finally done they ask if you would like to sign up for more services. That person probably gets yelled at more than anyone.

While dealing with offshore call centers can be an issue sometimes due to accents or inability to relate to the issue, the bigger issue is the polices, systems and SOPs in place by the companies themselves.

[Thap]

Re: Call centre staff quit over racial abuse

Hahahaha, great stuff!

[nikhil25]

Re: Call centre staff quit over racial abuse

@Goliko

Don’t lie…that obnoxious Indian accent stands out everywhere …

lol…did some Indian steal your job?

[Ohioguy]

Re: Call centre staff quit over racial abuse

I talked to an Indian call center dude about my Lexmark printer. Told him I thought it was great for the Indian economy. He FedExed me a new printer the next day.... Great service....

[elahi]

Re: Call centre staff quit over racial abuse

My last company dealt with Indian call center workers quite often, they are good people and quite decent at solving your problems,, but you can certainly tell that you are calling India

Its pretty sick the way they get abused by goras. I heard this one call done by a radio station in Philly where the DJ's were literally swearing at some Indian girl and made her cry on the phone. People should get used to stuff like this, we are in the age of globalization.