I would like to talk to someone who does not have much accent so I can understand..

[AustinTink]

it is Austin Texas.

Not anymore. Help lines are in India. Most everything else is moving to China. Dell has shut down facilities and laid off soooo many people in Austin. Their not too far away goal is to move everything out of the US.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Wow...really not called for. Someone pee in your cheerios today, did they?

You LAUGHED at her!!! Now you get upset because she defends herself?

I'll ask again - given that Fantasia speaks TWO languages well (yes, I'm aware her grammar isn't perfect; how many native English speakers' is?), how may of US speaks two languages fluently???? Until we do, let's not laugh at anyone who can.

 

[Scurvy]

Wow...really not called for. Someone pee in your cheerios today, did they?

Did you think that with your slight accent, they may have had a hard time understanding you? Like I SAID, I get the frustration with trying to explain to someone who doesn't qute grasp the language you happen to be speaking what exactly my problem is. However, they are doing a job that was given to them by someone who took jobs from our country. Don't like it? Take your business elsewhere.

I do find it rude to complain about how another person speaks. How is your accent "cute" but theirs is not? Oh, and luckily for you, sarcasm is universal!

Fantasia has a slight accent and the customer service person didn't have to ask her to repeat what she was saying to them because they understood her. She, on the other hand, couldn't understand the customer service person because of their thick accent. I'm not seeing where she was part of the problem. One would assume that customer service reps who are hired to deal with the English-speaking public would be expected to speak English clearly and with at most a slight accent, not such a thick accent that they are impossible to understand. However, most people who have ever tried to deal with outsourced customer service reps know exactly what Fantasia is talking about because we've had to deal with it too. I think it's perfectly reasonable for Fantasia to complain about how the rep was speaking since the accent directly impacts the rep's ability to do his job. If she was complaining because some guy at a neighboring table was speaking in a thick accent and it annoyed her, that would be rude. If she was making fun of someone whose first language wasn't English because their grammar on a message board wasn't perfect, that would be rude. Complaining because she isn't receiving acceptable customer service because of a rep's thick accent is not at all rude.

 

[sunnyday123]

You LAUGHED at her!!! Now you get upset because she defends herself?

I'll ask again - given that Fantasia speaks TWO languages well (yes, I'm aware her grammar isn't perfect; how many native English speakers' is?), how may of US speaks two languages fluently???? Until we do, let's not laugh at anyone who can.

Yea...didn't laugh at her. Actually, did you miss the part where I AGREED with her-twice? And again, I'm not upset. I was just amused at the irony of someone who does not claim English as their first language, and speaks with an accent, complaining about someone with an accent.


And in response to your second question, I know of two of US that speak two languages fluently. Fantasia and myself.

 

[Robinrs]

You LAUGHED at her!!! Now you get upset because she defends herself?

Yep, don't dish it out if you can't take it...

 

[Darsa]

Wow, and here I was interpreting her post as though she was agreeing with you... "I know, huh?" usually means to me that she AGREES with what you said, and then she went on to elaborate on the problem.

I dunno, maybe it's me.

 

[ChrisFL]

This is a little known "secret" and is totally correct. If you can't understand someone, ask to be transferred to an American and you will be. It might take some time on hold, but you will get an American.

What if the company isn't an American one? Should everyone in America expect to always speak to an American? I mean, as long as they can speak english and can understand my issue, I'm fine with it.

 

[sunnyday123]

Wow, and here I was interpreting her post as though she was agreeing with you... "I know, huh?" usually means to me that she AGREES with what you said, and then she went on to elaborate on the problem.

I dunno, maybe it's me.

I think that it may be you. I think you may have also missed the part where she asked if I "understood her post." To me, that reeks of sarcasm,
and missed my point.

And to recap: I AGREED with her. I said it was IRONIC that someone with an accent was complaining about an accent. That is IRONY. Not really sure as to what the problem with that is, but ......

 

[Scurvy]

Wow, and here I was interpreting her post as though she was agreeing with you... "I know, huh?" usually means to me that she AGREES with what you said, and then she went on to elaborate on the problem.

I dunno, maybe it's me.

It's not just you, I thought the same thing.

 

[LiLIrishChick63]

This is a little known "secret" and is totally correct. If you can't understand someone, ask to be transferred to an American and you will be. It might take some time on hold, but you will get an American.

i tried that and got transfered to someone with just as thick of an accent as the original person i spoke to

 

[LiLIrishChick63]

i just have to say.....

how many of us living in the United States actually speak PROPER English, anyway???

i guarantee you that none of us do. we use words like "ain't" and "yo" and "dontcha" .....

just sayin......

 

[Vixen]

i just have to say.....

how many of us living in the United States actually speak PROPER English, anyway???

i guarantee you that none of us do. we use words like "ain't" and "yo" and "dontcha" .....

just sayin......

 

[2Eskiedogs]

Walmart is not the only company that most of it's products come from China.

 

[Scurvy]

i just have to say.....

how many of us living in the United States actually speak PROPER English, anyway???

i guarantee you that none of us do. we use words like "ain't" and "yo" and "dontcha" .....

just sayin......

I'm opposed to outsourcing in general, but I am equally opposed to people in this country being customer service reps if they have such thick accents or use enough slang that they can't be clearly understood. In my opinion if someone is hired to do phone support work then they need to be able to communicate clearly with the majority of people who are expected to be calling in. They ought to be able to communicate using proper English and neutral enough accents (such as newscasters on the national news use) that they will be easy to understand. I don't care how they sound in their private lives, but at work there are standards that they should be expected to meet. Communcation is the main focus of their job; if they can't do that reliably, then they need to have a different job.

 

[luvestodizz]

I work customer service for a company that outsources their reps too. Ive had a few of these overseas reps call my line asking for help and I have a hard time understanding them! I feel bad for the customers who complain they spend over an hour trying to place an order with these people. It really makes the company look bad but when profit is the bottom line what else can we expect?
There are many intelligent clear spoken people in the USA who should have these jobs- it's a shame....

 

[kaytieeldr]

What if the company isn't an American one? Should everyone in America expect to always speak to an American? I mean, as long as they can speak english and can understand my issue, I'm fine with it.

I spend a lot of time on the phone, and while I do get a fair number of non-English speaking people, we're not equipped to transfer calls (don't ask!). Anyway, my coworkers laugh at me, but I've already learned how to say - badly, I admit - "I don't speak Spanish (French) but someone who does speak Spanish (French) will call you back."

Partly they laugh at my terrible accent, partly they laugh because as soon as I start speaking these few words I know, the customer thinks I'll understand everything they say and partly they're envious at my initiative. Terrible accent, sure, but I do get understood

 

[LiLIrishChick63]

I'm opposed to outsourcing in general, but I am equally opposed to people in this country being customer service reps if they have such thick accents or use enough slang that they can't be clearly understood. In my opinion if someone is hired to do phone support work then they need to be able to communicate clearly with the majority of people who are expected to be calling in. They ought to be able to communicate using proper English and neutral enough accents (such as newscasters on the national news use) that they will be easy to understand. I don't care how they sound in their private lives, but at work there are standards that they should be expected to meet. Communcation is the main focus of their job; if they can't do that reliably, then they need to have a different job.

oh i'm on your side, i was referring to the poster who kept talking about how the OP had an accent, herself, and that she was complaining of someone with an accent speaking to HER. if you would have read my previous replies you would have known this.

 

[sunnyday123]

oh i'm on your side, i was referring to the poster who kept talking about how the OP had an accent, herself, and that she was complaining of someone with an accent speaking to HER. if you would have read my previous replies you would have known this.

Finally!!! Someone who thought what I thought!!! ( be prepared to duck, though!)

 

[Scurvy]

oh i'm on your side, i was referring to the poster who kept talking about how the OP had an accent, herself, and that she was complaining of someone with an accent speaking to HER. if you would have read my previous replies you would have known this.

I had read your previous replies, but I must have misunderstood what you were talking about in that post. Since your last post before the one I quoted was about asking to be transfered to an American and then getting someone with a thick accent, I (wrongly) assumed you were still talking about phone reps in this country. I hadn't realized you were referring to the other poster.
Sorry for the misunderstanding!