Speak English.... 21

[snootalope]

Wow, I don't know about you all, but I'm SICK of talking to tech support people who can't speak a darn bit of good english.

I spend a reasonable amount of time on the phone with different support teams and every single one of them from Arcserve to Microsoft Windows 2003 have moved all their support stuff out of the country (USA) and into the middle of places where people can barely pronounce the word Windows.. How the heck are we supposed to get something done when we can't even understand what they're telling us.

I've been playing phone tag with one company for three weeks because everytime they leave me a message and tell me to email them something for a particular support case, I CAN'T EVEN UNDERSTAND WHAT THEIR SAYING WHEN THEY SPELL OUT THE EMAIL ADDRESS!!! Of course, when i call back, i get someone who can even pronounce my 5 letter name, and they can't seem to reach the tech who just called me 5 minutes before...

Anyway.. I just had to vent.

If you ask me, IT is going the way of whatever is cheapest is best. It's BS and not customer friendly at all!! If I call the United States support number, I want to talk to someone who's from the United States!!!

 

[jsteph]

What's funny is that onscreen the offshore reps can see where the call is coming from, and then--and I'm certain this is true--the screen shows local culture items, such as sports teams.

So you'll get Punjab, who calls himself "Joe", say to you: "How are the Cubs doing? Did they score a touchdown?"
--Jim

 

[burtsbees]

Wanna do something funny? If they say their name is Brian, tell him that is your name and ask him how he spells it. I did, and he told me, "That is not important right now."

Burt

 

[ajetrumpet]

What's funny is that onscreen the offshore reps can see where the call is coming from, and then--and I'm certain this is true--the screen shows local culture items, such as sports teams.

I had a person ask me one time, "so how is the weather in Iowa today"??

I said...WHAT!? I didn't even think of that JSTEPH! Great point...that's pretty pathetic, don't ya think?

 

[snootalope]

Interesting, they think they deserve more in wages because they feel they are intelligent enough to deserve more money.

hmmmm

The big business came in and took this person who quite possibly has never owned their own computer before, puts them through a two week training course, and releases them on to the floor to take support calls. One week of basics followed by one week of how to use the company software for creating, tracking, and logging issues (the Troubleshooter Workflow that does pretty much everything).

Sorry, Punjob, or Joe, two weeks of training and the ability to follow a Troubleshooting Workflow that eventually points you to the answer you need doesn't make you intelligent. Those big business are only giving you enough training to get you to do only what they need you to do. If you were that intelligent, I think you'd realize this fact and then quit your phone center job for a higher paying, more independent position. Along with the independent position comes risk, and the lack of the Troubleshooting workflow guide provided by the big business. Sure, google can fix almost anything, but that almost will make a big difference in the amount of income you receive. Of course that's not only factor, but speaking fluent English will help!!

 

[burtsbees]

I can't understand them, because they try to fake an English accent HORRIBLY!!!

Burt

 

[snootalope]

wow, just realized that 8.7% of Tek-Tips.com members are from India.

Wonder if we're their source of support!!??!

 

[mikeydidit]

I had too (AGAIN) talk with Avaya on a major problem we were having in our telephone system the other day. And you guessed it. India AGAIN. This little first level guy was taking all my information and then asked me to verify the correct spelling on my name..

Me: M I K E J O N E S

Me: You are killing me brother...

I was talking one of the guys in our networking group the other day telling him about my Hellish call to India. He told me that he had a Cisco switch died and was looking for a replacement. He was on the phone with a rep from India. He told the Cisco rep that he needed a replacement switch sent out that we had one that was "dead in the water".

The rep told him that Cisco would not warranty the switch because they did not cover "Water Damage" This had escalated "needless to say" and the call ended back to Cisco here in the states. They were rolling on the floor laughing when our tech told them what they rep from India had said.


Hell, there are no rules here - we're trying to accomplish something.
Thomas A. Edison

For the best response to a question, read faq690-6594

 

[kmcferrin]

Sorry, Punjob, or Joe, two weeks of training and the ability to follow a Troubleshooting Workflow that eventually points you to the answer you need doesn't make you intelligent. Those big business are only giving you enough training to get you to do only what they need you to do. If you were that intelligent, I think you'd realize this fact and then quit your phone center job for a higher paying, more independent position.

That's a pretty condescending way to look at it, bordering on racist. It has nothing to do with "unintelligent Indians" deciding that they want a bigger slice of the pie. The simple fact is that wages in India are increasing because of supply and demand.

Phone support is an entry level job (even in the United States) and people eventually move on to higher level jobs (just like they do in the US). While there are a lot of companies that outsource their call centers to India, there is far more outsourcing going on in the areas of engineering and programming/development. Not only is India providing development and engineering services to a large number of western companies, but they are also building their own infrastructure and companies as well. This huge growth results in lower numbers of skilled workers available, which in turn results in higher labor costs. As any "emerging market economy" matures (like India and China are doing now) you will see initially low cost labor become more expensive until the point where it is comparable to countries in the developed world.

I know, I know, you just want to complain about call centers. I don't know how often you've had to deal with Americans in call centers, but they don't tend to be any more intelligent or helpful than their Indian counterparts. The only real difference is that they tend to be native English speakers and are familiar with American turns of phrase (i.e., "dead in the water").

I've never really had problems dealing with call centers in India. When I call, it's almost always for a part that has failed. I make sure that the part is truly dead, and being an engineer I know what sort of steps they are likely to ask me to take before they will agree that the part is dead. So I just do that work in advance, then when I get them on the line I give them my info, then *I* take control of the conversation, tell them the symptoms, tell them what I think is wrong, why I think it is wrong, and what I've done to try to fix it. Usually the conversation lasts about 5-10 minutes and they ship me a replacement part. Some of my co-workers spend 30+ minutes on the phone with support when they call because they don't know how to work the system.

 

[flapeyre]

I've never really had problems dealing with call centers in India. When I call, it's almost always for a part that has failed. I make sure that the part is truly dead, and being an engineer I know what sort of steps they are likely to ask me to take before they will agree that the part is dead.

That's fine for you, but it doesn't help us non-hardware-centric programmer types. In that situation, you would only need someone to place a part order. I need someone to diagnose a problem, because I might not know what, if any, part has failed. For all I know, i could be hardware, firmware, or software related. And I have found, language barrier aside, that the diagnostic skills of overseas call centers are somewhat lacking. Plus, think of the poor end user who has to deal with all of this muck. He's as likely to be taking a sledgehammer to his hardware and swearing off ever buying that particular brand again, as he is to having a good experience with tech support.



Solum potestis prohibere ignes silvarum.

 

[Sympology]

Well having to deal with an American support team at the monet, give me ruddy India any day. They sell a global product but only work US hours. What bloody good is that! If I have a major issue at 9am GMT I don't want to wait until 2pm for them to get into the office. You sell worldwide, you support worldwide! And as for US holiday, great, I get a system go down on Thanksgiving and I get bugger all. At least the Indian call centres as usually manned 24/7, even if I have to struggle a little.

There, that's my little rant over. having a bad day ! Go to go, I can now log a call....

Only the truly stupid believe they know everything.
Stu.. 2004

 

[acent]

...And I thought the reason I couldn't understand tech support was because of being hearing impaired! Glad to hear I'm not the only one with this problem.

Symantec wanted to take a survey of the support... I didn't know how to say this and still be politic.

"If it's stupid but works, it isn't stupid."
-Murphy's Military Laws