Call centres.

Now this subject REALLY WINDS ME UP!

I, like you, need and wants information from time to time!

But when I dial a call centre, all I seem to get is FRUSTRATION!
And why?

Coz I can't understand a bloody word they're saying!
And why?

I personally don't give a damn if the call centre is in Dheli, Dagenham, or Dundee! All I want is to be able to talk to someone who can speak English clearly enough for me to understand.
Is that asking too much?

It seems to me that most of these operators have broad regional or ethnic accents. I don't have a problem with that! Having the expertise to answer any query is fine, but a total waste of time if the customer can't understand what's being said to him!

I recently called my building society to re-negotiate the next 5 years on my mortgage ( a very important call, I'm sure you would agree! )
After going through the usual 5 minutes of pre-recorded messages and button pushing to get to the right department, I was greeted by a very nice sounding Scots lady.
Do you think I could understand a single word she said?
No way!
For the next 15 minutes, I found myself asking her to either repeat the answer again, or for her to talk a little louder.
( just for the record, at no time did she ask me to repeat myself! )
I seemed to be getting nowhere fast, and felt my tether getting dangerously close to it's end, so I politely made my excuses, and told her I would call again tomorrow.

I called again the next day, and after the usual 5 minute messages, got through to an Asian male representative this time.
Once again, I had the same experience as yesterday, so once again I made my excuses, and promised to call again in the morning.
You must realise that this was a very important call, and that it was vital to have the correct information. I called twice more, and on the 2nd attempt managed to speak to yet another Scots lady, but this time without the broad accent the previous one had.
Ten minutes later, and the job was done!
Easy peasy, but why did it have to take 4 calls, when one could have done the job?

If this had been an isolated incident, I would not be writing this, but unfortunately for me it hasn't been.

Is it just me, am I that unlucky, or do you have the same problems?

I don't think it's unreasonable to expect to be answered by someone who can be understood!

Do you?

I'm sure that these operators are tested as to their ability to know their subject, but are they tested as to their understandability?

Obviously not!

Perhaps we should start a campaign and petition for understandable telephone conversation! hehehe!

Regards,

The Worm...............