Very strong foreign accents

First answer from welbeck works!

Say you cannot understand and end the call. If you call back (and even again) you will land on someone who you can understand and will listen to your request to speak clearly and slowly.
USA Gundy

I understand what you mean. My neighbour has a very strong n/e Scotland accent and frequently complains people don't understand her. I know what she means and I am frequently telling her she needs to speak slowly to some people.

I signed up to Plusnet a couple of years ago, one of the reasons was that their customer service was UK based. I've only needed customer service a couple of times and it was so easy to deal with them and the service was exemplary.

Geordie, Glaswegian, Scouse, so many Indian accents, Belfast, etc- are all UK based. Doesn't make it easier to understand for many, including 100% Brits.

Hithere

Funny story

When Harry Potter came to the US for the first time, some movie theaters put subtitles as accent was a problem - hard to understand

Funny story no. 2
I was put in charge of calling my company's provider in the UK as I was the only one able to "decipher the accent"

I don't have an accent, it's everyone else that does lol

I am generally very good at understanding accents, both from inside and outside the U.K. but a couple of weeks ago I rang Royal mail's unhelpful "helpline". A woman answered the 'phone. I don't know what her accent was.....not from the UK, India, South Africa, Philippines or any of the accents usually heard from call centres. All I know is that if this is the standard of customer service agent that Royal Mail considers appropriate to talk to their customers I will use a different company. I suppose that I shouldn't be surprised really, if their service had lived up to it's promises I wouldn't have had to call their customer service.

I like to listen to science programmes on radio 4, and just lately there have been instances where they've been interviewing scientists who are leaders in their field, but, have strong foreign accents. I'm only interested in the info not the voice, so, why can't they put a transcript on their website? They must know that people won't be able to understand their interviewees.

Indian call centers that I have been referred to recently have been better, the worst recently was Yorkshire, the pronunciation was awful added to that her head was moving away from the microphone and words were fading out.

Vs

Lol

Exactly

Gwenisgreat, I never communicate by phone with companies - not because of hearing problems - just because I really don't have the patience. I must admit, I do declare myself 'hearing impaired' (and elderly) when I access their other types of contact. I just prefer email or text, so convenient.

My doctor said that an elderly (English) gentleman refused point blank to attend hospital - without an interpreter, as he couldn't understand what anyone was saying! He wasn't really 'allowed' one but she found a way to comply.

I have a hearing aid (NHS) but I find some foreign accents really difficult and have to ask people to repeat what they've said several times. Some time ago I asked the local pharmacist for advice about DH's new medication. She was a locum, foreign and she had to repeat everything. Honestly I was non the wiser afterwards. DH had a lot of medical appts which often involved a telephone call. I always took his calls and most of the NHS callers seemed to be foreign. It can lead to dangerous misunderstandings.

Would those be any easier for you

Geordie, Glaswegian, Scouse, so many Indian accents, Belfast, etc- are all UK based.

grandtanteJE65

I say, politely, I hope . "Excuse me, I am a little hard of hearing, would you speak more slowly and a little louder please?

I find this usually helps.

If it is an accent that is causing the trouble I make no bones about saying, "Did you mean so-and-so or such-and such? " or even saying that i find their English hard to follow.

If they are offended that is just too bad, but I rarely feel that I have offended anyone asking them to repeat themselves.

Thats me, really. My hearing is slightly impaired and I notice just by what's difficult to understand on TV that strong accents wherever they are from are difficult.

So I own up like grandtante (and sometimes add I'm older) and have found nearly all the time people make the effort - and I'm grateful. I can recall only one conversation where it was impossible.

Politeness is all, isnt it?

I really think that companies should only employ staff that will be understood by the majority of their customers..... and a lot of those customers are old!
I could probably converse with my sisters or my husband in such a way that anyone from outside Yorkshire would really struggle to understand our conversation but this is not normal for us these days. If someone cannot modify their accent to an acceptable level they should not be in a job that involves communication.

I attempt to be very polite and sensitive to different accents etc. and also my hearing difficulties. Sometimes, it works! Quite often, it doesn’t. 🙄

I'm not deaf, but I reckon I'm too old to waste the ever-decreasing time I have left before shuffling off this mortal coil in putting up with people - in a business/customer related environment - who talk in impenetrable accents and/or too quickly. I tell them politely that I am having difficulty in understanding them, and ask them to speak more slowly. If that does not work (as they all too often revert within a sentence or two to what is obviously their habitual gabble) I ask them if I may speak to one of their colleagues. If that does not happen, I say "goodbye" and ring off or walk away.

0ddOne

To blame this on "foreign" accents is rather racist sounding. Especially when many British accents are just as difficult, if not more so, to decipher!

I don't think it's intentionally racist.

Certainly some regional accents are hard to decipher - but so are Asian accents (not always, of course).

And we know that these operations are outsourced because they are a cheaper option for the company, and that adds to the frustration.

I'd imagine it's also quite stressful for the individual in the call centre, too. Some obviously speak English fluently, but it's quite hard to 'lose' your accent. Cheap labour - stressed workers (I wonder what staff turnover is like) and frustrated customers.

Of course, we're told it keeps costs down. But considering we are a low-wage economy anyway I'm not sure these companies are really doing us any favours.

I have chosen to use an anti-virus programme with tech support - you can call them but you can also email your concerns and they respond within 24 hours. I much prefer this as you then have a record of your problem which makes it easier to deal with. And this company don't mind how many times you mail them, they always respond promptly. Of course, the AV programme is more expensive. But it's worth it for hassle-free communication.

Communication is vital - especially when you are dealing with a problem.

My landline has a call barring function and if your not on the "white" list you dont get through. Nor can you leave a message.

Every few days I google failed numbers to see if anything was important. Mostly spam. The smart phone also seems to be able to recognise spam.

If its a genuine business call they can email or text.

biglouis

My landline has a call barring function and if your not on the "white" list you dont get through. Nor can you leave a message.

Every few days I google failed numbers to see if anything was important. Mostly spam. The smart phone also seems to be able to recognise spam.

If its a genuine business call they can email or text.

That does sound racist biglouis?

I'm glad I'm not the only one. Years ago I was on holiday in Blackpool, there was this Scottish family staying at the same hotel. I couldn't understand a word they were saying, it was so embarrassing. I don't know which part of Scotland they were from.

We were with one mobile supplier and I wanted to change our address to update our records with the company. I rang the suppliers number and got someone in India (someone working from home with children in the background). She asked me for my details and said “what is your dub?” “What is your dub?” I could not understand the question and ended the call feeling frustrated. Eventually it dawned on me that she must have been reading from a form and that “dub” meant “Date of birth!” 😳. I have now switched to a different provider.

These days if I want to contact an organisation or firm I check on their website to see if they have an interactive chat online. It is often easier, as I often struggle with the phone regardless of accent or not.

I have lived around the UK, so generally am OK with British accents, except the fast talking Glaswegian. I have great difficulty with Asian and oriental accents and Polish and Russian accents.

I am also hearing impaired - and that's the first thing I say usually on the phone. Any strong accent is a huge problem...and I suspect - youth! Don't get me wrong, it's just that the young seem to do everything, including speech, at such an amazing speed. Whether this is an age effect, and perhaps I did the same when I was young, or whether it is that everything is so much faster these days, I don't know.

In my pre retirement job I often had to take phone calls in which people needed to give me their (long) membership number.
It wasn’t just foreign accents, though some of those were particularly difficult - mostly it was a case of mumbling and gabbling at the same time.

I so often had to say, ‘Sorry, but could you please say that again,
slowly and clearly?’
I swear you can hear an eye-roll over the phone!