Customer Service

Oh yes.

Coupled with the fact that they all seem to have names that come over as completely unintelligible and after you've asked twice, then asked them to spell it, you land up writing down gobbledegook. So it was a waste of time asking in the first place!

😂😂
You put it so well.

You were obviously very frustrated, but I am afraid I cannot agree with you. That is a very sweeping statement.

I am Scottish, with a Glaswegian accent and a few weeks ago, I had to speak on a number of occasions to a customer service agent with a strong accent in Liverpool.
I had no difficulty understanding her accent, nor she mine. She was helpful, patient and professional.

Marydoll I remember those days when I,too, understood every kind of accent, foreign or regional! My post was intended to be a bit tongue in cheek, and certainly not taken so seriously, as i do realise the older I get, the worse the problem becomes!

The older I get, the less perceptive I am! I should have realised, Bluesmum.

The Scottish accent remark did touch a raw nerve. 😉

I hope you managed to resolve your problem. I have managed to reduce my interaction with bank customer service, by installing the App on my tablet. My life has become so much easier.
Howeevr, I do appreciate it takes away a job from someone.

I recently had to endure seven minutes of talking to a machine before being connected to a human being. The latter sorted the matter to my complete satisfaction in three minutes. Hallelujah! Incidentally, I did ask if I was talking to a machine and was given affirmative response. All ended well in this case but what a load of mularkey.

I think people who can't understand accents (of any nature) are lazy and unwilling to listen properly

It is quite easy to communicate with people who can't even speak the same language as you (not over the telephone obviously) if you just have patience

My mother-in-law has a "older person's helpline" to her bank.
It is always answered quickly by a person not a bot.

Perhaps they are selecting people with a very "easy" voice/pitch to answer it... I've never heard her complain about it. I am sometimes there when she calls them and there's not a lot of "please repeat that" going on.

Can I suggest others ask if their bank has such a phone line.
She seems to always get sorted.

My own personal winge about customer service is not answering the question I've asked.

They always want to tell me things I know - not what I want to know
Argggh!
🤬

JaneJudge

I think people who can't understand accents (of any nature) are lazy and unwilling to listen properly

It is quite easy to communicate with people who can't even speak the same language as you (not over the telephone obviously) if you just have patience

I can assure you Jane I am certainly not lazy nor unwilling to listen and I have been told I have the patience of a saint on many occasions, especially when communicating with my very elderly, very deaf ,late husband who also had dementia! What I am, however, is very elderly myself now and in need of stronger hearing aids I think! I also have a sense of humour, which you seem to have lost!

I can understand most accents having travelled around a fair bit but some of the Aussies I know need subtitles for Scottish and Irish accents, they can’t understand them at all. You just don’t hear many different accents here , except maybe Greek, Italian and Chinese. They are fine with Kiwis and South Africans because they are similar.

I no longer ring customer services, I log onto their website and click on chat and converse with them that way, it has never let me down. You will have to wait in a queue but better than hanging on the phone listening to silly music then getting someone who cannot speak the King's english.

The only problem is, if you do not use the internet then the phone it will have to be.

I prefer live chat to the phone. I often have to communicate with agents in the USA so with chat their (and my own) accent does not matter. Ive also done customer service when I was at uni so I know how to get the best out of a call to an agent.

Its a thankless job and even before the pandemic callers could be extremely rude, impatient and abrupt.

Never be rude to someone who has your home phone number and address!

A tip:-

Whether you are using live chat or the phone have a piece of paper (or word doc) with all the info you are likely to need regarding the problem or transaction. Or have the documents you need to hand.

If you do this in chat you only then have to paste in the bits of info rather than typing them at speed.

HattieTopper how many languages do you speak fluently, besides The King's English!! Unbelievabley rude and judgemental comment.

What I ask is wrong with regional accents? How dare you disparage people who speak differently from you. I hope sincerely that your English is grammatically perfect. I do agree that sometimes customer service people can be rude, but their accent has nothing to do with attitude.

Marydoll

You were obviously very frustrated, but I am afraid I cannot agree with you. That is a very sweeping statement.

I am Scottish, with a Glaswegian accent and a few weeks ago, I had to speak on a number of occasions to a customer service agent with a strong accent in Liverpool.
I had no difficulty understanding her accent, nor she mine. She was helpful, patient and professional.

Marydoll
I'll start with an apology as, since I started wearing hearing aids 5 years ago I really really struggle with understanding anyone with a Scottish accent. Why I wonder, its a lovely accent?
I had absolutely no problem whatsoever with any accent prior to my deafness.
Is it the tone/timbre ?
Very puzzling to me

Hattietopper. What exactly is the King's English?

Do you mean Standard English? I speak Standard English, but with a Scottish accent! 😉

JaneJudge

I think people who can't understand accents (of any nature) are lazy and unwilling to listen properly

It is quite easy to communicate with people who can't even speak the same language as you (not over the telephone obviously) if you just have patience

I think people who can't understand accents (of any nature) are lazy and unwilling to listen properly.

I must take issue with that - rather sweeping - statement!

Most times, it is not the accent - it is the speed at which the person speaks.

My partner, who is Swedish and fluent in English, frequently has to ask those he's talking to to speak more slowly. And he's certainly not lazy - but when you are being given important information that you might need to write down, being bombarded at 200 words per minute makes it quite difficult to absorb what you are being told.

It isn't only call-handlers whose native language is not English - sometimes, it's the caller's. Also, as we get older, our hearing isn't always 100% either.

When working, I once took a call from someone who mumbled in a thick accent, I just could not get their name after twice asking them to repeat it. As I did not wish to offend the person, I hit upon the smart idea of asking them to spell their surname........S M I T H.... they said, incredulously...

Your Swedish husband asking English people to slow down isn’t being lazy though or being unwilling to listen properly. English people moaning about Scottish accents (seems common maybe even xenophobic) or Liverpool accents etc It’s all a nonsense (Sorry but that’s how I feel = owner of a regional accent)

When I referred earlier to Liverpool accents, it certainly was not intended to be a negative comment.
As a linguist, I suspect my ear is used to various accents.

I used to be able to mimic lots of accents, sadly now that I am an old lady, I seem to have lost that skill.

I wasn’t suggesting anything Marydoll ❤️

Thank you. I had thought I had perhaps come across as critical and I wouldn't want that.