Customer Service

This evening without anticipating I would have to, I found myself transferred to customer support. It wasn't any easy conversation because the advisor was so unwell she could hardly speak. She had a terrible streaming cold and after a while I felt compelled to ask if she was ok, to which she replied she had the 'flu because it was winter there and no, she wasn't well. I thought she might actually die during the conversation!
In the end my son took over the call and managed to conclude the issue.
I have more calls to make tomorrow- wish me luck!

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

You are correct to a point, but for those of us who are hard of hearing - a number of us here l would imagine - it can be difficult enough to hear on the loudest setting of the phone to start with. A strong regional or foreign accent with which we are not familiar can make things well nigh impossible.

DH puts the phone on the loudspeaker so I can hear and in need "translate" 😂 for him. My ears pick up most accents easily and understand what is being said, his ears don't. 😂

Oh, and face to face can cause its own problems if the person with the strong accent speaks quickly as l rely on lip reading and it becomes almost impossible to get the gist of what someone is saying. I am not afraid to say that I am deaf and please could they speak more slowly, but is not a question of laziness or not having patience.

I find it’s not the accent it’s the speed at which they talk, I say sorry I’m a little hard of hearing would you mind speaking a little slower, thst usually works.

I sympathise with those who are hard of hearing as I have hearing aids. At my last visit to the hospital an App was put on my mobile phone linked to my aids. It means I can receive calls directly into my ears, if I'm contacted on my mobile, whch I find works much better for me, especially when talking to strangers. This was provided free of charge by the NHS. Wonderful!

Just for everyone’s information I have an auditory processing disorder and cannot hear at all in certain situations

Ashcombe

I sympathise with those who are hard of hearing as I have hearing aids. At my last visit to the hospital an App was put on my mobile phone linked to my aids. It means I can receive calls directly into my ears, if I'm contacted on my mobile, whch I find works much better for me, especially when talking to strangers. This was provided free of charge by the NHS. Wonderful!

Yes I have this too, great help and it has changed my life.

Bluesmum I have had exactly the same experience and reacted just the same! 🙄

Ashcombe

I sympathise with those who are hard of hearing as I have hearing aids. At my last visit to the hospital an App was put on my mobile phone linked to my aids. It means I can receive calls directly into my ears, if I'm contacted on my mobile, whch I find works much better for me, especially when talking to strangers. This was provided free of charge by the NHS. Wonderful!

Same here. They have been amazing. @JaneJudge, I very much sympathise with your auditory processing disorder, but I always understood that sufferers of this condition had perfectly good hearing, but that it took a while for the brain to catch up and take in what has been said. My daughter was diagnosed with this as a child and was later found to be on the autistic spectrum. Interestingly, she was retested a few years ago and the auditory processing disorder had more or less disappeared. This was put down to her being a musician (she has a masters degree in music performance). However, l still think that it cannot be compared with hearing loss as we struggle to hear certain sounds at all at times. While we are very grateful for our high tech hearing aids, it is not the same as having good natural hearing.

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

JaneJudge, that is a very judgemental comment - maybe goes with the name? I can assure you that I am very patient when not understanding the accent or speed of the customer services person, and request that they speak slower as I am hard of hearing.