Idiot!
This is a major pet peeve of mine . I just called my local Michaels store cause they are offering Wilton classes in March for 50% (or something like that). Anyhow, the customer service rep I spoke to was sooo rude.
Here is the play by play:

Ring ring:
CCR: "Hello & Thank you for calling Michaels, how may I direct your call?
me: "I would like some information on the March Wilton classes please."
CCR: "What do you want to know?"
me: "Times? When are they & are spots still available?"
CCR: "I've got nothing til' April" click.

Nice! People can be so rude. If you don't want to deal with people & or can't curb your own bad mood & not take it out on someone else, maybe Customer Service isn't the job for you.

Needed to vent....... thanx CC'ers.

I really hate it when CS people are rude, and/or if they don't know what they are talking about.

Another big peeve these days are the ones who cannot speak english...I'm not talking about an accent, I'm talking about they just plain cannot speak english!

The no English thing drives me bananas. I hate when they answer, and its a jumble of words that you have no idea what they said. So you start the call with "Excuse me?"

One time I called T-Mobile to downgrade our service. My DH had internet on the phone, and we didn't realize it cost $50/month. The idiot was not understandable. But I told him what I wanted, and he told me that phone wouldn't work without internet. I said that didn't make sense, and that I thought it should and he goes "Oh! It will?" I was like "You're the customer service rep, you tell me." He says "I don't know. Will you call back and tell me if it works? My name is XXX."

The reason that most CSR's don't speak english anymore is because so many big companies have moved their CS areas to foreign countries because its cheaper to operate. The next time that I call and can't understand that person I am going to ask for another CSR and another and another until I get someone who speaks english! Maybe if we all keep doing this, they will realize that they are paying people to do nothing if they don't speak plain english!!

After receiving four phone calls (on caller ID) from the same place, I finally picked up the phone yesterday, just to see who the heck it was.

A man's voice says something to me in some jibberish! I say, just a moment let me mute the TV, I couldn't hear you. So, I mute the TV, and say sorry, I couldn't hear you. Then he repeats the jibberish. I say, I'm sorry, I can't understand you so I'm hanging up! He says something to the effect of who he is and more jibberish.

I say I do not deal with people when I cannot understand what they are saying to me. Please remove me from your phone list. As I'm hanging up, he is still talking to me, and I still have no idea who he was or who he was calling for, and I really don't care. Going out of the country may be cheaper, but I can't see that it is very effective.

On the caller ID it said "Jaina Call INDI" with a 646 area code. Any guesses who they were?

clearly someone from India! haha!! It just kills me!! It makes me so mad that these companies are doing exactly that - laying off Americans to take their business overseas! I understand that its cheaper - but, it still pisses me off!!

Yep, Janel. With the unemployment rate here in the US skyrocketing, and these mega companies having people overseas doing jobs we should be doing.
My DH worked for Citi Group last year (quit before the WHOLE team was laid off) and was in charged of managing some of the overseas programmers. It was pretty impossible for him.

A few years ago, a man who spoke broken English called and asked for DH. I simply said, "He's not here. Can I take a message?" He hesitated before saying, "Ma'am, you speak English?" Can you believe that? I know I'm a fast talker (not in a bad way ) but he had the nerve to ask ME if I spoke English! I quickly said "No" and hung up

I had a phone call like that recently. The guy was trying to get me to sign up for my prescriptions through him (??). I said (truthfully) "I don't take any medications, thanks anyways." He kept trying, "Ma'am, can I give you my number so you'll call me?" I tried to say no and he said, "Ma'am? Can you listen to me?" I was getting frustrated by then and told him, "Gee, I'm sure trying! But I can hardly understand you!"

A real giveaway, too, is when they repeat the phone number back to you. My area code is 317 and when they say "three seventeen" .....

Come on .... nobody repeats a number like that!

:sigh:


Unfortunately for us CSRs, most customers think of us as 'idiots' before we even open our mouths.

I'm not pointing fingers here, by the way, either.

Over the weekend at my job... I had a gentleman stand at the BACK of my booth behind me and WHISTLE for my attention. When I finally turned around and saw him, I asked him if he needed help, and instead of even a 'yes' he just pointed at my ticket center POS...like I didn't speak English or something, or maybe because I didn't notice him standing there ('cause, ya know, I have eyes in the back of my head and everything ) I didn't deserve an audible response...

Guess what? The show he was looking for was sold clear out. Both shows, in fact.

I never ask for help in a store because the people that work there have either never heard of the item I'm looking for (and we're talking basic items here, nothing out of the ordinary) or they have heard of the item and know they saw it around here somewhere which means they have absolutely no idea where it is and here we go wandering around the store together.

If I'm going wander around the store looking for something, I'd rather do it alone because I like to haul ass and get out of there and I don't need someone else slowing me down.

You're right, snowboarder, you might as well not ask for help/information, because most of the employees don't have a clue!

Even in our local stores, it is more and more difficult to find a person who speaks understandable english, much less who knows where things are.
I have to shop using the riding carts, and if I need to ask where something is, I'd rather ask another shopper, they come nearer knowing the answer, and are more willing to help than the employees.

I don't usually h ave problems with employees in a store - its the phone CSR's in India etc that I have a problem with.

If I need help in a store, I will ask and if they don't know or act like they're not sure - I just say nevermind. I was in Toys R Us shopping on black Friday weekend (I know I'm nuts!) and there were 3 things that I needed help with/couldn't find and the guy that I asked knew EXACTLY what I was talking about and EXACTLY where to find it! He was amazing!! What suprised me the most was that this guy was probably in his early 20's, I'm pretty sure he didn't have kids and wasn't at the age to play with the toys I was asking about - He still knew what I was talking about!!

Ok enough raving about the cute boy - I MEAN the very nice employee that helped me at Toys R Us! It just seems to me that people know more that you give them credit for in a store (with the exception of Wal-Mart!! - I'm not sure their employees know where the bathroom is!).

So, lets start a grassroots effort to get the large companies to bring their CS departments back to America and employ Americans!! Don't talk to the CSR if you don't understand them - ask for someone who speaks english and don't do business with these companies if at all possible! Man ya'll got me fired up!! haha!!

I'm so glad that I always work with small community banks - they are not big enough to out source! I like knowing the face of the person I am talking to about my money also! (not that I have much to discuss these days!)

I had to call comcast last night.

I figured I'd try their live online help. The person spoke broken English. Reading it was painful. We lost our remote and can't reach the cable box because we have it up high and so I wanted it replaced. They can sent it to me for $10 plus S&H. Tell them no and close chat.

I call their customer service department and tell them my situation and asked if the guy coming today could bring one. The guy tells me "no worries they carry them on their truck just ask for one. "I won't be charged" "Nope, is there anything else". "Yes why did the live chat tech support rep want to charge me for it" *pause* "Please don't use live chat." - AHHHH! That said it all.

That my cake friends is the difference in international help and help in the good old USA. The phone call went to their 24/7 help center based in an office 70 minutes from my front door.

My pet peeve is having to press "1" for English... Hello, this is the USA. When I go out of town, I don't expect anyone to understand me, so anyone that comes here should learn English!! An accent, I understand. My grandparents came her in their 30's, with their parents, and they learned English. And if I did press "1", at least the CSR should actually speak English!! I have already asked to be transfered to someone in the USA, it has worked more than once!

There was one bank, that when you called, the picked up "Good morning, thanx for calling the xxx bank. this is jane doe from the Cincinnati calling center", saying which American city they were in. I know this was true, cause you could understand them, and they even discussed the weather there, the news, etc. one guy was telling me that he used to live near where i live, he knew my neighborhood, it was so cool!

I had to pick up my transcript from the State University during the summer because after 3 tries they still did not mail out the right document. So, I wait in line, when it is my turn I tell them what I need and in broken English I am told to step to the side and wait until they can find someone to speak English to me! What? If you are working in a State, government job one of the languages you should speak is ENGLISH.

I also understand Indydebi's situation. I was in the supermarket and overheard another customer ask where an item was found. The worker didn't know and then told her to try 3 different places in 3 different areas of the store. For Pete's sake, didn't he notice the woman was physically handicapped and was having trouble walking??? I butted in, told her I was going to the aisle myself and if she waited a minute I would bring it to her.What do these workers think they get paid to do? Look pretty?

I must say though 95 per cent of the time the people I deal with are very helpful and nice.

I'm sure they're all nice people, but there are ESL classes wherever you are, and it's not so hard to learn the basics of the language - no, they don't have to become English professors. There is no reason why i should have to learn another language to be able to live in the USA

I'm w/ya. What we gotta do?

OK - so I say, the next time you call a Customer Service department and you get someone who does not speak english - keep asking to speak with someone else until you get an english speaking person. AND - if possible, don't do business with the companies that ship American jobs overseas - and make sure that you tell the company that is why you won't do business with them anymore!!

It's so funny what pushes people's buttons!

LOL, if saying a single word in Italian at Starbucks unnerves you that much, maybe you should stick to ordering your coffee from McDonald's. Goodness gracious! LOL (By the way, the word cappuccino is Italian too. )

As much as I hate American jobs being outsourced to foreign countries, I must say that 99% of the Indian people with whom I speak on the phone are exceptionally polite. American phone reps could learn a thing or two from their Indian colleagues.

The biggest problem with low-wage workers is just plain apathy. If I were stuck stocking shelves at Mega Lo Mart or stuffing French fries into boxes at Mickey D's, I would probably have that same "who gives a rat's ass?" attitude too. That's what I try to keep foremost in my mind when dealing with an apathetic or clueless $7/hr worker. Sucks to be them.

My hot-button issue is grocery store sackers who fail to treat fruit and vegetables gently, and those who put raw meat in bags with other items.

I buy approximately $100 worth of produce a week at one particular store where I usually don't shop for other items, and somehow manage to always get the sacker who puts 8 large grapefruit on top of my ripe tomatoes and who puts the onions or potatoes or heads of green cabbage in with ripe peaches or plums. HELLO? Just yesterday, I made my weekly produce purchase but also picked up some ground round. Not only did she put a dozen large apples on top of my perfectly-ripe avocados, but this 40+ year old woman also put the raw meat in with some of the other apples. OMG. I mean, I can understand some clueless teenager doing it but come on, a middle-aged woman who surely does her own grocery shopping?

LOL. I hate bitchfest threads because I always envision that grizzled old Maxine character griping her fool head off all the time and I don't ever want to be one of those bitchy old hens but I am really PMS'ing today and that was fun. Thanks OP!

cakepro, I could just envision Maxine reciting your post! Yes, it was fun .... fun for me to see others get on a roll, too! Luv'd it!

I had someone at one of the warehouse places smash my dinner rolls that I bought for a wedding. And after I had carefully placed them in my cart because they had just come out of the oven (I special order my wedding rolls).

Hahaha, I protect my loaves of bread like precious babies....I couldn't imagine having someone carelessly smash rolls purchased for a catering job. Egads!!

The reality is, outsourcing is here to stay. The CSR may be Indian, Chinese, Filipino... They could be from any country where there is an abundance of English speaking graduates.

Most of us Indians have learnt English in schools and colleges, started by and run by the British. The standard of English is extremely high. Educated Indians usually speak grammatically correct English and their vocabulary is very wide.

And, like Cakepro posted, most are "exceptionally polite". Indians are extremely hardworking and technically very sound.

IMO, the accent might be the problem. Some of you, on CC have also commented that my English is very formal, and my sentences are long and complex.

Earlier in the thread, someone posted They pay these poor souls next to nothingThe fact is, that people can live a decent life on what they get paid. The cost of living is not as high as it is in America, and what the American companies do pay, is not charity or exploitation.

All of us have complained about CSRs before, even when Call Centres in India/China/ Philipines had not even started.
When I lived in Singapore in 1999, I remember talking to a CSR based in Dallas, to solve a technical problem I was having with some equipment. He could not understand my problem and I could not understand a word he said.
Its possible I didnt get his accent, or maybe my description of the problem was not clear enough.

But I would not immediately classify all US based CSRs as stupid.

Karen