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Thursday, May 23, 2024

Customer Service in South Africa

 First, I am not better--worse. I will call a doctor tomorrow. I did not go to sleep early on Wednesday night, but I did sleep once in bed. I suppose I only slept for about five hours. 

The mower came. The appliance repair guy showed up about ten minutes before we needed to leave house, so left. Tree guy does not answer or return calls. An electrician guy did not show up or call. 

Tommy is eating and will get my dinner when he finishes. 

I had to call a customer service for one of the rings. The woman who answered had an accent I could not place. So, I asked her. She was in and is from someplace in South Africa. I told her that I could understand her perfectly even with a strong accent. She gasped and thanked me, laughing giddily. She said she was so pleased. Except for a guy in Mumbai who studied in England, she was best I had talked with. She said she studied in a school, Catholic college. She said she learned under white people and that was why I could understand her. He obviously spoke Standard English. Of course, anyone whose native tongue was English could teach her to speak this well. She said she was Black and speaks Xhosa. 

She kept thanking me for thinking and saying she spoke English so well. She said I made her day. She even knew our sayings. Plus, she solved my problem easily. 

I cannot walk well, trying to fall. But, a walker would not help because I could topple it. So, I hold onto walls and furniture. 

Now, I am watching Gunsmoke with a stellar performance by 'Colonel Potter.'

I called my two friends in Cullman tonight. The older one who fell and had stitches in her head is still irritated her children hired a cleaner to come three days a week. However, this woman drives them to the store and to lunch today. The other is still hurting from falls, too. 

The cleaner from here just called at 9:30 and will come Sunday afternoon. I think emptying and sorting the freezer will be in order. Maybe not.

6 comments:

  1. I love it when customer service reps speak in precise terms and exact English. A British accent is a plus for me. Spanish accents are OK if they don't rattle on too fast. Indian accents are hard for me to understand. Sometimes I apologize and ask for another rep because I cannot understand the one speaking to me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tewshooz,
      British accents are good, Spanish, too. Mohammed from Mumbai was the best ever whose L1 (Language 1) was not English. I learned four languages from teachers who did not speak the languages I was studying.

      I felt sort of bad she thought a white man was the key to speaking well. Of course, a woman or anyone of color whose L1 was English could have done a good job of making her sound like English was authentic. But, I did not want to get into things like that. But, she did study under a white man. So, she was giving him credit.

      The worst cs is from Philippines. The women speak as though they should not speak, very deferent. I cannot hear them. Then, they speak so fast!

      Delete
    2. I always tell myself, when I get irritated talking to somebody to whom English is not a first (and for all I know, not even a second) that they speak English better than I speak their first language. I just try to train my ear to the accent. That said, I still do get very irritated with offshore customer service with a U.S. company, no more so than because I know damn well the company isn't passing the savings of sending this work overseas to me.

      Delete
    3. Meg,
      I am well aware of their proficiency over mine. However, if they will not speak up, slow down, or answer questions, I am irritated at them. Mostly, I am irritated that the company hires someone who does not have the proficiency to communicate with someone in English. There is absolutely no way, no matter what you say to train your ear to someone who is speaking too fast or too low! in a three minute conversation.

      Plus, there are people here who need a job. Savings be damned, I don't want to keep redialing to get someone who can do the job for which they are hired.

      Delete
  2. I used to work with one from South Africa; I can pick it up quickly

    ReplyDelete

Okay, hoping the annoyances have gone away.