I'm not a racist but. . . .

danindublin

Can someone please tell me the point of putting someone who speaks only 4 words of english on the phone in a call centre? I've ended up 3 times in the past week having to ask for someone Irish to talk to because the person on the phone didn’t a) know how to do their job and b) tell me that they didn’t know how to do their job!

Rant over!!!!

Ugh!!!! :mad:

6th

Que?

kaimera

token "yes you are a racist" post.

DonJose

Got to love the Dell Indian call centers, they speak English but I can't understand their accent and they can't understand my accent

Xavi6

Racist

whiskeyman

you only need 4 words anyway:

'Yore', 'Ma', 'Atari', 'Jaguar'.

Civilisations can thrive on those alone...

Tar.Aldarion

Usually I ignore what people say after 'I'm not a racist but' and fill it in with 'I actually am'.
One day, I'll read the posts...

Mahatma coat

Yellow d fone go GreenGreen....

is it still racisim if it can be backed up with factual evidence?

MIN2511

Is this thread really necessary?

Answer to your question, No you are not racist! These call centres, should train their staff adequately to do their jobs!

LadyJ

Have to say, I feel your frustration. I work as a telephonist and this kind of thing really annoys me. I sometimes feel like companies that call us must not want their stuff to actually be delivered to an accurate address because they get people who have terrible English to call us and it takes about 20 minutes to work out what they need.

On the other hand, we get plenty of foreign people with better English than any of us calling up as well.

aidan_walsh

Do you know the call centre you were connected to was in Ireland? How hard do you think the agent might have had it to find someone of pure blood for you to talk to if it wasn't?

Creature

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YS6ba9dp294

On de way home de sharks come and eat de fish, so he no make money

connundrum

Cost of employing foreign person: €8.65 p/h.
Cost of employing Irish person for the same job: €10+ p/h.

Complaints about foreign person not being able to speak English: 7-10 per day.
Complaints about Irish person's attitude and unwillingness to help: 3-4 per day.

Buiness persons level of caring about the customer in putting a foreign person into position: Very little, but profit targets must be met.

Business persons level of caring about the customer in putting Irish person into position: Moderate, but will probably change and place a foreign person into position before the end of the year due to high turn over of Irish staff on a slightly above minimum rate. And profit targets must be met.

Maybe you as a customer should learn a foreign language

Doctor DooM

Mahatma coat wrote: »

Yellow d fone go GreenGreen....

is it still racisim if it can be backed up with factual evidence?

It wouldn't be if the evidence can be proven for every individual of that race, with no exceptions at all.

Spud83

Definite racist but sure aren't we all a little bit racist/sectarian/bigoted if you think about it. We all have that moment were we go you know I really hate those f**kers.

Mossy Monk

danindublin wrote:

I'm not racist but

To start off with that sentence makes me think you are.

monkeyfudge

Sounds more like anti-capitalism to me.

How dare you attack the right of multi-national corporations to cut costs by sticking their call centres in Bangalore.

Dudess

Tar.Aldarion wrote: »

Usually I ignore what people say after 'I'm not a racist but' and fill it in with 'I actually am'.
One day, I'll read the posts...

I hear ya, but in this case the OP shouldn't even have felt obliged to use the "I'm not a racist" line. It's actually got little or nothing to do with race.

It's a joke. And what I think is really unfair (on customers but also on the staff members themselves) is the way 24-hour garages put people with just a little more English than zero on the til late at night so there's the extra barrier of the shutter thingie, and the sales assistant has to go on to the shop floor and look for what you want, so if they haven't a clue what you're talking about they'll have to keep going back. Then the drunken people start abusing them, and so on...

danindublin

I am not a rasist (sounds like a typical racist thing to say) - If I were I would be blaming the person or their race/culture. In this case I'm blaming the employer. I wouldnt get on a plane with someone who didnt know how to fly it or ask a carpenter to build me a press if he barely knew how to use a saw! I think I have the right as a customer to expect that a service I receive i.e. customer server, is of a suitable standard. If I cant understand the person on the phone, then the service is pointless. Thats not a racist thing to say, its a very valid point to make.

Rant #2 over

LadyJ

Dudess wrote: »

It's a joke. And what I think is really unfair (on customers but also on the staff members themselves) is the way 24-hour garages put people with just a little more English than zero on the til late at night so there's the extra barrier of the shutter thingie, and the sales assistant has to go on to the shop floor and look for what you want, so if they haven't a clue what you're talking about they'll have to keep going back. Then the drunken people start abusing them, and so on...

God yes, I really hate this. It's so demeaning for the poor person at the till.

DonJose

LadyJ wrote: »

God yes, I really hate this. It's so demeaning for the poor person at the till.

They're not poor, they earn €8.65/hour

FruitLover

Mossy Monk wrote: »

To start off with that sentence makes me think you are.

I agree, you should have started with 'I am a racist' - that would have thrown us...

Rob_l

Thank you, come again!

Sangre

work part time in a call centre. have to talk to a lot of foreign people. the people I dread talking to most are from cork, can't understand a word they say. I also can't tell them that, boi. I just have to get them to repeat and slow down saying its a bad line, loike.

uptherebels

hows it racism for asking for someone who speaks the same language as you/someone whos english you can understand

Sangre

uptherebels wrote: »

hows it racism for asking for someone who speaks the same language as you/someone whos english you can understand

its racist he asked for someone 'irish' rather than someone who speaks english fluently

Spud83

Dudess wrote: »

I hear ya, but in this case the OP shouldn't even have felt obliged to use the "I'm not a racist" line. It's actually got little or nothing to do with race.

It's a joke. And what I think is really unfair (on customers but also on the staff members themselves) is the way 24-hour garages put people with just a little more English than zero on the til late at night so there's the extra barrier of the shutter thingie, and the sales assistant has to go on to the shop floor and look for what you want, so if they haven't a clue what you're talking about they'll have to keep going back. Then the drunken people start abusing them, and so on...

But thats so much fun. Its like some crazy game from Noel House Party, or the Crystal Maze. You stand there pointing in the shop shouting at them Left Right Up Down. Then you realise you have no money and try to pay them with leafs.

Terry

Read the charter re: calling someone racist.

I'm not really in the mood of banning six or seven people and having to listen to their lame defences.