[lbo-talk] More India Shining

[Jordan Hayes]

>> I fail to see why the people who join call "centres" don't sharpen 
>> up
>> their U.S. English skills first.  I had to call United Airlines 5 
>> times
>> the other night to get someone who understood the question I had.
>>
>> I guess my actual complaint is with those who are the hiring 
>> managers.
>
> Maybe the outsourcing airlines are expecting US customers to become
> (finally!) cosmopolitan, learning to hear and speak English with
> diverse accents and at various degrees of competence, just as banks
> taught customers to use ATMs, supermarkets taught them to use self
> checkout systems, and so on.

I do think that there's a bit of active discouragement to this plan 
(such as it is), but the problem -- alas -- is that there are no 
alternatives.  I'm as savvy as it comes with online travel Stuff, but 
they've made the change away from qualified human help before the 
machines have caught up.  I avoid talking to humans when I can (I think 
it's been over 10 years since I've stood in line at an actual bank 
branch) but if you can't get accomplished what you mean to get 
accomplished, you've got to pick up the phone.

Thank Dog for headsets and wireless phones is all I have to say; at 
least I can get things done while I wait on hold ...

For the record, it wasn't an accent issue; it was a fundamental 
misunderstanding of English (and the product they purport to Support) 
that I was running into.

/jordan