Thursday, March 5, 2009

Do You Speak the English?

Have you ever wondered what it must be like to live in a strange land? How it must feel to speak a foreign language so badly that everyone is constantly asking you to repeat yourself. I know that feeling. I experience it every time I call a large companies customer service line. The computer will pick up the phone and ask me some simple questions. I know the answers.

"Yes."
"I'm sorry I don't understand your answer. Please try again."
"Yeeees."
"I'm sorry I don't understand your answer. Please try again."
"YES!"
"I'm sorry I don't understand your answer. Do you have a speech impediment. Perhaps your mentally retarded. Can you speak the English?"

Ok so the computer doesn't start insulting me or questioning my mental capacity. Even without that though, the whole experience is always quite exasperating. Do I have some sort of strange accent? I always start off saying the word in my normal voice and then I try to carefully pronounce the word the second time and the third time, well I try saying the word in an aggravated tone. That normally doesn't work either. A lot of times I just give up and lay on the pound button until the computer also gives up and transfers me to a live operator, an operator who speaks the English.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have to call Cisco frequently, their call centers are in India...

Not Too Old said...

Try saying it in a long, drawn out, Texas accent.... "Yayuhs"

My son got his card, and he was delighted! Thanks for having Random Card Day!