I called one of my insurance companies recently. There was some confusion about an automatic draft. The first person I spoke with was an American and I could understand her perfectly. But then I was transferred to another representative – the one in the service department –from Sri Lanka or Botswana or perhaps Mars. I couldn’t tell. All I knew is that she could not speak the type of English I could understand.
Do big companies do this to just piss us off, and punish us for service calls? Or does some “Suit” higher up the ladder haver a weird sense of humor and say, “Let’s hire someone who can’t speak English to be our chief communicator. Make ‘em struggle to understand what is being said. That would be fun.”
I guess they probably do it because phone operators in India – or wherever – make 40c an hour while those who can speak understandable English command significantly more.
Fortunately, these folks are always very nice and polite and always say “Thank you for your business and your patience.”
At least I think that’s what they say.
