Do people in other countries have to deal with foreign tech support also?

[Mahaguru]

I work in IT, and it's all too common to talk to tech support reps based in India, Malaysia, Costa Rica, etc. They all speak English, but I am much more used to Indian English accent/dialect then Malaysian or Costa Rican. It depends though. Sometimes you get an Indian person with excellent communication skills (regardless of accent), and sometime it is just hard to understand. In my opinion, it is not the accent, but the cultural difference which influences the expression of language.

What about people in France, Germany, China and India? Do they get to speak with locals, or are their calls routed out of the country too? I am assuming Indian tech support is all in English.

 

[SandEagle]

veuillez faire le néedful

 

[IronWing]

People in India have to talk to American HS girls.

Customer: My PC freezes up when I open a Word file.

Support: Like wow, that happened to Sarah, but she's bitch so we don't talk anymore, but like she would like start up her computer like she was going to send me a message but then like she remembered that she had to do homework so she tried to open Word and then like freezo! no PC. Like she couldn't have sent me a note letting me know that was going to happen so I wouldn't like think she was blowing me off plus like I'm tech support which makes her jealous cause she works at McDicks and has to wear the stupid outfit that makes her butt look humongous and like the grease in the air makes her face like get plastered in zits which is like why Justin doesn't like her too much but he's not that hot anyway so I don't know why she cares about it but anyway like I'm supposed be helping you like I could have helped her but she was being like weird, you know. Anyway have you tried like starting up you computer and just like not using Word?

Customer: I need to use Word.

Support: Well, like this is a really hard case. I'm going to transfer you up to Brian, my manager. He's a hunk but he's married so off limits, okay hang on...
<hangs up>

 

[KaOTiK]

People in India have to talk to American HS girls.

Customer: My PC freezes up when I open a Word file.

Support: Like wow, that happened to Sarah, but she's bitch so we don't talk anymore, but like she would like start up her computer like she was going to send me a message but then like she remembered that she had to do homework so she tried to open Word and then like freezo! no PC. Like she couldn't have sent me a note letting me know that was going to happen so I wouldn't like think she was blowing me off plus like I'm tech support which makes her jealous cause she works at McDicks and has to wear the stupid outfit that makes her butt look humongous and like the grease in the air makes her face like get plastered in zits which is like why Justin doesn't like her too much but he's not that hot anyway so I don't know why she cares about it but anyway like I'm supposed be helping you like I could have helped her but she was being like weird, you know. Anyway have you tried like starting up you computer and just like not using Word?

Customer: I need to use Word.

Support: Well, like this is a really hard case. I'm going to transfer you up to Brian, my manager. He's a hunk but he's married so off limits, okay hang on...
<hangs up>

Is Sarah hot?

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

People in India have to talk to American HS girls.

Customer: My PC freezes up when I open a Word file.

Support: Like wow, that happened to Sarah, but she's bitch so we don't talk anymore, but like she would like start up her computer like she was going to send me a message but then like she remembered that she had to do homework so she tried to open Word and then like freezo! no PC. Like she couldn't have sent me a note letting me know that was going to happen so I wouldn't like think she was blowing me off plus like I'm tech support which makes her jealous cause she works at McDicks and has to wear the stupid outfit that makes her butt look humongous and like the grease in the air makes her face like get plastered in zits which is like why Justin doesn't like her too much but he's not that hot anyway so I don't know why she cares about it but anyway like I'm supposed be helping you like I could have helped her but she was being like weird, you know. Anyway have you tried like starting up you computer and just like not using Word?

Customer: I need to use Word.

Support: Well, like this is a really hard case. I'm going to transfer you up to Brian, my manager. He's a hunk but he's married so off limits, okay hang on...
<hangs up>

Lol. :thumbsup:

 

[IronWing]

Is Sarah hot?

Like a pepperoni pizza.

 

[JimmiG]

It happens. Sometimes tech support is in Denmark, so both have to either speak really slowly to be intelligible, or speak English, which is not the native language of either Danes or Swedes. Sometimes it's in Germany, which means you have to communicate in broken English. Never been routed to India, Malaysia etc, but I know that it can happen. It's of course even more difficult to understand what's being said with those thick accents when English is not your native language. Most companies have at least one European support center, and the larger ones tend to have one right here in Sweden.

 

[ShawnD1]

speak English, which is not the native language of either Danes or Swedes. Sometimes it's in Germany, which means you have to communicate in broken English.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GT86iWiH2mI

 

[Mike Gayner]

Yes, most of our tech support for major companies is now outsourced to Manila/New Delhi/other.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

Yup.

 

[Rastus]

It's always amusing to talk to 'John' in tech support, with him trying so hard to disguise his accent. I have actually gotten used to the idiosyncrasies of a conversation with someone in India.

I had to call a help desk in Finland for a time. Their English was very good, but they used different technical jargon so it was somewhat difficult to understand what they were saying sometimes.

 

[JJChicken]

People in India have to talk to American HS girls.

Customer: My PC freezes up when I open a Word file.

Support: Like wow, that happened to Sarah, but she's bitch so we don't talk anymore, but like she would like start up her computer like she was going to send me a message but then like she remembered that she had to do homework so she tried to open Word and then like freezo! no PC. Like she couldn't have sent me a note letting me know that was going to happen so I wouldn't like think she was blowing me off plus like I'm tech support which makes her jealous cause she works at McDicks and has to wear the stupid outfit that makes her butt look humongous and like the grease in the air makes her face like get plastered in zits which is like why Justin doesn't like her too much but he's not that hot anyway so I don't know why she cares about it but anyway like I'm supposed be helping you like I could have helped her but she was being like weird, you know. Anyway have you tried like starting up you computer and just like not using Word?

Customer: I need to use Word.

Support: Well, like this is a really hard case. I'm going to transfer you up to Brian, my manager. He's a hunk but he's married so off limits, okay hang on...
<hangs up>

LOL

Thanks for the laugh.

 

[Meghan54]

IronWing's got it pegged. It's an international conspiracy that's trying to get people to quit using tech support. So, to that end, every country is routed to tech support that doesn't speak its language.

Japan gets routed to Venezuela.

Germany gets routed to Australia.

Britian gets routed to Ethopia.

Israel gets routed to Norway.

Sweden gets routed to Mexico.

France....well, who wants to talk to the French anyway? They stay in country.

 

[BD231]

People in India have to talk to American HS girls.

Customer: My PC freezes up when I open a Word file.

Support: Like wow, that happened to Sarah, but she's bitch so we don't talk anymore, but like she would like start up her computer like she was going to send me a message but then like she remembered that she had to do homework so she tried to open Word and then like freezo! no PC. Like she couldn't have sent me a note letting me know that was going to happen so I wouldn't like think she was blowing me off plus like I'm tech support which makes her jealous cause she works at McDicks and has to wear the stupid outfit that makes her butt look humongous and like the grease in the air makes her face like get plastered in zits which is like why Justin doesn't like her too much but he's not that hot anyway so I don't know why she cares about it but anyway like I'm supposed be helping you like I could have helped her but she was being like weird, you know. Anyway have you tried like starting up you computer and just like not using Word?

Customer: I need to use Word.

Support: Well, like this is a really hard case. I'm going to transfer you up to Brian, my manager. He's a hunk but he's married so off limits, okay hang on...
<hangs up>

Misogyny

 

[Adrenaline]

I work in IT, and it's all too common to talk to tech support reps based in India, Malaysia, Costa Rica, etc. They all speak English, but I am much more used to Indian English accent/dialect then Malaysian or Costa Rican. It depends though. Sometimes you get an Indian person with excellent communication skills (regardless of accent), and sometime it is just hard to understand. In my opinion, it is not the accent, but the cultural difference which influences the expression of language.

What about people in France, Germany, China and India? Do they get to speak with locals, or are their calls routed out of the country too? I am assuming Indian tech support is all in English.

I would assume India gets other people from India for tech support and then thinks:

"Why can't I get ANYONE that speaks English to help with this problem?"

 

[atulhost]

Hi Mahaguru and all

Here I am going to raise the curtains from some secrets of IT companies. Most of the times they make customer to feel like they are talking with the person who is from their own region and not from India so that customer will not approach the company as an Indian company. Did you understand something from the above.

"Western people do not believe in Indian (Asian) talent and they are a little bit favouritism victim when they purchase the product and services."

 

[BarkingGhostar]

Not all foreign support centers are of the same ilk. Speaking outside of the tech-specific support centers from abroad, my Amex customer service reps from India are light years ahead of the bunch when comparing them to Visa and MC and their support folks abroad. I can say I actually do not mind talking to them. Clearly spoken, very polite, and probably doing a good job for their employer and themselves.

Now, as for tech-specific foreign support centers that can run the gambit, too. Of course, I have had my share of IT support from vendors for Cisco, Nortel, Ericsson, Redback, Juniper, Alcatel/Lucent, etc., etc., etc. and can say they will always be a dynamic experience between good and bad.

Now, if we were talking foreign support centers in the form of help desks for cowsumer-facing applications that can just be bad, and bad.

 

[IronWing]

Misogyny

Just for you:

People in India have to talk to American HS boys.

Customer: My PC freezes up when I open a Word file.

Support: What?

Customer: My PC freezes up when I open a Word file.

Support: Hold on, sorry, what?

Customer: My PC freezes up when I open a Word file.

Support: Okay, I can help. What kind of video card do you have?

Customer: Nvid...

Support: Well there's your problem. Nvidia sucks. The PC I just built uses a water cooled Number Nine Imagine card. It totally kicks ass over any of that Nvidia crap. Try installing a Number Nine Imagine card and that will make your system worth turning on. Or get the Number Nine Infinite Reality card, which is like totally rad but costs $800 so I told my mom I wanted one for Christmas. It is soo cool. But she'll probably get me clothes instead because she is so stupid.

Customer: I don't think it's the video card. It only happens with Word.

Support: You sound like an Apple fanboi. I bet you want to suck Steve Jobs' butthole.

Customer: Could I speak to your supervisor? I'm done talking to you.

Support: He's real busy. I'm glad I could help. I'll mark this ticket as "resolved". Thank you for calling support. Goodbye.

 

[techs]

Yes, Indian tech support is more difficult than some other tech support for US users since in India they speak a more British influenced English.

 

[spaceman]

i dont call tech support anymore:/
last time i did was cuz for some gaytabase software
3hrs :-( they were 'merican tho

 

[SandEagle]

rent the movie Outsourced. pretty funny look into indian life in call centers

 

[Mahaguru]

It happens. Sometimes tech support is in Denmark, so both have to either speak really slowly to be intelligible, or speak English, which is not the native language of either Danes or Swedes. Sometimes it's in Germany, which means you have to communicate in broken English. Never been routed to India, Malaysia etc, but I know that it can happen. It's of course even more difficult to understand what's being said with those thick accents when English is not your native language. Most companies have at least one European support center, and the larger ones tend to have one right here in Sweden.

So when an IT dept is evaluation a product, is support in Swedish an important criteria? Or is English just considered the defacto support language and if it is not English, then it is Swedish?

I was told that there are French call centers in India. No idea how good or bad they are.

 

[techs]

I did some web research and it turns out many countries mandate that tech support be done in the country that the item is sold in.
Apparently, this greatly helps their employment, and the countries balance of payments.

I wonder how many jobs would be created here if it were performed in the US by US workers?
Also, apparently, many countries get around any type of free trade issues by requiring tests to show the tech support people not only speak a rudimentary form of the language, but are familiar with a variety of phrases and references that only a native would know.

No more, "first do the needfull" would be heard.

And Indians would no longer would be laughing at the stupid Americans who pay their salaries and get lousy support. Which, I believe, may sometimes be intentional.

 

[Mahaguru]

I did some web research and it turns out many countries mandate that tech support be done in the country that the item is sold in.
Apparently, this greatly helps their employment, and the countries balance of payments.

I wonder how many jobs would be created here if it were performed in the US by US workers?
Also, apparently, many countries get around any type of free trade issues by requiring tests to show the tech support people not only speak a rudimentary form of the language, but are familiar with a variety of phrases and references that only a native would know.

No more, "first do the needfull" would be heard.

And Indians would no longer would be laughing at the stupid Americans who pay their salaries and get lousy support. Which, I believe, may sometimes be intentional.

lol "first do the needful".

 

[ShawnD1]

I did some web research and it turns out many countries mandate that tech support be done in the country that the item is sold in.
Apparently, this greatly helps their employment, and the countries balance of payments.

I wonder how many jobs would be created here if it were performed in the US by US workers?

This shouldn't be too hard to do. McDonalds pays minimum wage (when the economy allows) and they seem to fuck up my order a lot less than tech support in India.

"have you try plug in your xbox?"
No, it's magically giving red rings with no power supplied to it. It's amazing.