Am I racist or not?

I certainly hope not but some times I could just scream. I called a Motel in Auckland to make a one night booking and got this polite Asian bloke but I just couldn't understand him and had to ask him several times to repeat things which in turn made me feel like a dick head, I'm still not sure if we both got it right so I emailed them asking for email confirmation of date, tariff etc.

However have you noticed when calling 0800 call centres they are inevitably asians on the other end (probably in another country) and having them trying to explain your problem which is often of a technical nature and difficult enough anyway. Sometimes I have hung up and redialled hoping to get a kiwi answer, but as you often have to wait 20 minutes for someone to answer it is not always an option.

I will say however that when overseas I am a lot more tolerant as I am on their patch.

Got that off my chest now I feel better!!!!!!!

No you are not..I had the same problem trying to book a cabin for my husband at a North Shore Holiday park in Auckland.a few mths ago a.very polite ndian guy on the other end but oh so difficult to understand.

No, your not on your own. I get most frustrated dealing with people whose grasp of English is abysmal, particularly when it is my bank and have more than once hung up and started again.

Cheers,
Ronnie

With regard to the call centres Rod, sorry most of them are actually based in India these days, as the labour is far cheaper there. My brother recently spent 6 months in Calcutta training people for a computer company's call centre that used to be based here. So hanging up and hoping to get a Kiwi is probably a waste of time.

On the other hand, as least you know they are well trained...

A guy with a thick accent called me and offered me a "great deal" on toll calls a few weeks ago. I could barely hear him on the dreadful phone line and asked him where he was calling from to make me this wonderful offer and why on earth did he think I'd take up his toll service when I couldn't hear him over his own system? He was in India.

Yes, I have had the same difficulty.

When my son was in ICU, all the specialists had English as a second language, and were using medical terms. MAN, it was frustrating, and I could see them getting frustrated with me after I would ask for the 3rd and 4th time the same kind of question. In the end, I just smiled and nodded, and read his notes.

I am so happy I am not the only one, I struggle with call centres with non English speakers and if you add the fact that English is not my first language the struggle is huge. I have hang up a few times because they either don't understand me or I cannot understand them, usually I ask Tony to do the phone call later on.

Believe it or not I also have this problem!
I am not a racist!
I got a phone call from a insurence company and did not understand what this person wanted or even grasp the name of the company since his dialect was not that good.
After that this guy had done his full speed talk, from a written piece of paper?
with no space for me to say either yes or no,,then I did suddenly understand that it was the insurence company,,I did interupt him and say that I was not interested and did hang up.
Contacted the insurence company and said that I am a foreigner and not native english BUT that I have worked as a international phone operator for more than 10 years and talk with people all over the world in mainly english but this guy,,sorry,,can't understand him,,could someone else pls call me? they never called me back!
I myself would never position myself in a call center or switchboard in a english talking country since my english isn't perfect and I do not want to annoy people!!!!!!

AND this guy, when he called me he did ask: - Is this Mr Suzanne?
Mister!! in what eff-ng language is Suzanne a mister???

I'm deaf. Dealing with a case manager at finance company which was supposed to be a simple call to say hi to me, I've been with them a year how were things going and did i want to re-finance for a bit more to buy somethign else rolled into the one loan. took a long time to understand him and got pretty steamed up.

If a compeany wants to deal with english speakers over the phone... hire english speakers to handle the phone. Not bloody Gibberinsh speakers with as much grasp of english as a jellyfish.

Thanks, that makes feel a bit better, I do try hard to be tolerant as I'm fully aware I cant speak their language. If we are talking face to face it often isn't that bad because you can read the body language and gesture with your hands etc..............but over the phone good grief.

I would have similar problems if confronted with a Glaswegian with a broad accent or someone with an uncontrollable stutter []

It's not so much race as grasp of the language as others have pointed out. Any job with frontline customer contact needs good English and speaking skills if the contact is to be of use to both parties!

If you all feel this way, make it clear to the companies you deal with that employ these call centres based overseas, that they will loose your business. If we all did this, imagine their response. I did it to a former bank and finance company, they took no notice. Hence the word former.
We sometimes forget that the consumers, if we all band together, can weild unlimited power. No company likes loosing customers.

You need a sense of humour about this. As a semi-kiwi when I was in the Northern UK I had to use my wife to translate as I never had a clue what they were saying. Now I am in NZ I often have to translate to my English wife what Kiwis are saying (a combination of accent and different word use). Yet all involved are 'native' English speakers. Given that the majority of English speakers have learnt it as a second language we had better get used to speaking Franglais or the Indian equivalent

Mujibar was trying to get a job in India.

The Personnel Manager said, "Mujibar, you have passed all the tests except one. Unless you pass it you cannot qualify for this job."

Mujibar said, "I am ready."

The Manager said, "Make a sentence using the words Yellow, Pink and Green."

Mujibar thought for a few minutes and said, "Mister Manager, I am ready."

The Manager said, "Go ahead."

Mujibar said, "The telephone goes green, green, green, and I pink it up, and say, 'Yellow, this is Mujibar.'"

Mujibar now works as a technician at a call center for computer problems. No doubt you have spoken to him.

cheers sandy

not computer problems... I've dealt with him on finance tho.