Paulo P

iTrader: (42)

Just had a call from MBNA and it was one of their call centres The girl on the other end of the phone was blatantly reading from a sheet This p!ssed me off a bit until she started asking for my bank sort code

Me: "Why do you need my bank sort code?"

Her: "the six digit number"

Me: "Why do you need my bank sort code?!"

Her: "for the balance transfer"

Me: "What balance transfer??!"

Her: Silence

Me: "Hello"

Her: Hello"

Me: "What balance transfer??!" (getting really p!ssed off now)

Her: "The balance transfer, I need your sort code"

Me: "You don't need it I'm not doing a balance transfer"

Her: Slience

Me: "I'm not doing a transfer!"

Her: "Ok if you need us call ok"

Yeah right

I'm now going to complain, there is no-way I knew that it was MBNA at the other end of the phone anyway so there was no way they were getting any details. They were also so unprofessional

Anyone else had any calls like this?

marky1

It ain't MBNA mate - common scam

milo

are u sure it was mbna at all and not a scam?

having said that, i can believe it was them

Paulo P

iTrader: (42)

I've just been on the phone and complained and they said it probably was them they are noting my complaint and passing it on.

Tiggs

whats that got to do with india?

id rather talk to a highly educated, well motivated and well piad person in deli than some thick morron on 7k pa in the uk

T

milo

its more the fact that he was called by someone who could not speak english.

no matter how educated they are, if they can't communicate with me, the system is screwed.

yes i totally agree that most english people in call centres are hardly degree educated - but replacing them with intelligent people who can't speak english is NOT the right thing to do.

paulr

You're right Milo.I recently rang for a quote with Norwich Union for my car and the guy(foreign) started asking me if i had a criminal record.
WTF????

(reading from a script as well,never knew what a Vauxhall Astra was???)

Jer

Yea, i've had the same sort of thing an indian with a script trying to sell me payment protection on my MBNA card. If I try to ask them a question in my Scottish accent they don't know what im on about. My accent is not too bad.

It's so F***ing anoying, im going to cancel my card.

Paulo P

iTrader: (42)

It's because they couldn't speak the language at all and weren't clued up at all. All they were doing was reading a script

At least english call centres have staff that usually have a clue what they are talking about.

Staff in Indian call centres are actors and bad ones at that

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

Not always true. I had to send my Dell laptop back for a warranty repair earlier this year and the chap I spoke to in their Indian call centre couldn't have been more friendly and helpful. He even talked me through partially dismantling the machine to see if it was a simple loose connection that I could fix myself, and after a productive few minutes removing screws and covers we mutually agreed that factory service was needed. Try getting that from a UK call centre agent - most don't know one end of a screwdriver from another.

boxst

Hello

I had a call from a REAL representative from MBNA in India. He spoke terrible English, and I couldn't understand a word.

I complained to the director of MBNA, saying that if I receive one in the future from someone who doesn't have command of the English language I shall remove my card from them. He personally called me back and apologised (although via my work I spend lots of money with their card).

So if you think it is real, complain.

Steve.

Paulo P

iTrader: (42)

Hi Steve

I did complain. Hopefully they will listen if they get enough complaints.

Bubba po

It makes me laugh when someone with a blatant native indian accent rings up and says "Good evening sir, my name is Nigel Niffington-Harcourt....." LOL

Daz34

Halifax Insurance are the same

Paulo P

iTrader: (42)

Hi Andy

Where computers are concerned that doesn't suprise me at all. They seem very clued up in that industry, I was on a UNIX training course a couple of months ago and the guy I sat next to was from over there and he was so bloody clever & nice, I found him very useful and knowledgeable.

Paul

Mark Miwurdz

Slightly off topic but a symptom of offshore outsourcing nonetheless.

Rang one of the new 118 directory enquiry outfits looking for the number of Lloyds TSB in Towcester. Results were as follows:

1. Got put through to Lloyds of London
2. Got put through to Lloyds the Chemist (at least it was in Towcester )
3. Got put through to the old TSB branch in Towcester.

Since then, reverted back to 192 as was. May cost a bit more but it's a far better service.

Cheers
Kav

RichWalk

No wonder I never get the balti Ive ordered at 2.00am on Sat nite

grovesy

Slighty off topic but I called the UK marriott (hotels) call centre and surprise surprise the operator was in a nother country. This usually boils my pi$$ but on this occastion it worked in my favour, as the dumb f*ck on the other end of the phone had no problem with me booking rooms for 20 geordies on a stag doo. I'm sure if I rang the Leeds Mariott direct they wouldnt have let us all in for the weekend.

On the downside it take 25 mins to book 10 rooms

Dracoro

Never had a problem with Indian call centres, Student loans company in Glasgow is another matter. Why, when I ask them to speak slowly and clearly they carry on in their heavilly accented drawl?

Jerome

I've dealt with call centres that are obviously in India and had good experiences and bad. I don't care where the call centre is, they need to be able to speak good English and be able to understand it as well, not to mention know what they are talking about.

Hotmail have their support staff in India and the people my gf and I have dealt with were barely able to speak English and were obviously reading from a script - the second you deviate from something that can be dealt with by a standard response, they repeat a seemingly random response over and over again.

Boyakasha

iTrader: (2)

I agree, I get really p1ssed off when I get this.

The best one I ever had was a call from BT, didn't realise it was them so the call went like this:

Me: Hello

BT: Hello Sir I am calling about......

Me: Where are you calling from (i.e. which business)

BT: I am calling from New Delhi India.

Me: No which business you calling from

BT: Oh sorry sir I am from BT.

Me: Ah, ok (Trying not to crack up)

and so the call contined.

Now you can tell when it is a cold call from a call centre in another country as there is a pause before the connection. So if you say hello straight away they don't hear it

OllyK

Don't get me started on these muppets, the letters and conversations I have had with them beggar belief.

Markus

If the person I speak to knows their stuff, I don't care where they are based.

If however, they can neither understand my 'accent' not I theirs, then I'm sorry, it's just not on. If companies are relocating call centers to India as it's nice and cheap labour then that is really not on, ok, so they are giving the economy of that country a bit of a boost, but at what expense? We, the consumer are getting poor service due to the call center staff not being able to communicate clearly with us, or to understand what is being said to them. Reading from a script cannot help in all situations.

I cringe when I need to speak to major companies support centers, as I know it's some kid reading a script or looking up stuff in a database, and that does not always help

I'm probably one of the worst people when it comes to expectations when getting 'support' as I run a support team and like to think I know how it should be done, no silly automated systems, no voicemail, a human who actually works with the development team who write the software, and who actually knows the software inside out.

ian_sadler

I had the same feckin problem with Amex this week. Starts off with ann auto voice with options then refers you to an operator who didn't speak english who then transfered me back to the UK

Not bloody gold class service

Butty

iTrader: (2)

I'm still waiting for one to say he is Mr Cooper (Kapoor a la goodness gracious me ).
Had one say that he is Mr Jonathon Brown - the lying so and so.
I find that it is the wooden scripts that make me laugh. Any distraction totally confuses them.

gareth123

The pause has nothing to do with the location of the call centre, it's the call management machine assigning your call to a human. Humans don't sit there dialing numbers, a machine does it, and the machine has a pool of humans to hand answered calls to.

I've cancelled 2 cards because of the companies offshoring jobs. I suggest others do the same. Vote with your $$$, it's the only thing they really listen to.

(As for the helpful Indian Dell guy, perhaps he was worried that his CSR job was in the next wave to moved *back* to the U.S. from India, after all the complaints and lost business Dell suffered because of offshoring.)

fatherpierre

As per Markus.

As long as they speak good English and know what they're on about who cares?

It took me 15 minutes to book my girlfriend's car into a London Seat dealer today because the English idiot couldn't type a postcode into his keyboard - now that's annoying.