Arrrrrghhh! Want to Kick Someting!I'd like...

Here's today's groan!

I'd like to speak to an American IN FREAKING America when I call my credit card company to ask a simple quesiton.

No offense to the beautiful country of India, but unless I'm traveling there?

The ONLY time I want to have to listen three times to understand an Indian speak English is when I'm ordering Indian food - and then? Believe me it's always a delight. Other than that? Call me petty, but I only have so many breaths allotted in this lifetime for do-overs.

Today's experience:

Place call to credit card company at 8:00 AM: Go through auto program for three minutes.

Get Apu Hafazi on the phone. Can't understand him. Ask to speak to someone else. Not possible. Give Apu all the info. Apu says he can not help and must transfer me to someone else.

Call is dropped during transfer.

Call again: Get through automated menu. Get a Kazi Mazshi on the phone. Can't understand her either. Repeat everything I told Apu - - telling her in advance that I'd just gone through this entire circus before getting disconnected and according to Apu - she can't help me and asked her to please just transfer the call to begin with.

But OH NO....that can't be done. She must stick to the script she's reading from and be intolerably polite. After six minutes, Kazi comes up with the same answer Apu came up with - that she can't help me.

So Kazi transfers me and I'm on hold for five minutes until I get Viji Sekhad on the phone -- who after 7 minutes decides it's NOT her department and here came yet another transfer and a hold of four minutes:

Finally -- an American voice comes on the phone with a Southern Accent. Susan W. from a call center in Virginia.

She answers my question in 30 seconds and I was done.

Arrrrrghhhhhhhhh. Kick, kick, kick, want to shoot something!!

Comments: 14

Larry H. Jul 2, 2007, 12:10pm EDT

Thsnks for shring

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vickey w Jul 2, 2007, 12:24pm EDT

I know the fustration of having to deal with this as well. They work cheaper than Americans, this is why, so many companies route these calls to India.
Another thing that irks me is to call someone to get answers about something , go through the automated menu, get 5 diff, people on the phone, then you still dont get anything accomplished, they say, yes , we will give you a credit and take care of this, nothing is done , you have to go back and do it all again.

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Ron B. Jul 2, 2007, 12:28pm EDT

I feel your frustration and relate to such calls.

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Sue * Jul 2, 2007, 12:37pm EDT

I have had these calls as well...I don't care where they are located, but I think they should speak and understand English well enough to have a conversation with Americans. I wouldn't apply for a job where no one could understand what I was saying.

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Thomas Millington Jul 2, 2007, 12:46pm EDT

You are assuming, of course, that Americans speak better English than Indians. My experience is that the reverse is true.

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Luda Rosario Jul 2, 2007, 12:50pm EDT

I don' t know which is more frustrating- the automated systems (which sometimes automatically hang up on you if you don't coform to one of their responses!) or the miscommunication with poor" Todd" whose real name is Velmarugan.........

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Μόףףý ● ķ ~ Jul 2, 2007, 1:13pm EDT

I feel your pain.

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Marian L Jul 2, 2007, 6:19pm EDT

I share your frustration. There have been times when I had to restrain myself from throwing the phone across the room.

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Rex T. Jul 2, 2007, 8:52pm EDT

When I had Earthlink I had several problems that I had to deal with. Every call I made, after the maze of options, was taken by a person in India (I asked them). Some were ok, some were impossible, some got rude because I didn't understand them. I dumped Earthlink. As someone stated above, I don't blame them for taking the job, I blame Earthlink for sending it off-shore.

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andrew c. Jul 7, 2007, 10:53am EDT

great read

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SondraC C. Jul 9, 2007, 8:40pm EDT

hey, can I join in the conversaton. This seems like a great group, and I have been looking for one where we can just grip away. I had the same problem with HP. I wanted to cancel an order for a computer, and somehow got somewoman from India.I had no idea what she was talking about. I asked her to talk slower and she did, but still I have not a clue as to what she was saying. I asked to call a superviser and she told me she would find one. The same voice came back, saying she was a supervisor..I had no idea what she was talking about either, and hung up.

I called back, and after waiting what seemed like years, I got this Indian man. He babbled on, and I had not understood anything he said. but he managed to transfer me....get this!! to the same woman, who was polite but with a voice that could not be understood. I had her spell the word, talk slower, and again I hung up. Well ditto....I called back and got the same exact man..I asked him if he were the only man in the whole company to answer the phone...

Well this went on until, I got the same woman.....I wanted to cancel the order I told her.....and on and on we went....when I finally got an American woman..

Guess what?...that Indian woman, instead of cancelling my computer, ordered another computer...So now I had two computers on order.

Whew...I almost through the phone across the wall...

I will never buy another HP computer..

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Chris H. Jul 13, 2007, 11:41pm EDT

I cannot agree with you more.

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Arrrrrghhh! Want to Kick Someting!I'd like to speak to an American IN America when I call my credit card company to ask a simple quesiton.

Comments: 14

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