baxter, speak english, i can't understand you!

[thecolorblue.livejournal.com]

i love languages and linguistics and other cultures but please, for the love of god, if you're going to call tech support, you must be able to speak english and understand what "forward slash," "capital letters" and other such technical terms mean. honestly, it is hard enough to explain this stuff to NATIVE english speakers, and i already have to repeat myself at least ten times to get them to the right website. but if you don't even have the basic linguistic understanding to parse the sentences i am saying, how am i supposed to help you?

i know this sounds horribly racist, but it's true. of course, the flipside of this is outsourced (to bangalore) tech support, and the customers not being able to understand the techs. i'm all for linguistic diversity, but some level beyond basic language skills needs to be in place for us to be able to understand each other. this is why, despite the fact that i can speak spanish, i don't take calls in spanish -- because i don't have the technical vocabulary.

grr.

Comments

[akage.livejournal.com]

Actually, it's not just on the phone. In face-to-face conversation, the listener will often nod frequently and...well, *grunt* softly to indicate they're still listening.

[shirenomad]

Hmm, I didn't notice that, probably because I already nod during conversations out of habit.