You're not Bob!!! - DPChallenge Forums

Nikon AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm f2.8D

03/15/2006 11:16:55 PM · #1

This is an observation from talking to some fellow technitions, and great drunks in their own right, one day when we were waiting to go to work.

A buddy of mine had problems with his Dell one sunny day.

Now, I used to live in Nashville, TN, USA. I know that their is one Dell factory out near the airport. So that means that their is at least one Dell business located in the USA.

My buddy called customer service for Dell support.

After waiting an hour being on hold, listening to recorded,american voice actors during the hour, among some bad canned music. A voice finally squeaks through the speaker of my buddys phone.

In a deep Indian accent, "Thank you for calling Dell support, my name is Bob, how can I be of service?"

My buddy, a genius to some because of his power of observation, took a couple beats then replied, " Your not Bob!"

The interaction between Bob, the customer service agent from India, and my buddy, the American consumer, continued.

Having to have called on a customer service for some of my equipment, I too have come across a few Bob's. Actually Bob, Tom, Cindy, Joe, and the list goes on.

Why do these people have to have some lame, americanized names? Is it to make the American consumer feel at ease?

Iv'e got to tell ya, though. Bob probly know his stuff. With his little computer in front of him to bring up an answer to any problem. Bob, for the most part rocks!

Customer service is no longer a worthwhile job for us Americans apparently. We ship these low level jobs off to cheaper labor forces like India, and when we the American consumer calls to get help, the Bob's of the world answer from some country but America.

Well, good for Bob I guess, even though his name probly is Bobilama in his life, if he wants to Americanize for the pure at ease it gives me, just so I can fix a problem, I will deal with it.

Now, how do they Americanize their deep, sometimes undefineable accents?

Now I need a drink.

David Ey

Nikon D80

03/15/2006 11:27:04 PM · #2

makes scense to me

IndigoButterfly

Nikon D7100

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

03/16/2006 12:01:05 AM · #3

Then Bob's your uncle! (it's a small world after all)

TroyMosley

Canon EOS-5D

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

03/16/2006 12:02:27 AM · #4

my company just happend to bring in a team of people to train in customer servive for the next 3 wqeeks and then they are going back to india to train them,

JRalston

Canon EOS-20D

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

03/16/2006 12:20:10 AM · #5

I couldn't care less what their name is.
All I care about is:
1) They know their stuff
2) I can understand them

Message edited by author 2006-03-16 00:20:56.

awpollard

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS

03/16/2006 12:40:13 AM · #6

Yes, Yes...I am liking what he said also...no?

BTW: A sister company of the one I work for, Fujitsu PC, If you call their help desk you will get someone who actually lives/works in California, Texas or One of the Carolinas (I can't remember which).

crayon

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

03/16/2006 01:20:22 AM · #7

Originally posted by American_Horse:

Why do these people have to have some lame, americanized names? Is it to make the American consumer feel at ease?

Actually it could very well be their company's policy for their phone customer service reps to find and use a general, easy to remember, "American" name.

You probably wouldn't remember his real name (or spell it) even if he tells you.

David.C

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

03/16/2006 01:28:52 AM · #8

Angry Customer: Your tech support person just told me to format my primary drive. It destroyed all my data!

Complaint Department: Really? Do you remember their name?

Angry Customer: Bob ...

----

... or maybe I'm just being cynical tonight. :D

David

03/16/2006 11:21:55 PM · #9

Originally posted by crayon:

Originally posted by American_Horse:
Why do these people have to have some lame, americanized names? Is it to make the American consumer feel at ease?

Actually it could very well be their company's policy for their phone customer service reps to find and use a general, easy to remember, "American" name.

You probably wouldn't remember his real name (or spell it) even if he tells you.

I just woke up from my binge last night and found this thread I started.

PhantomEWO

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

03/16/2006 11:38:56 PM · #10

I've found that when you are trying to work on the computer the same time trying to decode the accent that is difficult to understand it leads to frustration. I use Dell support often and some are very good. Others are just too hard to understand and they try too hard to be nice instead of getting to work to fix the issue. I've leasrned with Dell that as soon as I feel the communication is lacking, immediately ask for level 2 tech support and you'll get back to the states. Again, some in India or whereever are very good, all try to help but communication can be frustrating. ..... Remember Level Two Tech Support will help get away from Bob and you can then talk to John ;)

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

03/17/2006 10:06:05 AM · #11

Originally posted by PhantomEWO:

..... Remember Level Two Tech Support will help get away from Bob and you can then talk to John ;)

Wooooeee, slow down. I am sobering up. So your saying that level 2 has an American named John, while level 1 is in India and those are the Bob's?

The confusion is bigger than I thought.

tinky2

Nikon D7100

03/17/2006 10:10:43 AM · #12

I used to manage a tech support group here in the US. To reduce costs, we outsourced level 1 to India. They did, in fact, pick "American" names. My favorite from our "staff" was Basil Goodfew.

TroyMosley

Canon EOS-5D

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

03/17/2006 10:12:11 AM · #13

i had Earthlink for a while, and there customer service was [heavily accented english] and anyway to make a story short, i told them i cannot understand what you are saying, i want someone who speaks clear english, they transfered me back to the states and i got a texan, which was fine wiht me,

but what do you think happens when you get an asain, calling an arabic, thats got to be really confusing

Message edited by frisca - taking out a racist comment.

ericwoo

Nikon Z7II

Nikon NIKKOR Z 24-120 f/4 S

03/17/2006 10:18:33 AM · #14

Man do I love those mornings when I wake up with a hangover, check my outbox and wonder what the hell I was talking about when I sent that ranting email to EVERYONE at the office. I feel your pain, bro. Although in this particular case, I agree with you. Never swear off beer or liquor, and keep speaking your mind. I laugh because I have been there...this week.

awpollard

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS

03/17/2006 10:25:46 AM · #15

Originally posted by TroyMosley:

i had Earthlink for a while, and there customer service was [heavily accented] and anyway to make a story short, i told them i cannot understand what you are saying, i want someone who speaks clear english, they transfered me back to the states and i got a texan, which was fine wiht me,

but what do you think happens when you get an asain, calling an arabic, thats got to be really confusing

The good thing about Earthlink is that you don't have to call them often...and if you ever have to the same thing applies as mentioned below where the poster stated ask for secondl level (at least) support.

When they start reading that script "I would like you to reboot..." stop them and ask to speak with their boss.

Message edited by frisca - fix quote.

Katmystiry

Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM

Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM

03/17/2006 11:03:31 AM · #16

I was dealing with Kelly at Dell for our business account. Got an email from Sinem saying he/she (haven't figured it out yet) is now my new account manager ... at least it's not Bob in disguise!!

eschelar

Canon EOS-7D

03/17/2006 11:16:25 AM · #17

Ok, so maybe I'm just too Canadian, but I'm used to names like Manjit, Suman, Fredoon and Samrit.

Indian names can be long, but even the really long ones usually have their shorter forms.

In Vancouver, a third of the population is Indian, another third is Asian.

On the other hand, I live in Taiwan and I teach kids. I am often called upon to find English names for them. Some of their names contain sounds that are simply non-existant in English. When I tell my mother about some of them, she goes a little funny when I say their names.

They just choose names to make it easier for Americans.

I also teach English to an engineer with Asus who has a really tough time with speaking English to Europeans.

Oh and most of the Indians that I meet here tend to speak Chinese. Adaptable folk.

obsidian

Nikon D80

Tamron AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II for Nikon

03/17/2006 11:24:38 AM · #18

Working for a company with a significant Indian workforce I have to say that we insist on using actual names, only made more Latin when they are too difficult to pronounce.

The best "hit" on this that I have ever seen was by Scott Adams in a Dilbert Cartoon. It is not on line currently but I think I have a copy at home and will post it if I can find it. Be warned: the horse man may well need more in the way of alcoholic libation.

LeeD

Canon EOS-30D

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

03/17/2006 11:28:57 AM · #19

[soapbox-rant]OUTSOURCING SUCKS!!!! In the ever increasing battle to "save a buck", many of our jobs are being outsourced to countries like India. I make every effort NOT to purchase from companies who outsource. This is becoming an increasingly difficult task since most companies do outsource. It's not just on the customer service level either... Many other jobs outsource to other "cheaper" countries. My wife is a chemist at a small company who does process development for large drug manufacturers and they are starting to feel the heat of outsourcing.

I'm not one to say that our country is the best, and we should be on this greater-than-thou conquest to make all jobs AMERICAN jobs, I'm simply saying that outsourcing to foreign countries ultimately does more harm than good. This doesn't just apply to America, but to ANY country. Do your country a favor and do not support outsourcing!!! If you live in Canada, support Canadian jobs, Brits, Americans, etc... do the same. Ultimately the job you help save could belong to a friend, neighbor, or even you![/soapbox-rant]

Sorry for the threadjack rant, I just had to get that off my chest... I feel better now... back to your regularly scheduled program.

PhantomEWO

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

03/17/2006 11:41:01 AM · #20

If you don't like outsourcing just ask for level 2 tech support, your blood pressure will go down and you can understand John better than Bob ;)

Kelli

Canon EOS-D60

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

03/17/2006 11:49:24 AM · #21

I lost my job in October to off-shoring. My job went to India where they will do it for a fraction of the salary that I made. To date I haven't found another in my field and will have to go back to being an admin/secretary after wasting $14,000 in tuition to get into the field in the first place (which I will be paying back for years). My ex-company went so far as to buy a mountain in India which they named after themselves. About 200 people here lost their jobs so far...and I'm sure there are more to go.