Apple What have you done!!!

[papadopolis1024]

Ok so over the past few years when I would call apple I would get someone that I could understand (they spoke very good english) and this last time I called I got someone that I could hardly understand (and he could hardly understand me) I had to repeat things several times and it was just such a pain to deal with I was always loved that I could understand the people I was talking to. So has apple started going to India for tech support like every other company? (Not trying to sound racist cause I have a few friends who are from India and Singapore) Or is this just spill over? I really hope apple is not doing what I think it is....


EDIT: I really hope I do not sound like a bad person I just like someone I can understand AND who can understand me.

 

[d_and_n5000]

Ok so over the past few years when I would call apple I would get someone that I could understand (they spoke very good english) and this last time I called I got someone that I could hardly understand (and he could hardly understand me) I had to repeat things several times and it was just such a pain to deal with I was always loved that I could understand the people I was talking to. So has apple started going to India for tech support like every other company? (Not trying to sound racist cause I have a few friends who are from India and Singapore) Or is this just spill over? I really hope apple is not doing what I think it is....


EDIT: I really hope I do not sound like a bad person I just like someone I can understand AND who can understand me.

Hmm - I can understand those concerns. I still remember having to call Dell tech support in India - my mom just about flipped when she realized that that was the reason she could barely understand the guy. He was actually telling her to open up the tower to check something, from INDIA!!

Meanwhile, when I called Apple support, I got some guy named Dan(I think) whom I could understand just perfectly.

 

[papadopolis1024]

Hmm - I can understand those concerns. I still remember having to call Dell tech support in India - my mom just about flipped when she realized that that was the reason she could barely understand the guy. He was actually telling her to open up the tower to check something, from INDIA!!

Meanwhile, when I called Apple support, I got some guy named Dan(I think) whom I could understand just perfectly.

Ya this is the first time it happened. I called last thursday and got someone I could understand fine... Maybe this guy was just someone here in the states who needed a job.

 

[Maxiseller]

Happens to me all the time.

My solution is to hang up and call again. It takes forever, but the time saved in messing around trying to shorten your problem into a sentence that they can easily understand is worth the extra effort.

It's not that they're unfriendly or anything - the language barrier is just too much for me.

 

[Dustman]

I know exactly what you are talking about. Well not exactly I guess. The last time I called Apple I got someone who had English as their native language. However, I have had to call Dell tech support millions of times ('bout 10, more realistically) and I used to prey while listening to the horrible hold music that I'd get an English speaking person. I never did. Its funny I guess if you think about. Took me almost 15 minutes to figure out that the woman was saying "F" rather than "S" as I heard it.

Tech: PRESS THE S1 BUTTON!
Me: THERE IS NO FLIPPIN S1 KEY!

 

[synth3tik]

I have a relatively easy time dealing with Apples tech support. You more then likely got someone that has recently come to the US.

As for your hopes of not sounding racist, saying things like "I'm not a racist because I have a friend from India" does more harm then good. I get what you mean though, so no worries.

 

[papadopolis1024]

As for your hopes of not sounding racist, saying things like "I'm not a racist because I have a friend from India" does more harm then good. I get what you mean though, so no worries.

Ya but how else was I supposed to put it... If I did not say anything then someone would think I am a racist and if I did then someone would think I am a racist. Its lose, lose....

 

[Wyvernspirit]

I recently had to call AppleCare in regards to my iPhone and ended up calling three times over a weeks time, spoke to three different people all with very easy to understand, "clean," accents that I wouldn't be surprised if it belonged to someone next door to me, although I would guess they are in Texas, but that is only because that is where my iPhone went to.

So am not sure what issues you might have had.


Yay! My 500th Post, no longer a regular, I am a 6502 Processor, woo ho, umm, well ok, thats all for now

 

[CalBoy]

As for your hopes of not sounding racist, saying things like "I'm not a racist because I have a friend from India" does more harm then good. I get what you mean though, so no worries.

How exactly does it do more harm than good? We choose our friends, and if we choose friends who are different from us (racially) then we are probably not racist (at least in regards to disliking others simply because they are of a particular race).

Ya but how else was I supposed to put it... If I did not say anything then someone would think I am a racist and if I did then someone would think I am a racist. Its lose, lose....

You're not being racist. Take it from someone who's in the group you're referring to (though I was born in the US, so I don't have that impossible-to-understand accent), you're not being racist. Your remark refers to an actual short-coming that happens to be quite true. Even I hate dealing with Tech Support that isn't staffed by native speakers. Heck, activating my new credit card the other day was a pain in the ass because I couldn't figure out a word the guy was saying!

 

[gkarris]

Hmm, interesting and I was going to post on this.

I spoke with a women at work yesterday and, over the weekend, she got a Shuffle for her Birthday.

She was having trouble trying to update to the newest iTunes (she had a very old version on her computer) and after a few hours of trying, she called Apple Customer Service.

She stated that he wasn't a native speaker and sounded like he was from India. He went down a "standard script" and still didn't fix her problem after 2 more hours.

She gave up after trying for a total of 10 hours.

She told me she had a few accounts on her computer. I told her to make sure hers was an admin account, if not, log in under admin and install iTunes. It worked. Took me 2 minutes to give her a solution...

I did tell her that Apple CS is local, and I found it hard to believe that it is now in India.

I was going to call to see who I end up with. I will post a follow-up...

 

[Shadow]

I've given up on ringing Apple...I rang them twice for 2 totally separate issues and AppleCare was able to help neither. After I got off the phone I had both issues resolved after 30 seconds -_-

 

[Unspeaked]

It's not being racist to have a desire to speak to folks who understand you and that you, in turn, understand.

I've had many support calls with various places that were about five times as long as they needed to be because of the explaining that had to be done from both ends.

(And this doesn't apply only to foreigners - there's plenty of native English speakers that don't have a good enough grasp of their language to be doing customer service!)

 

[imac/cheese]

I agree. I don't think you sounded racist at all. When you call customer support you want someone who can solve your problem. In order to solve your problem, there is a lot of communication that needs to take place.

 

[gkarris]

I was going to call to see who I end up with. I will post a follow-up...

Well, I made a call. I had a legit question.

Will my old iPod Universal Dock still work with S-Video on the new iPod Classic?

I got a really nice woman, and she said she is in Canada.

So, US support you still get North America.

I think my co-worker must have gotten someone who just came to North America from somewhere like India...

Must not have known much about Windows as he didn't know about installing under the Admin account.

I did tell my co-worker, "should've gotten a Mac"...

(wasn't the first time she heard it!)

 

[23am]

I were calling support once, and got connected to a danish guy. And well, danish sounds like "tnmåälöucbikke" for us here in Sweden, so I was like "omgwtf" and asked if we could speak english instead. It made it a little bit easier, but it was still very hard to hear what he was saying.

So - All countries in Scandinavia does not(!) speak the same languages. They are not even as similar as they sound for an english speaking person.

 

[Markleshark]

It's not being racist to have a desire to speak to folks who understand you and that you, in turn, understand.

It certainly is not, and it'd be a shame for people to see it like that.

I have no time for people I can't understand, and in turn those who can't understand me. Especially when they ring me.

 

[Schtumple]

When my dad had issues with his XP key not activating he had to ring M$ tech support, after an hour of not understanding them he was finally put through to someone who could fluently speak english, the problem then got solved in 5 minutes...

Outsourcing call centres is such a pain...

 

[Unspeaked]

When my dad had issues with his XP key not activating he had to ring M$ tech support, after an hour of not understanding them he was finally put through to someone who could fluently speak english, the problem then got solved in 5 minutes...

I think if you're actually having a hard time understanding and you ask to speak to "a manager," 9 times out of 10 they patch you through to an English speaking person who probably works in a completely different location.

Honestly, if I call somewhere and get someone with a lack of English-speaking skills, I generally try to be patient and work things out with them. It's only if I'm A) in a huge rush or B) dealing with something really complicated that I may ask for a supervisor.

Still, that probably just makes things worse - if people like me were less patient, maybe some of these corporations would get a clue and make sure their call centers are a little easier to deal with...