Overseas customer reps!

[glennboston]

I am SO sick to death with these monstrous corporations (Especially EBAY and AMAZON) having their call centers for their CUSTOMERS, in foreign countries. I just spent 1 and 1/2 hours between 3 different EBAY customer service reps, that when I asked, said they were based in the Philippines.  First of all I am NOT xenophobic. Not in the least! But these **bleep** corporations make it so hard to EVEN get a hold of an actual person on a telephone. Then 9 times out of 10, they send you to an agent that is overseas, and have an accent and/or language barrier (or both!) that makes it almost impossible to have a conversation with them. I always tell these representatives that I can't understand them due to their accent. I always let them know that it is not their fault they have (for me) an accent. That is just the way speak. I'm sure they feel I also have an accent. (to them).  After all, we have slight accents in different parts of the U.S. But a lot of foreign accents are VERY difficult to understand. If these f*ing multibillion dollar corporations really cared about their "so called" CUSTOMERS, they would not send calls overseas, and make their customer struggle to communicate their problem or concern. Obviously they DON'T really give a sh*t about their customers at all! I truly feel sorry for these underpaid folks, who for the most, are very nice to you. They have to field calls all day long from usually angry customers to begin with, and then the customer getting even more angry during the call, because of the accent/language barrier. GREEDY **bleep** CORPORATIONS!  If you REALLY cared about your "CUSTOMERS", you would have your call centers here in the U.S. No, that doesn't guarantee you still won't get someone with a heavy accent. But it sure would be much less likely. To EBAY and AMAZON... 

[glennboston]

Yes, a heavy Irish or Scottish accent is also a difficult one for me. "Mrs. Doubtfire". You cracked me up pretty good with that one. Sure do miss Robin Williams. (R.I.P.)

[glennboston]

Thanks. Yes they do their best to help you. It's purely understanding the heavy accent.  And as I said, I feel sorry for MOST C/S reps. Man, the crap they have to put up with AND poor pay!

[beautifulbeauty2012]

"Greed is God" -as Gordon Gekko said in my favorite movie "Wall Street". That was 1987.

I`d care less about accents, locations, etc if those reps did what they supposed to do. Unfortunately, they don`t have sufficient training, not empowered to do the right things (as it was a decade ago when ebay took certain options from most reps-I guess they were abusing the system), and simply don`t care about their job.

Amazon has been pretty helpful though. Not every rep does what she/he says will do, but overall, the end result has been a positive one when dealing with them over a phone or chat. Those reps are allover the world: South Africa, India, etc.

[stainlessenginecovers]

This type of customer service is also on Chase Credit Cards, Adobe, Microsoft, Go Daddy and many many more are going to this type of customer service. 

It's always horrible help full of either non-understanding, answers that don't make sense, or a 'ticket will be opened'.....

[maxine*j]

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@glennboston wrote:

... Why bring up that their languages are Filipino & English, and their service for the U.S.?... 

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Why bring it up?  I brought it up because you specifically complained about CSRs in The Philippines, and I found it surprising that you found it "almost impossible to have a conversation with them [and] I always tell these representatives that I can't understand them due to their accent." 

I found that surprising for the reasons I stated about the status of English and English usage in The Philippines.  The second part of my comment was not to commend Filipinos for their U.S. military service, but to drive home the point that they speak English well enough to understand and use it even under fire.

Here's a tip on understanding accented English:  Do not go into the conversation convinced that you won't be able to understand it.  Instead, expect to understand, relax, listen carefully, begin to pick up the speaker's rhythm, hear it as you do song lyrics, and before you know it, you will find yourself understanding. 

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[glennboston]

Thanks for the feedback. I sure have created a "Firestorm" with my thoughts. Didn't mean to. Oh well. I still feel that with these massive multibillion dollar companies, they could do a lot better with their massive profits. Hire people in the country that people are calling from, and train them well and pay them a decent wage. Can you say WALMART? Not to much to ask for. Although it obviously is. Like I said, there concern for their customers is pretty **bleep** lousy. We're sure just "taken for granted". And gets worse and worse every year. Have a good one. G.B.

[glennboston]

Yes. "Greed IS God". No doubt about that. Yes, Wall Street is a "classic".

[mam98031]

You have other option rather than calling Ebay.

Here are your options for contacting Ebay Customer Service.

https://twitter.com/askebay?lang=en

https://www.facebook.com/eBayForBusiness/


If when you use the link below you can only get to the Automated Assistant, type AGENT in the box and hit enter. You will then get more options.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/How-do-I-contact-Customer-Support/m-p/32016431#M1783851

For the Payment Team
https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/getting-paid/getting-paid-items-youve-sold/payments-hold?id=4816&&...

[glennboston]

Thanks. Yes, it's everywhere. To quote from a great movie... "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore” declared the longtime news anchor Howard Beale in the 1975 film classic Network. In the picture, people everywhere toss open their windows and repeat the catchphrase with a barbaric yap. They rush to the streets in maddening throng to air their grievances. What a classic!

[glennboston]

I'm done. Too many other problems in the world right now. C/S reps aren't even on a list of problems. But... Believe me, I listen VERY carefully and give my best effort to understand someone that for me, has a heavy accent. As I might have said, there a LOT of people that struggle to understand some English accents. It's not specifically people from the Philippines. Great Britain countries can be tough. India for me is extremely difficult. What can I say, it is what it is. Never meant to offend anyone. Just got very frustrated today. Have a good one and thanks for your input.

[glennboston]

I'm sorry, but EBAY (and all companies) should make it much easier to solve a customer's problem. All companies these days have made it quite clear that they really don't want to hear from you. They'd rather make it as hard as possible to get good service from them. Hey y'all. I'm tired of typing. Signing off. Have a good one.

[mam98031]

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@glennboston wrote:

I'm sorry, but EBAY (and all companies) should make it much easier to solve a customer's problem. All companies these days have made it quite clear that they really don't want to hear from you. They'd rather make it as hard as possible to get good service from them. Hey y'all. I'm tired of typing. Signing off. Have a good one.

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I can't speak to all companies.  I'm just speaking to the Ebay issue.  As I posted before there are several option to contacting Ebay for help, you don't have to sign up to have them call you.  It is fine if you don't want to avail yourself of those options, that is completely your decision to make.  But they are there nonetheless.

[glennboston]

I'm sorry but I'm just the opposite. Absolutely loathe "non verbal" communications. Way too slow a way to communicate. And I type fairly well. Your last two sentences are true, but too slow a way for me.  Thanks for your thoughts. Oh well. I guess it's just better to accept a problem or complaint you have with a company, than to try and get it solved in a difficult way. Too much of a headache. Signing off Ya 'all.

[carolynnq]

I too am a fan of chat. It's easier for non-native-English speakers to process the written word than speech. And you can copy and save the whole interaction.

IMO, the bigger issue is reps who don't understand the issues or don't follow up.

A year ago, I changed my bank account. I uploaded all the documents. It said it was approved, but I wasn't receiving payments. Talked to a very nice rep who sounded like she was a native English speaker. She promised to get back to me at certain times and never did. Tried again. This time with a supervisor. Same problem. This occurred over a couple of weeks.

Maybe it was because it was right before the 4th of July and US reps were off, but on my 3rd attempt, I got a rep from Ireland. He had a charming accent and, more important, followed up at each point he said he would. After the last call from him when the problem was solved, he followed up by email to make sure everything was fine. I would pay to have this guy as my CSR - it would probably be cheaper than the value of my time working with CSRs who don't do anything (or don't have the power to do anything).

[pburn]

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@jbbowers12012 wrote:

I am sure that it is jus a problem with me - have a hard time often with most accents, Not jus Filipino.

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Quite possibly.

I shop online almost exclusively, and I have occasion to call customer service reps from any number of online retailers, both large and small. I enjoy talking to people from South Africa, Guatemala, Philippines,  and even strike up short conversations with them about their countries--and ours.

Perhaps its from having traveled all over the world instead of staying in my provincial little backwater all my life. I've often been the one who couldn't speak the language of the people with whom I'm speaking. I agree with the previous poster who clarified that many other countries consider English to be a second, if not first, language. Being monolingual, I feel I'm the one at a disadvantage, while the rest of the world is at least bilingual, if not polylingual. 

Best suggestion if you choose to continue to prefer customer service contact you via telephone is to say, "Sorry, I didn't understand what you said. Could you repeat that?"