How stupid does Microsoft think we Americans are?

[J. D. B.]

Had to reload XP on a laptop today. It would not take my license code
(I've loaded Linux on it, then back to Windows, then.....well you get
the picture) so I had to call them. A woman on the phone answered.
Said her name was "Dorothy" and she had an Indian accent. This is the
second time I've called a company, had the call shipped to India, and
the person on the phone used an American name. I think these companies
like Microsoft know we hate these Indian/overseas call centers so they
think they can fool us into acceptance by having these people use
American names. Well anyone with a brain knows they are not Americans
on the phone. You can tell by all the static on the line and sometimes
the systems on their end are very slow in responding. Hey Microsoft, if
you want Americans to buy your expensive operating systems and
applications, then stop shipping the jobs overseas.

 

[typical computer geek]

why pick on MS...it's happpening in all segments of industry.

 

[typical computer geek]

i don't know about microsoft but I certainly think they are stupid.

 

[R. McCarty]

I just had the "Pleasure" of working with "Kevin" for HP in Bangalore
India. 27 Minutes to fill out customer info....Totally worthless. Call &
immediately you must lower your IQ by 45 Points and speak like you
are talking to a small child. Only thing you get for your trouble is an
immediate increase in your Blood Pressure. Abusive language is the
only relief valve. Besides the incompetence, I really dislike the overly
"Nice" & "Pleasant" demeanor they use. Overall Off-shore support is
horrible and a disservice to customers. Only when CEO's get together
at the next Wine & Cheese party and discover someone has pulled it
back to the USA, will we have a chance of recovery.

 

[Ghostrider]

Had to reload XP on a laptop today. It would not take my license code
(I've loaded Linux on it, then back to Windows, then.....well you get
the picture) so I had to call them. A woman on the phone answered. Said
her name was "Dorothy" and she had an Indian accent. This is the second
time I've called a company, had the call shipped to India, and the
person on the phone used an American name. I think these companies like
Microsoft know we hate these Indian/overseas call centers so they think
they can fool us into acceptance by having these people use American
names. Well anyone with a brain knows they are not Americans on the
phone. You can tell by all the static on the line and sometimes the
systems on their end are very slow in responding. Hey Microsoft, if you
want Americans to buy your expensive operating systems and applications,
then stop shipping the jobs overseas.

So you think that a sweet colleen with a Gaelic accent will
amuse you better? What is important is that the job gets done
and you get your system activiated. Nothing more...nothing less.

 

[Tweety Boid]

The main reason that "Overseas" support uses "Americanized" names is so
that it is easier for English speakers to interact with them. Ask one
of them sometime.....

 

[Tweety Boid]

Obviously, you have never worked in the Customer Service Field.

 

[David Candy]

English is an official language in India.
English in India

Officially English has a status of assistant language, but in fact it is the most important language of India. After Hindi it is the most commonly spoken language in India and probably the most read and written language in India.

http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:...3.htm+english+language+india&hl=en&lr=lang_en

http://www.indianchild.com/english_in_india.htm
Shows more Indians speak english than there are Australians.

Further, I note that Indians speak proper english unlike yanks.

 

[David Candy]

Don't you believe in free markets?

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I just had the "Pleasure" of working with "Kevin" for HP in Bangalore
India. 27 Minutes to fill out customer info....Totally worthless.
Call & immediately you must lower your IQ by 45 Points and speak like
you are talking to a small child. Only thing you get for your trouble is
an immediate increase in your Blood Pressure. Abusive language is the
only relief valve. Besides the incompetence, I really dislike the
overly "Nice" & "Pleasant" demeanor they use. Overall Off-shore
support is horrible and a disservice to customers.

I couldn't disagree more. I don't care where the service comes from. I care
whether the person I am speaking to can help me or not, and how long oit
takes to get that help And that has much more to do with the individual than
with where he's located. I've had good telephone support from people within
the US, and I've had terrible support from people within the US. I've had
good telephone support from people outside the US, and I've had terrible
support from people outside the US.

Your complaint should be with Kevin, not with offshore support in general.
Don't paint everyone outsude the USA (or in it, for that matter) with the
same brush.

 

[Don Schmidt]

Well said; right on.

 

[Steve N.]

Don't you believe in free markets?

Imagine that, a market where everthing is free! Cool! Where is it, right
next to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, just in front of the
pixie dust factory?

Steve

 

[R. McCarty]

Was pretty broad strokes, wasn't it ? - Yes it was Kevin's fault & the
US Management that placed him in that position. Interestingly, the issue
was a unbootable Pavillion notebook - made that way by an HP update.
After hours on the phone, I finally called HP's corporate offices. Guess
what - they are prepaying to FedEx the notebook for repairs. Why did
it take a call to upper management here (USA) to get a resolution ? If the
quality of work by these off-shored individuals was comparable to what
was done by domestic workers - I would have No complaints. Is all
off-shored Tech support bad - I can't be, I just have never had the luck
of getting competent/helpful service from it. Yes, they do speak English
but with an accent/inflection that most(?) people have a hard time both
understanding and hearing loud enough to comprehend.
Anyway - I apologize to any International TS that I may have insulted
in the previous posting. Along with Symantec bashing, I'll attempt to
restrain myself from these Off-Shore rants in the future.

 

[Max Wachtel]

.. AKA David Candy on 12/2/2005 in

Don't you believe in free markets?

******************Reply Separator*************************

mike is right-
I see good paying jobs going overseas due to excessive profit taking.
I see our tax base going overseas. And what is the result? The cost is
down but profits stay high so I see no reduction in the final cost-as a
matter of fact,prices are climbing. On top of it employers are laying
off and moving south so workers have to take a pay cut when they
finally find employment here in the US. Seems we have taken a step
backwards about 100 yrs. Free Markets should not mean the destruction
of the working class.

max
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feel free to use it yourself. Registered Linux User #393236

 

[Jim]

Actually, they don't do it because they want pretend they're
Americans...at least that's not the main reason. They do it so YOU can
actually pronounce their name. I think Dorothy rolls of the English
tongue a bit easier than Sjanha.

 

[zjustice]

it happens in the UK as well

indians are told to have an English name

we had a program on the tv about it - they even know what programs
are on the tv so if they cold call someone they know that the Football is
over
or in the UK a programme called "Eatenders" has just finished

i know . . .

think is , China is cheaper so they will all be moving shortly to there

and then coming back to the US and UK because by then
we'll be cheaper still . . .

 

[R. McCarty]

For HP, I found it on their website. Most Company websites will
include Corporate location and contact information. The issue with
it is navigating around ACD (Automated Call Distribution) systems
and operators who won't put you through to the correct office. I
don't usually resort to that approach, unless I've gone through the
normal "Yada-Yada" first. If you do reach an operator, the best
department to ask to speak with is Customer Service. Usually these
folks are nice and cooperative and try to help with issues that need
their type of escalation. Good Luck with it.

 

[Rock]

Had to reload XP on a laptop today. It would not take my license code
(I've loaded Linux on it, then back to Windows, then.....well you get
the picture) so I had to call them. A woman on the phone answered. Said
her name was "Dorothy" and she had an Indian accent. This is the second
time I've called a company, had the call shipped to India, and the
person on the phone used an American name. I think these companies like
Microsoft know we hate these Indian/overseas call centers so they think
they can fool us into acceptance by having these people use American
names. Well anyone with a brain knows they are not Americans on the
phone. You can tell by all the static on the line and sometimes the
systems on their end are very slow in responding. Hey Microsoft, if you
want Americans to buy your expensive operating systems and applications,
then stop shipping the jobs overseas.

Did your issue get resolved?

 

[NoNoBadDog!]

Our great country is headed for poverty because all of the baby boomers want
$50/hr, paid medical, paid dental, paid vision, 75 days of paid vacation,
another 75 days of paid sick leave, paid child care, no overtime (or triple
pay for any overtime worked), 3 hours of breaks in an 8 hour workday.....you
get the picture. It's all about "me".

The reason MS did it is because most of the workers in America are too
greedy to accept what
the folks in India will accept.

Greed is what is killing this country...people no longer look beyond
themselves and want everything handed to them on a silver platter, and don't
want to have to work for it.

Laziness, greed, and a total lack of citizenship is what the problem is.

Ask someone who liver through the great depression or WWII what they think
of the greed of the average worker today...

Bobby

 

[jonah]

Had to reload XP on a laptop today. It would not take my license code
(I've loaded Linux on it, then back to Windows, then.....well you get
the picture) so I had to call them. A woman on the phone answered.
Said her name was "Dorothy" and she had an Indian accent. This is the
second time I've called a company, had the call shipped to India, and
the person on the phone used an American name. I think these companies
like Microsoft know we hate these Indian/overseas call centers so they
think they can fool us into acceptance by having these people use
American names. Well anyone with a brain knows they are not Americans
on the phone. You can tell by all the static on the line and sometimes
the systems on their end are very slow in responding. Hey Microsoft, if
you want Americans to buy your expensive operating systems and
applications, then stop shipping the jobs overseas.

Despite jobs going overseas here in the UK and in the US I know
several UK contracters who set up telecom systems and training etc for
them. They get paid a fortune but you would be hard pressed to get
anybody to work under the pressure and for the peanuts they pay the
Indian operators. Even when call centres were big in the UK the pay
was not worth getting out of bed for.

Besides which they are not there to solve problems in the first place
they are there to annoy callers into forgeting the whole thing and
buggering off to buy something else instead, you will all have noticed
that they are very good at this.

Some call centres do have a policy of getting the operators to use
English names but the catch is that they used to ask UK & US
contractors for a good name to use. Many people got names like
Tristan, Daphne, Sinjun etc its hysterically funny to give them over
the top upper class or ridiculously old fashioned names like Ena or
Dorothy. There was one guy out in darkest Bangalore somewhere calling
himself "Bugless" (Douglas) I hope he has not been wised up yet.

My all time favourite is "Randy" for a UK call centre operator but I
think they stamped that one out mostly - (means horny in the UK).
There is also a vast gulf in understanding of language useage which
they do try to fix using force fed UK & US soap operas with dire
results.

Anyway the way the world works, and thats down to you guys in the US
mainly is something to do with "Freedom" which is a very good thing
overall. Join em, speak English, use a phone, know computers
(especially UNIX based systems) go and train these yo-yos there is
plenty of work in that line and huge amounts of cash. You don't even
need to be that good apparantly.



Jonah