I'm having customer service problems with a smallish (but national) company.

One customer service rep told me to do something that was absolutely incorrect and caused more problems than I started out with. She was the first one (of the three I dealt with - and she was at the 'supervisor' level) that sounded like she knew what she was talking about. She seemed to speak with confidence and during that conversation I kept thinking, "At LAST I am getting somewhere!"

Um, no. That's not how her instructions panned out at all. I am farther back from square one than I was the day I signed up with this company.

I didn't get her name. On the one hand, yes, I should have. On the other hand... one time I had a CSR with a different company give me totally bogus assistance and I DID get her name and come to find out, nobody by that name worked at the company, so it wasn't helpful at all that I bothered to get a name that day.

So... this time, with the company I'm currently having trouble with, the confident-sounding supervisor lady gave me very bad direction. She also, apparently, did not leave good notes about our conversation.

The next time I called - when my account was not corrected within 24 hours as I had been promised if I would do what she said to do - a man answered and ultimately escalated my call to an upper-level supervisor. He couldn't find any notes in my file about the conversation I'd had the previous day, and wanted to know the name of the mid-level supervisor who had given me the instructions I'd followed so he could go visit with her.

And I had no name to give him.

And here is where I wasn't sure what to do....

I could tell from her voice that the woman was black. Very much American (thank heavens no Indonesian call center was involved!), and very definitely black/African-American.

That was the ONLY identifying clue I could have possibly given him. One CSR I dealt with was obviously of Hispanic descent.

Is it in bad form to note the presumed race of the person you're talking about in a situation like that? I had NOTHING else other than gender to give the guy.

ETA: I'd be in the same quandry had I been able to presume the CSR was white, Hispanic, or Asian based on accent/vocal style.... it's not a 'race' thing with me... I just didn't want it to be interpreted as such by the person on the other end of the phone, kwim?

Oh my....lol

Good luck with that one.

No, there is really nothing wrong with it. Just say she "sounded" like she was AA. It may not go over well, but your intention and motives are not racist. If it were any other "accent" you wouldn't hesitate, right?

jmo...

__________________
Melissa

Truth be told, had she been white it likely would not have occurred to me. I think differences are noticed, and if they asked me about race, accent, whatever, had I presumed she was white I'd have said so and wouldn't have thought anything of it.

Mostly, I was just glad to have someone on the other end I could easily understand. I just wish she had given me correct information!

I would just preface it with: "I hope this won't be taken out of context, but the only indicator I can give you is that her accent/dialect sounded AA."

And see what he says. An alternative could be "did not sound Caucasian or Hispanic," which makes it more of a riddle and could provide him with a bit of a loop hole not to address the concern at all.

__________________
"Dance like no one is watching."

I don't think it would be offensive. It's a description...just like if you saw a guy running down the street and someone asked you to describe them - you'd say White, African-American, Hispanic or whatever...

Lisa

__________________
"It's not having what you want,
It's wanting what you've got"

I would say something like this too. It's a hard situation and if you knew the day and time that would narrow it down also. Depending on the situation there should be notes on your account.

__________________
The political system is broke and it's a joke.

*sigh*
Wow---I got one of the worst butt chewings when I told one of my supervisors that a caller was African-American. He told me I was "racial profiling"--no, I just know what I know. And I knew she was African-American (and from the South nonetheless).

It's a sticky issue and I don't know what to advise you.

__________________
Mental that one, I'm telling you. ---Ron Weasley, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

I had to talk to a rep from one of my credit cards just last night. I think it might have been outsourced to India or somewhere like that.....I was trying to have them note that I would be traveling and I was trying to give them the time and locations so they wouldn't think my card had been stolen. He had such broken English that i couldnt' understand him and I finally gave up and said that I would call back at another time when I could talk to someone who spoke better English! lol It might have sounded rude but after repeating everything a couple of times and him not getting even the first things correct it's not my fault I want someone who speaks the language.

Frustrating, isn't it? I think some of them do not have their ESL down pat before they are put on the phones. Now, my virus software company is outsourced, and although it is not super easy to understand, I have found everyone I've had to talk to, to be uncommonly patient and polite, as compared to some reps in The States that I had previously, who showed impatience at my lack of computer savvy and were curt to the point that I felt very self conscious that I was 'wasting their time'.

I also used to transcribe for doctors from all over, and you have some American doctors who want to dictate like speeding bullets while chewing their lunch next to an open car window or while disciplining their own children. Then you have foreign doctors who are so concerned about dictating correctly such important information that they will take great pains to articulate concisely, even though their syllable accenting is often all wrong. lol At least they get an "A" for effort.

__________________
"Dance like no one is watching."

Marilyn...for the record, I think your supervisor would likely make a pi$$ poor detective, ignoring good clues like that. (Sigh)

__________________
"Dance like no one is watching."

I would say the person's voice sounded like *insert a well known actor here*

ohhh...good answer! I like this one a lot.

__________________
Mental that one, I'm telling you. ---Ron Weasley, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

Wow this is a hard one here personally speaking I know you did not mean any racist comments at all , you simply were trying your best to describe the person to whom you were speaking to too, it can be very difficult when we forget to ask for a name. I will tell you this , a true story we have a person rep for our health insurance and long story short I made a phone call to the person was not give the name from my fil just the number said he spoke to the person many times okay no problem. I made the phone call and start talking it was a claim concerning my son Tommy after a few moments I said sir can I have your name to which I was told excuse Mrs..so and so my name is Bernadette oooppss so sorry. Again it can be hard. Peace. Catherine