i'm with you. When a salesman or "customer service representative" I don't know from Adam calls me by name it makes me feel uncomfortable and even a little like they're trying to manipulate me. Call me an outlier on the decades of social science research, but I think it's forced and unnatural -- they're trying to talk to me like we're friends when we're not. That's especially the case if they use my first name. A "Mr. MysticCat" at the beginning and end of the conversation is okay. Anything beyond that is annoying at best.

True, but I always make a note of the rep's name, so that if there is a problem later I can identify who I've talked with. That, as far as I'm concerned, is the only valuable reason for knowing the rep's name.

As far as your first paragraph, I completely agree. This insistence on using first names at all, not to mention repeating it over and over, is very offensive to many older people (I mean senior citizens, not me). And don't get me started on people who keep calling me "Mrs" when I've made it VERY clear that it's "Miss." That just shows me you aren't listening to me at all.

If I'm calling on something that I feel the name to write the rep's name down, I'll probably ask them to spell it, no matter what nationality it is, just so I'm clear. Those call centers are noisy and someone can be speaking perfect English and not be heard clearly.

I love you dearly, S, but you set yourself up too perfectly for this one.

What's the difference?:p:D


http://dl.glitter-graphics.net/pub/4...zzgeo7klld.gif

I love calling for tech help and getting someone with a different speaking voice.

Their name is Joe, George, Harry, Bob, Bill, etc.

Hi, where are you located?

Ah, New Delhei! (SIC).

Just to clarify - the whole issue isn't "first name"-oriented; it's using their actual name or title, rather than an indirect pronoun. "Sir" or "Ma'am" works great for those who prefer those, but "Mr. _____" is actually the 'preferred' way according to the theory in many business situations until you develop a rapport with someone.

However, over the phone, they usually give a first name, so most of the time that's all you have to go by . . . YMMV.

I do agree that the support personnel should be referring to you by Mr/Ms and last name, because that's business etiquette and there is a definite "power divide" there. That's a whole different sort of nerdery, though.

Also it is incredibly off-putting when the first name is used four hundred times on the phone - that's what happens when HR douches read a little and understand even less. Garbage in/garbage out and all that.

It is nothing new and it is just the beginning. IBM outsourced 10,000 programming jobs to China.

I dont have the source in front of me but I think the Dept of Labor estimated that as many as 50% of the jobs in accounting, banking, engineering, computer science could be outsourced.

IBM, United Airlines, Continental Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, DELL...the list is endless.

A few friends lost their jobs earlier this year at Hawaiian Airlines once the company decided to close their local office and use workers in India. :mad:

I used to work at the UAL call center here, and it was a pain in the ass trying to calm down a customer that just got off the phone with Linda in India. Senior managers from the Honolulu office were frequently sent to Mumbai for 6 weeks to teach these new hires the Apollo/FastRes system. They all said that these people were some of the kindest and nicest individuals they've ever met.

My brother & I originally had "Rinky Dink.Com" as our ISP, and we were forever getting a dialect-challenged Indian for service. My brother once sent me the following email:

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...9/Mujambar.jpg


Mujibar was trying to get a job in India. The Personnel Manager said, "Mujibar, you have passed all the tests, except one. Unless you pass it you cannot qualify for this job."

Mujibar said, "I am ready."

The manager said, "Make a sentence using the words Yellow, Pink, and Green ."

Mujibar thought for a few minutes and said,

"Mister manager, I am ready."

The manager said, "Go ahead."

Mujibar said, "The telephone goes green, green, and I pink it up, and say, 'Yellow, this is Mujibar.'"

Mujibar now works as a technician at a call center for computer problems .

No doubt you have spoken to him.

***
I don't usually have trouble with accents, but I did have one techie who was absolutely impossible to understand. When I told "Rob" that I was terribly sorry, but I needed to speak to someone else. He hung up on me! So, now we're both on different systems.

This quote is so apropos for so many situations.

Ouch. :(

Colt Brennan Nation? What happened to Timmy Chang? I thought you were Pres of his fan club.

Fan club? I have no idea what you're talking out. His eligibility ended a few years ago and Colt was next in line. Hence the 'Colt Brennan Nation' in my profile.

Tim's fine and we're still friends. :)

From everything I know, you're neither a douche nor instructing your hires and/or those in 'seminar' to take the latest social psych fad and do the superficial least you can 500% more than is reasonable . . . <3<3<3<3<3

Other people give you a bad name, I swear it! Or, like, should I phrase this as an "I-statement" and take this to conflict resolution through an appropriately-trained HR representative?

Update: I just got another call from an Indian who informed me,"we going to sprinkle pixie dust on you order and make it get there for Christmas". I hope so.

Please refer to the conflict resolution policy in your GC handbook.