Americans frequently complain about the level of customer or technical service that they get from overseas agents on the phone. However, I have to question: what standard are we holding these agents to and where did we get these standards? Maybe I just get frustated because when I am in the US, I tend to have to deal with a lot of customer service agents in a short period of time or maybe it's because I spend so much time teaching my agents how to reassure, how to communicate resolution and how to empathize with their customers, but, quite honestly, most of the American agents I spoke to are no better than their overseas counterparts in these areas.
For me, this time it revolved around the customer support department for Canon. My camera has been non-cooperative lately and I wanted to see if I could get it fixed while I was in the US. I described the problem and they suggested a resolution and even said they would fix it at no extra cost. (GREAT!) I had a few follow-up questions that I replied to the email with. In the response only ONE question was answered; the rest were ignored. (HMMMM...) But, I was generally pleased with the whole experience, so thought I would try it again, and replied to the new email with several questions. Again, only ONE question was answered and the rest were ignored. (Is this a policy-they are only allowed to answer one question per email???) I was becoming less pleased, so I decided to switch to a different medium-I decided to call.
At this point in time, my major questions had to do with how long the repair would take and if there was any way to expedite it since I do have time constraints for being in the US. In the email, they had told me that their repairs usually take 7-10 business days, but that they would get back to me about my specific repair after I sent in my camera and they had diagnosed the problem. So my questions were: is there any way to make sure that this repair can be finished and my camera returned before I leave? And, if there is no way to expedite it, will I find out how long this specific repair should take after they have diagnosed the problem? I didn't think that these questions would be too difficult, but two front-line agents and one supervisor later, I still had no answers and did not feel in the least like they were there to help me with my situation.
Not only did they not display any interest in helping me with my problem (not that I probably should have expected that from the second agent, she didn't even seem to understand what the problem was), but they gave me great suggestions, like: "Why don't you just pick up your camera when you get back to the US?" (Right, because there's no way I might want to take pictures when I'm OUT of the country??); or, "You can always send it in when you get back" (Again, cuz I might want to have a working camera while I'm out of the country for 6 months?? I don't know??); and, my favorite, when I pointed out that, with service like this, I wasn't planning on buying another Canon, "Well, I have several Canon models at home and I haven't had any trouble with them." (Nice empathy if I was trying to decide what camera to buy, not when I am sitting there with a Canon that is NOT WORKING ALREADY!!! Idiot!)
Anyway, after all of that, I ended up with frustration, a distaste for Canon, and a still broken camera.
And, I would like to point out, all of these agents were American. So, I don't think we can justifiably complain about the service that we get from overseas agents, at least, not while we are complaining about the outsourcing trend. Quite frankly, American agents are no better at customer service skills than those in the overseas markets.
Oh, and Canon? You should train your agents better.
If you are interested, I know a trainer who will be looking for work in the US after October. :)
18 May 2007
Kissing Shilpa
I can't believe how much publicity this event got-everywhere I went back in the States people were asking me about this event and I barely knew anything about it!
Anyway, in response, I offer the following humorous article:*
THE KISS THAT NOBODY COULD MISS
What a year it's been for Shilpa Shetty. The Bollywood actress has gained immense exposure around the world,grabbing headlines in major newspapers and getting every TV host in America, even the national ones, to mangle her name.
Shetty first drew worldwide attention when she appeared on the British reality show "Celebrity Big Brother" and endured offensive comments from other contestants, triggering protests in India and the requisite effigy-burning. (More effigies are burned in India than in any other country in the world, according to Raj Sharma, spokesman for the Indian Effigy Manufacturers Association. George W. Bush has been burned in effigy numerous times, but isn't quite in the Top Ten. The only way for him to move up would be to join the Indian cricket team.)
Shetty's activities have been a boon to the effigy industry.Three months after winning "Celebrity Big Brother," she was embroiled in another controversy, having made the mistake of standing too close to Hollywood star Richard Gere.
The pair were at a televised AIDS awareness event in New Delhi, appearing on stage in front of thousands of people,when Gere kissed Shetty on the hand, embraced her, bent her backwards and kissed her several times on the cheek. To some onlookers, it looked like a demonstration. Gere was showing everyone that you can't get AIDS, of course, by kissing a Bollywood actress. (You can't get AIDS by kissing anyone else either, but you can get slapped. Trust me, I know.)
Many men in the audience were naturally upset. It was rude of Gere, even disgraceful, not to invite them to participate. "Demonstration is all well and good," one man said. "But we wanted to see for ourselves that it's safe to kiss Shilpa. We were ready to form a neat line."
Some political activists and others in India were outraged by Gere's act. They called it "obscene" and "vulgar,"causing millions of youngsters to go online to view it. "We were very disappointed," a teen-aged boy said. "She kept her sari on the whole time."
Many others felt that Shetty acted improperly. "She didn't resist at all," said a middle-aged Mumbai woman. "She could have pushed him away. She could have pepper-sprayed him or something."
Several young women from Chennai insisted they would have acted differently. "I'm a Christian," one of them said. "If Richard Gere kissed me passionately on the cheek, I'd show him the other cheek."
Most of the anger on the streets was directed at Gere.Protesters, egged on by political activists, didn't just burn effigies of Gere, they beat them with sticks. That sparked a dozen more protests, most of them organized by PETE (People for the Ethical Treatment of Effigies).
Shetty said people were overreacting and that Gere was just being sweet, prompting an Indian tabloid to print a tongue-twister of a headline: "Shapely Shilpa Shetty shockingly shows no shame!"
Then a lawyer filed a complaint accusing Gere of an"indecent act" and a judge in Rajasthan issued an arrest warrant for Gere. He faced a potential penalty of three months in prison, a fine or both. He'd better watch out or he could find himself sharing a cell with a burly man named Munna.
Gere: "Hello, what are you in here for?"
Munna: "Armed robbery. I robbed a bank and shot three people. What about you?"
Gere: "Kissing."
Munna: "Oh my God! You kissed someone?"
Gere: "Yes, but it was just an innocent ..."
Munna: "Guards! Get me out of here! I don't want to be with this man."
Gere: "Come on, relax. I'm harmless."
Munna: "Stand back, man! Don't come near me with those lips!"
Gere has apologized for the kiss, saying he was just mimicking a scene from his 2004 movie "Shall We Dance" and evidently misread Indian customs. He plans to continue visiting India, but from now on will wear a hockey mask in public to keep himself from kissing anyone.
His experience might give people the impression that public kissing does not occur in India, that no one ever does it.But that's not true at all. A few cases of public kissing have been recorded.
In 2001, for example, a Delhi man and his wife won a new Maruti car in a contest. The man was pictured in the Times of India planting a loving kiss on the front bumper. The next day, members of the right-wing group Shiv Sena burned effigies of the man. Some accused the man of"auto-erotic behavior."
In 2004, a Madurai man was spotted kissing a donkey. The donkey belonged to the man's boss, a flour merchant. The man was arrested and taken to court. "It's my wife's fault," he told the judge. "She told me that if I want the boss to give me a promotion, I need to kiss his ass."
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(c) Copyright 2007 Melvin Durai. All Rights Reserved.
www.MelvinDurai.com
*If you visit the site, I also recommend "Anything Goes on Chennai Roads" and "Indian English: It vil be wery helpful, yaar" under the Indian columns
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