Looking at diversity
Zarina Kolah : Training Non-native customer
Service Reps
train representatives in india to give phone support to customers of large American computer manufactures if you call for help with your laptop or desktop PC you may find yourself speaking with one of the men and woman l have helped train.
Our representatives are all smart, educated people Many have university degrees in engineering and other technical fields , They have studied English in school for several years, but they need to learn the soft skills to give the kind of service U.S customers want and deserve
Many of the soft skills our reps learn involve speaking and understanding
everyday English . that can be quite different from what's taught in Indian schools for example we have to teach our reps the meaning or phrases like Let's touch base , bottom line and yada yada
One way our reps learn everyday American speech is by watching television programs like Oprah and CNN news the speech in these shows is much closer to every language than what's been taught in Indian schools Also we train our reps in american traditions
and cultural life. That way when a caller says Happy thanksgiving or asks How about those Yankees? our reps will know what to say
Understanding Standard English can be challenging enough for our reps , but regional or ethnic accents can be even harder. Think about how different the same statements sound when spoken by a Texan , someone
with a hispanic accent or a native chinese english speaker our reps have to understand them all
When indian call centers began serving customers in the United States and canada many reps took on Western-sounding names instead of using their
real ones Samik became Sam Patel was pat and kalyani identified herself as Kate Nowadays most call centers prefer that their reps use their own names as customers realize that the reps are in India and would rather have a conversation that reflects this fact
Language skills are obviously important But we never forget that the most important soft skills are the ones that show we value our customers politeness empathy patience a sence of humor and above all helpfulness That's true in any language
Even choosing the right words during translation won't gurantee that non-native speakers will use an unfamiliar language correctly For example Japanese insurance companies warn their policyholders who are visiting the United states t oavoid their cultural tendency to say "excuse me" or I'm sorry if they are involved in a traffic accident In japan apologizing is a tradition way to express good will and maintain social harmony even if the person offering the apology is not at fault But in the United States an apology can be taken as as admission of fault and result in japanese tourists being wrongly held responsible for accidents
Difficult as it may be translation is only a small part of the differences in communication between members of different cultures . Differences in the way language is used and the worldview that a language creates make