Well first it was my computer, then my TV got the crud. Wednesday, I suddenly lost all my local channels. The 80 other channels that I rarely watch worked fine--it was only the locals. No local news, no network shows and no local weather, just a black screen. Phooey.
Dreading what was probably in store, I called Directv. Sure enough I was connected with Sally, which was probably short for something else. I recognized the Asian accent right away. I have not the first problem with workers from India unless they are trying to help me solve a technical problem. Their English is perfect, I just can't understand the accent, especially when tackling unfamiliar terms and procedures.
Truthfully I have trouble with almost any accent. Even British movies sometimes make me wish for subtitles and that is our mother language. While I may not understand every word spoken with an accent, I do admit that a British accent sounds intelligent, an Asian one sounds kindly and a French one just sounds sexy.
Like my being 5'1", 81 years old, and white haired, there are some things that just are. My being accent illiterate is one of those that just is. Could be a gene.
Now my hearing is fine. I'm comfortable with my phone being on one bar for volume and my TV volume is on 17 which are all pretty normal. Often my company usually ask me to turn up the TV.
So as I am meekly asking poor Sally to keep repeating her instructions, it dawned on me. Why can't we have closed captioning on our phones? Actually it turns out we can and if you are hearing impaired, it is free.
Well that eliminates me for now. Besides I only need it when talking to India.
I sometimes wonder if the representatives have closed captioning phones to understand us. Surely it can't be easy for them with all our different American accents.
BTW, my TV healed itself the day before before the scheduled repair. So I had to cancel the repairman Sally was sending to my house. That was as much of a struggle as the first call. Got Mary that time and it was just as hard to understand her but we got the order cancelled. Sigh.
I think the problem with the local channels was on their end and they quietly repaired it. Absolutely nothing was done on my end. Directv is owned by ATT so possibly that bombing in Tennessee had some effect? Do you have communication problems with the help centers located outside of the US?
Communication problems? Me? Never! (Kidding...in honesty...all the time!)
ReplyDeleteAnni.
DeleteThanks for now making me feel alone.
And how! My former telephone service outsourced their technical help and I really had to struggle understanding the foreign accents. Closed captions would have been wonderful, Patti!
ReplyDeleteFlorence,
DeleteWouldn't that be just the greatest? I think you can get it for a smartphone but I have no cell service here so that is out.
I am usually pretty good with accents but sometimes the technology of things gets me.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why this is but when I deal with the cable company in VT it is always a major aggravation but things always seem so simple in FL. It's the same company and probably the same call center so it's hard to buy the Southerners are just more polite theory (bless their hearts).
Olga,
DeleteGood to hear my home state is kinder and gentler. At least half the year you are in good hands.
As long as I can understand them, I don't care what country they live in. I do think the ones you get now are much easier to understand than those 10 and 20 years ago. If I ask someone to repeat every other word, I tell them I need to speak with someone I can understand better, and they usually transfer me.
ReplyDeleteDonna,
DeleteI think that is why Sally told me immediately that she was Sally from Orlando though as we kept talking, I doubted the Orlando bit but it probably kept people from asking for a US representative.
I rarely have to call any of those centers, but I have in the past, and I know what you mean about trying to understand someone with a thick accent. I didn't know that about phone ability to have closed captioning. It's a real great idea! And glad your channels came home. :-)
ReplyDeleteDjan,
DeleteI guess it is something you can get on a smart phone also. It used to be only for landlines. Me too on getting my channels back.
Patti, great post & you’re not alone! By the way, my sister & her husband live in a rural location and ALSO have DirectTV, I’ll have to ask if they lost any local channels recently. She told me a couple weeks ago they were getting warnings they could lose CBS soon. About the accents, I got tired of feeling guilty for not understanding these phone reps & now do just what Donna W said, I apologize for difficulties on my end & I usually get transferred. PS. 20 years ago I got on a big ‘foreign films’ kick, and for a year they were all I rented. Ever since, I can’t watch ANY movies without subtitles at the bottom, even American ones haha :^)
ReplyDeleteDoug,
DeleteI got those warnings about CBS also and sure enough it was gone for about a week but there was a notice where the channel was what the situation was.
This time, all my locals just went black.
I have heard of asking for a representative in the US but never tried it. Next time.
I do activate my closed caption function when I find it hard to understand accents in movies. Even had to do it for Bob hearts Abishola. Kind of weak on my Nigerian:))
Hahaha!! Too funny and TRUE :)
DeleteI am accent illiterate too. Especially with Indian accents because they talk way too fast. Asking them to slow down does help.
ReplyDeleteMy brother had the closed caption on his phone and it confused him so much they had to take it off. I know I would hate it as much as I hate it on TV or in movies. I don't read fast enough to keep up.
Jean,
DeleteI don't like subtitles in movies for then you lose the physical action while reading. I prefer a book. But I would like it for these infrequent calls for tech help.
Patti you know all too well my issues with this. I too am accent illerterite. Movies used to be the worst for me with accents. I would always say to my poor husband, what did he say? I was young so it wasn't my hearing. I have had this issue my whole life. I went two months with my firestick not working, then one day just for the hell of it I tried calling one more time. I got someone in Missouri! It was then fixed. I know companies do this for cheap labor but honestly the jobs are needed here and for the most part I can understand accents here...for the most part. :-) I used closed captions just to watch the Crown. Not because I couldn't hear it, but because I can't understand them at all. So we all are missing this gene.
ReplyDeleteMargaret,
DeleteI remember some of your struggles with just the same thing. Not fun is it?
As for the Crown,glad someone else has troubles with English.
My complaint is when those with a heavy accent get angry at me for not understanding.
ReplyDeletejoeh,
DeleteHa, didn't have anyone get angry but I did hear some heavy sighing. Guess that falls in the same category.
I will do everything I can to fix a problem before calling tech support. Even if they speak perfect English, they are telling me something only an IT person could understand. I am pretty sure they laugh in hysterics with their coworkers as soon as they get off the line. "This old lady was really a hoot!"
ReplyDeleteAnnie,
DeleteI know they are my last resort also. I did all the usual--check wires and reboot but nothing worked. I was convinced it was a transmission problem but she insisted a repair man come to my house anyway. Glad I could stop that.
Pretty sure they laugh at me too when I ask them-"You want me to do what??"
I haven't had to speak with a help center in quite a while, but I do remember it being a bit difficult. My sister is dealing with it right now with help center in Singapore which has returned her call at 5:00 in the morning, thinking she was east coast time instead of west coast, and then they never call back. It's a vry big and very crazy world we live in. I'm glad you got your local stations back.
ReplyDeleterobin,
DeleteOh horrors, I never thought of that. Pretty sure when I call them I am getting the night shift. Sure glad I didn't need them to call me. The only one who did was the repair man and he was from Arkansas. Phew.
I have an increasing inability to understand accents, especially on the phone. Face to face isn't as much of an issue. Glad the problem got fixed!
ReplyDeleteMargaret,
DeleteMe too on face to face. Think I rely on a bit of lip reading then.
I recently went through something with my computer that required me to contact the service center for HP. While the fellow had an accent, we did a lot of the back and forth on chat which made it so much easier. I have been known to ask them spell things...sometimes I understand them.
ReplyDeleteBut it isn't just Asian accents, I can't listen to a rap song and understand a word of it and those are supposed to be in English.
Take care, stay well!
Eileen,
DeleteChat is a great idea. Wish I'd had the option with Directv. They needed me in front of the TV trying stuff and letting them know what was happening.
Me too on rap. Is that even English?
There are definitely problems with Indian accents. Filipino accents are easier to understand. Lol.
ReplyDeletegigi,
DeleteGlad it isn't only me but then I am not even entirely sure about southern accents:))
Great post, Patti. We too have difficulty with accents over the phone (especially with service people). Captions for the phone would be great! I'll have to check that out. We do have a smart phone. I have a dear friend that is Asian and sometimes (on the phone) I have to have her repeat things several times before I get what she said. And we watch British TV a lot... (always use closed captions). Funny story was years ago when we were in England (and my dad's from London), the person behind the desk at the hotel and I were trying to communicate and neither of us could understand the other (and both of us were speaking English??)
ReplyDeleteRian,
DeleteThat is funny about what happened to you in England. I too have trouble with the king's English.
I think captioning on your phone is rather simple, almost like for your TV. Good luck.
I am also accent illiterate and always have to ask then to speak much slower because I cannot understand them. Usually that's enough and the calls take longer to get through but things get resolved. As much as possible I prefer to do things by email but when needing to fix something quickly it has to be a voice call. Thankfully nothing much seems to go wrong here.
ReplyDeleteRiver,
DeleteKeep that great record of things not going haywire. That is much better than trying to understand another person.
Nashville does make sense as a cause. I'm glad it's working again.
ReplyDeleteBarbara,
DeleteThe news did say it affected many of ATT services. It was fixed in under a day so kudos to them if that was the problem.
I have no problems with English speaking India and I have no problem with accents. And once I had a lovely conversation with a woman in the Philippines, who grew up on a mountain. We talked about mountain living for a long time. I have on other occasions run into cultural problems, particularly with attitudes. No specific country and it's been a while since I had any problems with my TV or computer. Knock on wood!
ReplyDeleteInger,
DeleteFace to face I do much better with accents. Think facial expressions and lip reading helps. It is just over the phone and with technical matters that I have problems.
Sure hope the knocking on wood works:)
Dear Patti, like you, I am "accent illiterate." I thought perhaps it had to do with my audio learning disability, so I'm relieved to learn that others have this problem also. Peace.
ReplyDeleteDee,
DeleteI am a bit relieved to realize I am not alone in this problem. That makes me feel more normal.
We have Hawaiiantel and so far it's been more or less OK. However, like you, I do have a bit of a problem understanding the Indian accent.
ReplyDeleteKay,
DeleteI understand and hope Hawaiiantel keeps up the good work.
We find that a technical problem is often solved when the electronics get a good night's sleep. As far as accents go, we keep the subtitles on for those British shows ... because they talk funny.
ReplyDeleteTom,
DeleteHa ha, that is funny and true. Bet they say the same about us.
Yes accents are a challenge to many now that we are a visual society. Gone are the days when we once knew a person’s hometown by their speech pattern.
ReplyDeleteHeidrun,
DeleteHow true. Well we can still pretty much tell a person's general area by speech patterns if still part of our country.
The simple answer is YES. As you say, it's the ones from India that I have a problem with ... but you can't beat them for politeness !!
ReplyDeleteOn another topic I agree with you completely that it is the young people that I am relying on to get us back to a country we can be proud of. My 18 yr. old granddaughter, although (or maybe because) she has Aspergers (a type of autism) is very up on politics and "doing it as our constitution tells us" and her friends are too. She was thrilled to be able to vote this year.
Ginnie,
DeleteIt is that very politeness and patience that makes me feel badly about asking them to repeat themselves. They are trying their best.
The young are our best hope.
Glad you are up and running again. ATT doesn't work well at all here.
ReplyDeleteMage,
DeleteActually it happened again only this time they admitted it was their problem and they were working on it. It was fixed again in one day and I hope that is the end of it.
Yes, I've had problems with english-accented speech from India in the past, but haven't had occasion to encounter any foreign help speakers for several years. In my professional work I have been attuned to deciphering different, even difficult speech sounds, but phone transmissions often leave much to be desired in the process.
ReplyDeleteMy Mom was a Foreign National with a thick accent and her Doctor was a Foreign National from a different Country with a thick accent. I used to have to accompany her to appointments to Translate even tho' everyone in the room was speaking English, it was hilarious really. I am pretty good with accents, but with Age my Hearing ain't what it used to be and it is frustrating to have to ask people to repeat things because of my Hearing Loss and background noise being problematic when trying to listen to someone.
ReplyDeleteI delay calling for tech support for this very reason. I press the phone into my ear, as if that will help my understand. It doesn't! Even worse, is when I get an automated response and have to say yes and no about 10 times before "maybe" someone comes on the line to try and help.
ReplyDelete