No voice discrimination

Kernel_Sanders

SlovakianGuy wrote: »

Oh, I really hate when I ask a company for their email and they reply with "please call us on ....".

I avoid talking over the phone as often as possible. I don't mind talking face to face, but I really hate phone calls. Not sure if I have some problem but I don't understand people (even in my native language) as good as when speaking face to face. If it's in my second or third language, that's even worse. Some people even suffer from so-called telephonophobia. I'm not one of them, but I guess, I'm not too far from such phobia. I never pick up calls from numbers I don't know. It's 2019 so they can send me both SMS and email. I wonder if all these companies are not aware of this? Many people simply don't want to talk on the phone!

When I opened 5 new bank accounts, I was p*ssed off that I had to call Metro bank to activate my debit cards. No other options, just call.... And then all those security questions, omg. Same with setting up direct debit in Nationwide. If other companies allow to do everything online, why don't they do it too?


Yesterday, I had a call which I of course didn't answer. I received a voice message. Ringed my voicemail and listened to that message 4x, but couldn't figure out what the hell that guy wanted from me. He was speaking as if he just woke up, very quiet and just mumbling something. Eventually I was able to "decipher" words "Metro" "card" and the last three digits on the card. So I suppose it has something to do with my online payment- topping up my GiffGaff that day. Of course I didn't call back.


I don't understand how some people in call centres can have such a lax articulation. If I'm able to watch 2 hours lectures about quantum mechanics or microbiology in English, and understand every single word of it, including technical terms, and then I don't understand some guy mumbling on the phone, I would say it's their fault, not mine.



I was able to sort out sooo many issues via email, Facebook, etc. Why some backward companies still insist on making phone calls. With my Monzo and Starling, I never ever needed to call them. We sorted every single problem via Facebook. If I forget something, I can get back to it, again and again, re-read whatever I want. Writing certainly has its advantages.


Sorry for too long post. Sometimes I just want to write two sentences and then... ooops!

If your spoken English is as good as your written then I can't understand why you would have any problem conversing over the phone. Although not perfect, I would say it is better than the average native British speaker.

BakingC

SlovakianGuy wrote: »

Oh, I really hate when I ask a company for their email and they reply with "please call us on ....".

I avoid talking over the phone as often as possible. I don't mind talking face to face, but I really hate phone calls. Not sure if I have some problem but I don't understand people (even in my native language) as good as when speaking face to face. If it's in my second or third language, that's even worse. Some people even suffer from so-called telephonophobia. I'm not one of them, but I guess, I'm not too far from such phobia. I never pick up calls from numbers I don't know. It's 2019 so they can send me both SMS and email. I wonder if all these companies are not aware of this? Many people simply don't want to talk on the phone!

When I opened 5 new bank accounts, I was p*ssed off that I had to call Metro bank to activate my debit cards. No other options, just call.... And then all those security questions, omg. Same with setting up direct debit in Nationwide. If other companies allow to do everything online, why don't they do it too?


Yesterday, I had a call which I of course didn't answer. I received a voice message. Ringed my voicemail and listened to that message 4x, but couldn't figure out what the hell that guy wanted from me. He was speaking as if he just woke up, very quiet and just mumbling something. Eventually I was able to "decipher" words "Metro" "card" and the last three digits on the card. So I suppose it has something to do with my online payment- topping up my GiffGaff that day. Of course I didn't call back.


I don't understand how some people in call centres can have such a lax articulation. If I'm able to watch 2 hours lectures about quantum mechanics or microbiology in English, and understand every single word of it, including technical terms, and then I don't understand some guy mumbling on the phone, I would say it's their fault, not mine.



I was able to sort out sooo many issues via email, Facebook, etc. Why some backward companies still insist on making phone calls. With my Monzo and Starling, I never ever needed to call them. We sorted every single problem via Facebook. If I forget something, I can get back to it, again and again, re-read whatever I want. Writing certainly has its advantages.


Sorry for too long post. Sometimes I just want to write two sentences and then... ooops!

Off topic to OP but have you considered having your hearing checked? My partner is an audiologist and always says one of the first signs people have of hearing loss is struggling with conversation if you cannot see the person's face as you are sort of compensating by subconsciously lip reading when face to face so you think you are hearing fine when you aren't. It might not be anything but worth checking out.

SlovakianGuy

Kernel_Sanders wrote: »

If your spoken English is as good as your written then I can't understand why you would have any problem conversing over the phone. Although not perfect, I would say it is better than the average native British speaker.

Thank you! I'm still not fluent and sometimes I need to think about what I want to say. Writing gives me that extra 3-4 seconds for each sentence. I usually don't need more. Besides that, I'm an introvert and introverts usually prefer writing over speaking. I have no problem to write really looong posts whether in my native language or in English. You see, I couldn't even keep short this one (still not too long, but could be much shorter). I just don't like to talk too much. And definitely not on the phone. That's like a form of a punishment to me.

Another problem is that, like I said, some people don't really care about their pronunciation too much. I watch many many videos on youtube on a daily basis and it doesn't really matter if I can see someone speaking or not. It probably helps a bit, but it's definitely not necessary. In most videos I can understand literally every single word, including scientific jargon. Even if I don't know what exactly it means, I know what word it is so I can write it into translator. But some people, even if they use just simple words, I can't recognize them. Like the guy from the bank who called me yesterday... what the hell? I spoke to a woman from the same bank before and her speech was very clear and easy to understand. Anyway, I don't like phone calls (no just English, but also in my native language) and it would be really nice to have an alternative option. If I can write, I'm a King!:) And I'm surely not alone. I know some other people who don't answer phone calls if it's from a number they don't know. And if they need to give a call, they say "uhmm I'll call them later... maybe".

Just give us the alternative option, for "fox" sake. It's 2019 and I think it can't be a problem to use Facebook or in-app chat, or anything else for written communication. I log into my account, so they already know it's me, and I can start explaining the issue. But during the call, I need to type or say my card number, spell my foreign name, DOB, post code... Omg, it's both annoying and a waste of my time.

rogerlindley

Because of extreme chronic pain, my time each day is limited to 2 or 3 hours on a good day. So I have to maximise my time. Even if I could try their text to speech options, their attitude does not bode well for future problems and such technology is a little behind the times when you can text chat on a Web site or have conversations via Skype, etc.

Amusingly, today I received a SMS from Virgin Media saying that '.. they had a solution to my complaint. An adviser would telephone me to discuss....'
Telephone answered by wife who explained my situation so VM apologised and said that they would email me!

Closing this exchange. Thanks to all for suggestions and support.