Poor customer service from Bonvoy agents [Retitled by moderator]
Jul 16, 2019, 1:42 pm
#46
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: WAS
Programs: Free Agent
Posts: 1,757
I think it's pretty clear that the answer to your Q is English. Based on my experiences in India, while many Indians "speak" English, it is with very limited proficiency. Are you suggesting that the English proficiency of the operators staffing offshore call centers is equal to that of the native speakers in the American centers?
Both countries teach English in primary and secondary school. I think the real question is why you consider a native speaker of American English to have more "English proficiency" than a native speaker of Indian English.
Last edited by Beltway2A; Jul 16, 2019 at 1:57 pm
Jul 17, 2019, 10:20 pm
#47
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Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: BOS/UTH
Programs: AA LT PLT; QR GLD; Bonvoy LT TIT
Posts: 12,769
The offshore call center is almost always 10x more hassle than the service you get when you get an America-based operator on the phone. Sorry if this is somehow controversial, but when calling a customer service line, operators who are ESL invariably provide lesser service than native speakers. They might be nice and well intentioned, but it's never (in my experience) as efficient.
Jul 17, 2019, 10:36 pm
#48
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: SFO
Posts: 4,917
I do have to say sometimes the problem is that over VOIP calls, which most of these are, it’s sometimes hard to understand. I have colleagues in various countries including India, where it’s easy to understand when we are in a conference room together but I really need to listen in on conference calls or phone calls. Plus, its not that one region’s English is better, it’s what we are familiar with. If I can’t understand the call center rep, I thank them and call back hoping for someone else.
Jul 18, 2019, 11:20 am
#49
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Jul 18, 2019, 12:28 pm
#51
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: New York
Programs: MB-LTT , HH-Diam., HGP-Expl.
Posts: 778
Let’s stay on topic with Marriott. I can’t help noticing that anyone who needs their travel package changed is advised on here to call the UK help desk, and as an Ambassador customer I try to call during the times staffed by what appear to be Japanese Ambassadors as they are the most competent. In conclusion I would say no, I don’t believe someone’s citizenship plays a large part in the customer service they are proving, and I don’t believe that there is a great nativist advantage that exists from working with suppliers who were born in the same country as you.
Although reaching the most knowledgeable agents is normally the best scenario, it can occasionally be beneficial to find someone who is willing to do things that others know isn't corporate policy. The primary appeal of the "UK" call center was that it allowed conversions to higher categories of travel certificates long after US representatives had been told not to do so. The reason I used parenthesis for the UK is that based on the dialing codes, the suggested contact number appears to be located in Cork, Ireland.
Last edited by rny321; Jul 18, 2019 at 2:17 pm