"Can't understand foreign language and catch up on your accounts!"

I was in a Verizon store last week. One of the customers could not
speak English. The poor CSR was trying her best to help this person,
but it was obvious there was a serious communication problem.

I am not trying to be an ignorant a-hole but it is very frustrating in
this day and age to deal with anything on the phone. First, you can
seldom get an actual person on the line unless you tweak the system
which I usually do by pushing zero repeatedly, sometimes they
disconnect you but more often than not, they immediately connect you
to customer service.:) Then, you get through and the person is hardly
understandable. We are a very culturally diverse country, they might
not be outsourcing, although they probably are because most places are
doing that. I will usually try the phone once and if I can't resolve
the situation, either email customer service and ask for a call back
from the appropriate department or go into a local office if
available.

I often wonder how the people calling complaining sound. People have
dialects, the way the sound the words, even their word choice that can
be confusing.

Southern people have an accent, like foreigners, and they use strange
words. I know because I live here and hear it often.

Older people use different words. For example, they say they have
been trading here for years, which means they have been a customer or
shopped here for years.

People from the north sound different from people in the south.

I wonder if the OP got a rep from Boston whether he would feel the
same, or is it because the person is not "American" enough for them

I always insist on an English speaking rep. If there is ANY indication
that they or myself can not understand because of a language/accent
barrier, they need to get another rep on. Keep asking for someone you
can understand until they find someone.

Gotta love outsourcing.

I am going to point out the obvious here and say that if the person
that you were talking to could not speak and/or understand English,
how could you understand her asking for your phone number?

I think this is an extremely poor attempt to get out of paying your
bills and also to get out of a cellular contract that you no longer
want.

Regardless of if you paid the bill or not, they are under no
obligation to release you of your contract because of this.

With you being in the legal field you should already know that they
are not in breach of contract on their end, however by not paying your
bill, you are in breach of your contract and they are under no
obligation to provide you services until you do so.

I'm not in the legal field and even I know that.

I like how you squeeeeeeezed in that you are in the legal field. Nice
touch. I doubt it will push the right buttons with them, since you
have a contractual obligation to pay your bill, regardless of ENGLISH
speaking persons. Quite frankly, as an American, I find the English
language and accent quite hard to follow, especially that Cockney
accent. And a lot of their words make no sense at all.

So what language did the people speak? Did they have foreign accents
and were at least attempting english, or were they speaking a totally
different language?

Sorry but not paying your bill on time or you payment crossing in the
mail with the notice doesn't warrant allowing you to end your contract
without penalty. What refund amounts are you entitled to? Were you
billed for items you should not have been? I also find it frustrating
to speak to someone that I cannot understand or cannot understand me,
but again, not a reason to have your contracted ended early.

What does being in the legal field have anything to do with needing
complications? I would think NO ONE needs complications. Yea my dad
got a foreigner when he called to see what date our contract ended.
Needless to say, his (sprint guy) stupidity cost us 2 more months of
staying with sprint.

I received a letter like that from Sprint once which said if I did not
make a payment in seven days from the date on the letter,
disconnection was "imminent." The letter was dated the 15th, I
received it the 18th and my phone was shut off the 17th! Apparently,
seven days is actually two days in "Sprint Time." :)

That was just an aside. I, too, had made a payment which was not
reflected on my bill. I have also dealt with far-from-fluent English
speakers when I have called customer service. But that's just the tip
of the iceberg. It is understandable that you are upset, but I don't
think they are going to let you out of your contract so easily.
Everyone knows I am a total Sprint-hater, but I also know that it
takes a lot to be removed without penalty from your contract. Good
luck!

It can be frustrating to deal with employees that don't communicate
well, whether they speak English or not. As a bit of practical
advice, if I realize that the person I'm dealing with is not an
effective communicator for whatever reason I generally hang up and
call back.

Also, most cellular providers allow their customers to check their
account info on the internet. I use my carrier's site quite a bit,
since often I can answer my own question without the hassle of calling
in. If your payment crossed the disconnect notice in the mail, simply
checking online may have cleared that up.

I'm confused on one aspect of your letter. Is your main complaint
regarding billing or the language skills of the representative with
whom you spoke? It might be helpful to decide which is the main
point, or at least to deal with each separate problem in its own
paragraph. That will help keep your letter on message, so YOU can
communicate more effectively.

For what it's worth, I don't particularly like the practice of
international outsourcing either. My complaint is less about language
barriers (although as a consumer that is a major concern- nothing is
more frustrating than dealing with someone that despite their best
efforts just does not understand American English), and more about the
loss of jobs in this country. But that's a post for another day.

If this is what we are faced with in the legal and judiciary field,
then I fear for the future of our court system.

Yea - - right - - you pay your bill late and they threaten to
disconnect your service and because they off-shore their customer
service, you want a refund of what you paid and release from your
contract. Doesn't matter what field you work in - - it isn't and
shouldn't happen. Nice try.

Funny how someone that's so critical of how other communicate has made
several mistakes is her letter.

The word is "disconnection," not "Diconnection."

You're missing several commas.

You've abused the word "and."

You've used too many question marks.

If you're going to complain about someone else, the least you could do
is prove your high level of education by writing a quality business
letter.

That said, I do agree that any customer should have the right to
request another CSR, for any reason. If you are having trouble
communicating, for whatever reason, a simple "I'd like to request to
speak to someone else" should be granted.

Um, yes, in fact, many people do, including the ones your wireless
company hires. If this person didn't speak nor understand English, how
did she ask you for your cell phone number, and how in the world did
you understand what she wanted?

But the main point I want to make is that this letter wasn't sent to
any company, nor do you reference a company in this letter.

They are not going to release you from your contract, especially if
you owe them money.