Outsourcing Call Centers

This is one of my pet peeves.  I had an issue that I needed to ring that bank about today and my call was routed outside of the UK.  This isn’t what bothers me, as I have been very satisfied on numerous occasions, what bothers me is that we’re so hypersensitive to being PC, that voicing dissatisfaction with outsourcing call centres, people deemed this as being racist.

Too be honest, it doesn’t matter if my call was routed to India, Glasgow or an old folks home in Bournemouth.  The bottom line is the person on the other end of the phone couldn’t understand me and I had to repeat myself at least 5 times.  As a consumer I want to be able to fully discuss issues, especially sensitive concerns, with the business and I find it frustrating at times.

I had this happen a few years ago, when my card had been cloned and all my holiday money went missing, I must admit that I was stressed and probably wasn’t listening as well as I should. However, I found myself apologizing profusely and feeling very guilty because I was the one who couldn’t understand.  I know, you can ask to speak to someone back in the UK, but I could never bear to do that.

Does this make me racist?  I would love to hear your thoughts.  Please do leave a comment.