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Richard Yates
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 Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 9:07 pm Post subject: Customer service chat |
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Today I had the following online chat with a Comcast customer service rep.
Whenever I am in such situations I wonder about the background, location,
etc. of the person on the other end. I have always assumed in these
conversations, with such narrow and predictable topics, that many of the
responses are from mandatory scripts or even preprogrammed. It is kind of
modified Turing test. Today's conversation was interesting to me. Many of
the responses have idioms and yet there also seem to be signs that the rep
is not a native speaker. Or maybe my familiarity with the varieties of
native English is just limited. My comments are in brackets. Any guesses as
to Ritchie's first language?
Ritchie: I understand you are interested in our DVR Service. Is this
correct?
Richard: yes
Ritchie: Great!
[How wonderful that Ritchie is so thrilled.]
Ritchie: Approximately 15 minutes before the installation appointment, the
technician may call to you at this number....May I ask for the nearest cross
street to your house, please. This will help the technician to have an
easier time of finding your residence.
["may call to you" instead of "may call you."]
["to have an easier time" instead of just "have an easier time."]
["of finding" instead of just "finding."]
Richard: Winter st
Ritchie: Thank you for the cross street information. I will take note of
this.
["take note of this"?]
Ritchie: Okay. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you want to avail of
this service.
["to avail of" seems odd to me. Isn't it usually "to avail yourself of"?]]
Richard: ok
Ritchie: I apologize for the delay,
Richard. I am still processing your installation date. Please bear with me.
["bear with me" seems very idiomatic.]
Richard: ok
Ritchie: I have July 8 between 12pm and 2pm available. Will this work for
you?
[idiomatic]
Richard: yes
Ritchie: Excellent!
[Ritchie is so enthusiastic.]
Ritchie: I will now finalize your order. Kindly hold on for a minute.
[antiquated usage?]
Ritchie: Is there anything else I can help or assist you with today?
["help or assist"?]
Ritchie: You may now end this chat by clicking on the end session button.
Have a great day and God bless!
["God bless" seems very jarring for this context.]
Richard Yates |
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Lanarcam
Guest
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| Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 9:25 pm Post subject: Re: Customer service chat |
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Richard Yates wrote:
| Quote: |
Today I had the following online chat with a Comcast customer service rep.
Whenever I am in such situations I wonder about the background, location,
etc. of the person on the other end. I have always assumed in these
conversations, with such narrow and predictable topics, that many of the
responses are from mandatory scripts or even preprogrammed. It is kind of
modified Turing test. Today's conversation was interesting to me. Many of
the responses have idioms and yet there also seem to be signs that the rep
is not a native speaker. Or maybe my familiarity with the varieties of
native English is just limited. My comments are in brackets. Any guesses as
to Ritchie's first language?
Ritchie: I understand you are interested in our DVR Service. Is this
correct?
Richard: yes
Ritchie: Great!
[How wonderful that Ritchie is so thrilled.]
Ritchie: Approximately 15 minutes before the installation appointment, the
technician may call to you at this number....May I ask for the nearest cross
street to your house, please. This will help the technician to have an
easier time of finding your residence.
["may call to you" instead of "may call you."]
|
Wasn't "call to" formerly correct
| Quote: |
["to have an easier time" instead of just "have an easier time."]
|
Possibly French
| Quote: |
["of finding" instead of just "finding."]
Richard: Winter st
Ritchie: Thank you for the cross street information. I will take note of
this.
["take note of this"?]
|
Could be French. (prendre note de)
| Quote: |
Ritchie: Okay. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you want to avail of
this service.
["to avail of" seems odd to me. Isn't it usually "to avail yourself of"?]]
Richard: ok
Ritchie: I apologize for the delay,
Richard. I am still processing your installation date. Please bear with me.
["bear with me" seems very idiomatic.]
Richard: ok
Ritchie: I have July 8 between 12pm and 2pm available. Will this work for
you?
[idiomatic]
Richard: yes
Ritchie: Excellent!
[Ritchie is so enthusiastic.]
Ritchie: I will now finalize your order. Kindly hold on for a minute.
[antiquated usage?]
|
What do you say now?
| Quote: |
Ritchie: Is there anything else I can help or assist you with today?
["help or assist"?]
Ritchie: You may now end this chat by clicking on the end session button.
Have a great day and God bless!
["God bless" seems very jarring for this context.]
Richard Yates
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Richard Yates
Guest
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| Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 9:41 pm Post subject: Re: Customer service chat |
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| Quote: |
["may call to you" instead of "may call you."]
Wasn't "call to" formerly correct
|
"Call to" was/is for vocal calling ("Called across the room to him."). I
think "call" without the "to" has been used only since telephones were
invented. I am just guessing, though.
| Quote: |
["to have an easier time" instead of just "have an easier time."]
Possibly French
|
Interesting.
| Quote: |
Ritchie: I will now finalize your order. Kindly hold on for a minute.
[antiquated usage?]
What do you say now?
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I don't hear "kindly' anymore. Just "please."
RY |
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the Omrud
Guest
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| Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 9:46 pm Post subject: Re: Customer service chat |
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Richard Yates wrote:
| Quote: |
Today I had the following online chat with a Comcast customer service rep.
Whenever I am in such situations I wonder about the background, location,
etc. of the person on the other end. I have always assumed in these
conversations, with such narrow and predictable topics, that many of the
responses are from mandatory scripts or even preprogrammed. It is kind of
modified Turing test. Today's conversation was interesting to me. Many of
the responses have idioms and yet there also seem to be signs that the rep
is not a native speaker. Or maybe my familiarity with the varieties of
native English is just limited. My comments are in brackets. Any guesses as
to Ritchie's first language?
|
Was there any clue in his accent?
| Quote: |
Ritchie: You may now end this chat by clicking on the end session button.
Have a great day and God bless!
["God bless" seems very jarring for this context.]
|
That sounds American or African - I can't imagine a European or Asian
call centre person saying it.
--
David |
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Maria C.
Guest
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| Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 10:01 pm Post subject: Re: Customer service chat |
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Richard Yates wrote:
| Quote: |
Today I had the following online chat with a Comcast customer service
rep. Whenever I am in such situations I wonder about the background,
location, etc. of the person on the other end. I have always assumed
in these conversations, with such narrow and predictable topics, that
many of the responses are from mandatory scripts or even
preprogrammed. It is kind of modified Turing test. Today's
conversation was interesting to me. Many of the responses have idioms
and yet there also seem to be signs that the rep is not a native
speaker. Or maybe my familiarity with the varieties of native English
is just limited. My comments are in brackets. Any guesses as to
Ritchie's first language?
Ritchie: I understand you are interested in our DVR Service. Is this
correct?
Richard: yes
Ritchie: Great!
|
[...]
Having read the entire dialogue, I think that "Ritchie" [the name he
used, or your own invention?] is not a native speaker of US English
("AmE"). Since so many customer service phone calls are routed to India,
and because his usage sounds like some Indians (and Pakistanis) I've
known, I'd say he's from the area known now as South Asia.
I've talked to many a Customer Service rep in this modern world, and
find them to be like your Ritchie -- good with the language (which
they've probably used since they learned to talk), but not quite
idiomatic.
By the way, did the rhythm of his speech sound "non-native" to the US?
If so, I'd definitely go with Indian/South Asian.
If I'm wrong about all this, someone will be along soon to straighten
the matter out.
--
Maria C. |
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Default User
Guest
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| Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 11:09 pm Post subject: Re: Customer service chat |
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the Omrud wrote:
| Quote: |
Richard Yates wrote:
Today I had the following online chat
Was there any clue in his accent?
|
"Online chat" would indicate that this was likely written
communication. It's becoming more common to offer the opportunity to
open a chat window for questions. This is quicker than email and
generally simpler than calling.
Brian
--
If televison's a babysitter, the Internet is a drunk librarian who
won't shut up.
-- Dorothy Gambrell (http://catandgirl.com) |
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tony cooper
Guest
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| Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 11:12 pm Post subject: Re: Customer service chat |
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On Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:46:00 GMT, the Omrud
<usenet.omrud@gEXPUNGEmail.com> wrote:
| Quote: |
Richard Yates wrote:
Today I had the following online chat with a Comcast customer service rep.
Whenever I am in such situations I wonder about the background, location,
etc. of the person on the other end. I have always assumed in these
conversations, with such narrow and predictable topics, that many of the
responses are from mandatory scripts or even preprogrammed. It is kind of
modified Turing test. Today's conversation was interesting to me. Many of
the responses have idioms and yet there also seem to be signs that the rep
is not a native speaker. Or maybe my familiarity with the varieties of
native English is just limited. My comments are in brackets. Any guesses as
to Ritchie's first language?
Was there any clue in his accent?
Ritchie: You may now end this chat by clicking on the end session button.
Have a great day and God bless!
["God bless" seems very jarring for this context.]
That sounds American or African - I can't imagine a European or Asian
call centre person saying it.
|
It doesn't sound at all American to me. While some Americans tack
some sort of "God Bless" on conversations, it's not likely that an
American in a call center would do so.
It sounds to me like a) a non-American trying to say something he
thinks an American would want to hear, or, b) a non-American who has
been converted to some form of religion and thinks that it is
appropriate to add religious references to business calls.
There are certain small businesses that are run by BAs and thumpers.
A drywaller I recently hired answered the phone and concluded the call
with "Have a Blessed Day".
U.S. call center people, though...nah. Their calls are usually
monitored by supervisors and they stick to scripts. In this case,
it's an online chat which is even more likely to be monitored.
I have no experience with African call centers, so I can't guess on
that.
--
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida |
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Richard Yates
Guest
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| Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 11:42 pm Post subject: Re: Customer service chat |
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| Quote: |
Was there any clue in his accent?
This was online typed chat. That's how I have the written account. |
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Richard Yates
Guest
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| Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 11:44 pm Post subject: Re: Customer service chat |
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| Quote: |
I've talked to many a Customer Service rep in this modern world, and find
them to be like your Ritchie -- good with the language (which they've
probably used since they learned to talk), but not quite idiomatic.
|
What seemed odd was the mingling of idiomatic and nonidiomatic.
| Quote: |
By the way, did the rhythm of his speech sound "non-native" to the US? If
so, I'd definitely go with Indian/South Asian.
|
This was text chat. |
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Richard Yates
Guest
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| Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 11:46 pm Post subject: Re: Customer service chat |
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| Quote: |
U.S. call center people, though...nah. Their calls are usually
monitored by supervisors and they stick to scripts. In this case,
it's an online chat which is even more likely to be monitored.
|
Yes, but furthers the puzzle. A big company, likely with scripts, but odd
ones. |
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the Omrud
Guest
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| Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 11:57 pm Post subject: Re: Customer service chat |
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Richard Yates wrote:
| Quote: |
Was there any clue in his accent?
This was online typed chat. That's how I have the written account.
|
Sorry, speed-reading again.
--
David |
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Maria C.
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 1:52 am Post subject: Re: Customer service chat |
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Richard Yates wrote:
| Quote: |
I've talked to many a Customer Service rep in this modern world, and
find them to be like your Ritchie -- good with the language (which
they've probably used since they learned to talk), but not quite
idiomatic.
What seemed odd was the mingling of idiomatic and nonidiomatic.
By the way, did the rhythm of his speech sound "non-native" to the
US? If so, I'd definitely go with Indian/South Asian.
This was text chat.
|
Oh. Of course -- you did say that. Sorry.
--
Maria C. |
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Pat Durkin
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 3:37 am Post subject: Re: Customer service chat |
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"Richard Yates" <rayates53@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:G9idna4A9tECtPTVnZ2dnUVZ_vWdnZ2d@comcast.com...
| Quote: |
I've talked to many a Customer Service rep in this modern world, and
find them to be like your Ritchie -- good with the language (which
they've probably used since they learned to talk), but not quite
idiomatic.
What seemed odd was the mingling of idiomatic and nonidiomatic.
By the way, did the rhythm of his speech sound "non-native" to the
US? If so, I'd definitely go with Indian/South Asian.
This was text chat.
|
Whether spoken or typed, to me this is a chatbot.
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Evan Kirshenbaum
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 3:58 am Post subject: Re: Customer service chat |
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"Richard Yates" <rayates53@comcast.net> writes:
| Quote: |
I've talked to many a Customer Service rep in this modern world,
and find them to be like your Ritchie -- good with the language
(which they've probably used since they learned to talk), but not
quite idiomatic.
What seemed odd was the mingling of idiomatic and nonidiomatic.
|
Looking at the idiomatic ones, I suspect that they were automatically
generated:
Richard: ok
Ritchie: I apologize for the delay,
Richard. I am still processing your installation date. Please bear
with me.
likely generated on a timeout.
Ritchie: I have July 8 between 12pm and 2pm available. Will this
work for you?
likely generated when he selected a time slot proposed by the system.
For such things it's easier to have the system spit them out than to
make the support person type them.
--
Evan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------
HP Laboratories |ActiveX is pretty harmless anyway.
1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |It can't affect you unless you
Palo Alto, CA 94304 |install Windows, and who would be
|foolish enough to do that?
kirshenbaum@hpl.hp.com | Peter Moylan
(650)857-7572
http://www.kirshenbaum.net/ |
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Richard Yates
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 4:22 am Post subject: Re: Customer service chat |
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| Quote: |
For such things it's easier to have the system spit them out than to
make the support person type them.
--
Evan Kirshenbaum
HP Laboratories
|
That makes sense. Maybe a little TOO much sense. Which HP AI project are
you?  |
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