The Global Association for Contact Center Best Practices & Networking

"No, not really."

"I have noticed a huge difference. I always make a point of asking call center associates the location of thir center and they always tell me. I have noticed eastern countries seem to have a more "automated" tone and approach to trying to be friendly and engaging. The typical, Thank you Mr. X and how is the eather n X," seems very insincere. When there are problems there seems to be a lack of empathy and sincerity and it has the feel of a cold experience. Apologies seem hollow and the escalation is never an easy process. I do not for one minute believe the individual is any less capable but voice inflection and manerisms do not give me thefeeling the company really cares about me as a customer."

"Yes. The main problem is understanding on both sides. Americans use slang, speak fast, and we have a lot of different accents. It's hard enough for us to understand each other, let alone someone with a limited understanding of American English. As an example, in a service situation where someone wanted me to delete the temp file and it sounded like he was saying deep file."

"Not really."

"Yes, I have lived in Belgium for the last 6½ years - and I really love living here, but if I go shopping it is perfectly acceptable for the person behind the cash register to be speaking on his/her mobile phone all the while she/he is "helping" me. Also if you buy something you are not happy with - in Belgium it is very difficult to get your money back whereas in UK/Ireland and Scandinavia it is very easy."

"Yes, I noticed that the Asian culture seems to be more receptive of their customers and building a long term relationship with them."

"Nothing noticeable"

"Contact centers in India seem to be much more professional. I have had more accent issues with reps in Canada/US then I do with the Indians that have well trained staff."

"yes, it is more proactive in western countries then in Asia or Middle East"

"Yes, even in regional cultures of the US. For example, people from the East Coast are extremely impatient and demand instant answers. If they are dealing with support from a region with a lower sense of urgency (say California or the South), they interpret this as poor service. Conversely, when dealing with outsourced support, it is extremely frusterating to deal with someone who cannot identify with your sense of urgency."

"Yes. It is quite obvious when the service has been outsourced to India, the Philippines, or South America. Often times, language does not translate accurately, the heavy accents lead to communication problems, and issues that need escalated do not get appropriately escalated."

"None"

"Cultures can play a part but in the U.S. I think most are aware of custom and do a decent job in responding appropriately."

"The service from people in South America is more caring and they seem to be more polite."

"Certainly I think there are also different expectations from a consumers perspective in what they expect. I run a multi lingual call centre (mainly across Europe) and its evident across the languages we provide."

"No"

"I personally have not; but I am not at all uncomfortable dealing with people from other cultures."

"Very positive experiences with a medical insurance company whose service operations are based in South Africa."

"Yes. We all come to an experience with our history. In lieu of being trained continually in the company culture and how the company wants us to represent it, we revert to what we brought to the party. Different cultures have different attitudes towards service and customers. I won't generalize here, but I will say that it's critical to know what kind of customer experience you'd like your company to be known for and be sure to hire and train in alignment with that. Otherwise, you get what you get."

"Yes and no. I believe everybody require first resolution as the main expectation, but soft skill and courtesy is very vary widely from one culture to another."

"No"

"In my opinion the service provided by an agent has very little to do with their culture. It has everything to do with the level of engagement of the people providing the service. These levels of engagement can be high or low regardless of the cultural background. The idea that someone from India provides worse service that from someone down the street is a myth. Engagement, training and proper access to solution oriented tools are key to good service, not culture."

"I have had several calls recently with agents from American Express, and it's obvious the call center is in India. When dealing with cultures unfamiliar with my own, there is a lack of awareness of what is important to me based on the vocabulary and voice tones I choose, and there is a total lack of sincerity in a monotone scripted apology that disturbs me even more."

"Mexican-Americans tend to be more service oriented than Euro-centric Americans. I find I.T. support from India and the Philippians to be friendly although sometime the language barrier is difficult."

"Yes, Some cultures seem to socialize people more toward various service types. This is a generalization, but it cannot be ignored. In some cases there is a deliberate action in socialization toward service and delighting guests; where in others service (or a type of service) carries a stigma."

"I find in the last five years that the customer service has improved greatly from what it had been. The agents are much more courteous and more informed on the products that they sell."

"Yes -- there is a language barrier when dealing with Customer Service from India and the Philippines."

"I have just completed 3 weeks in New Zealand and found all the people that I have dealt with (primarily from the tourism industry) to be genuinely passionate about making the touring experience as positive as possible. I believe that in all cultures there are people who have a passion for what they do and the important thing is to find those people."

"Asians are far more subservient and service ready than europeans or americans"

"Yes, there are differences. I've noticed that in some cultures, service comes with a sense of initiative, anticipating customer needs and wants. In other cultures, services comes with a hint of reservation, just providing what is asked and holding back the rest to protect personal interests."

"Not in culture, specifically, but I've noticed that in Vancouver, British Columbia (where I live) the level of service is generally better than in Toronto, Ontario (where I travel on business monthly)"

"The Asians values his or her customer. When I walk in a Chinese restaurant I feel as though I am famous. Service is important to the Asian community. Perhaps we can get a clue?"