One hectic day, I went to the supermarket to buy food. As usual, I pay all the items using my debit card. However, it seemed to be a bad and annoying day for me.
I was surprised when the cashier found out my debit card has zero balance. I tried to be proactive, so I tell the cashier it is not possible as I am diligent with my money. To support my claim, I immediately phoned the bank’s toll-free customer service number. Nonetheless, things went from bad to worse after a couple of minutes.
When I phoned the customer service hotline, a poor-sounding agent answered me. I instructed him to access my account by stating my full name. There was a miscommunication and utter confusion when he spelled my name incorrectly:”S for Sydney, M for Mickey, I for India, T for Telephone, H for Helicopter.”
My goodness, he seems to not know how to use the proper phonetics! He should have spelled “Sierra-Mike-India-Tango-Hotel.”
More disappointed, after a few more minutes I politely ended the call. Now, I am more annoyed as ever -- thanks to the improper call handling from my bank’s customer service.
Some American politicians are blaming the outsourcing industry for the thousand jobless Americans. There are arguments existing that phone operators have poor understanding of English. I almost lost my confidence about my bank’s service because of the incident.
Though, as an economist who believes in the positive light of outsourcing, I still believe that the whole industry is not as bad as the one who answered my call. In economic parlance, international outsourcing is considered as part of international trade. The absence of worldwide outsourcing can downgrade the competitiveness of the businesses around the world.
Maybe, the bank I am using did not outsourced in the Philippines, where some of the best outsourcing companies are located. If they had, a simple task like proper phonetics could save customers like me time and effort.
As the Philippine business process outsourcing industry continues to be more bullish, it can contribute to the global economy. It can also deliver a win-win solution for both business owners, outsourcers, and the customers like me.
I hope next time phone operators know how to spell correctly.



