marknorton Posted May 30, 2009 Share #21 Posted May 30, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) People on this continent really need to learn some business practices from our American friends. Oh please, youl'll be telling us next that when some American bubble-head tells you to have a nice day, she means it. Last time I went to NYC, the tipping culture, hand out all the time, was stiffling. Over in Solms, people like Sonja Becker could not be more helpful. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted May 30, 2009 Posted May 30, 2009 Hi marknorton, Take a look here Funny story - kind of. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
farnz Posted May 30, 2009 Share #22 Posted May 30, 2009 We have some non-believers here ... Not necessarily but you managed to blacken all of Europe with a single statement. I have had some deplorable customer service in the UK and the rest of Europe but I've also had some very good customer service too. It's certainly different from the typical customer service I've had in the US but perhaps that's driven by the need to subsist on tips; I find some of the US customer service to be irritatingly artificial and self-serving and I wouldn't be happy if UK customer servers started telling me to "Have a nice day." all the time. I think it's fair to say that there's plenty of room for improvement in the UK. Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
adan Posted May 30, 2009 Share #23 Posted May 30, 2009 Gary: It's true that Joisey is a bit more brusque than Nothe Cahlina. I spent a summer interning just across the Smokies from you in Knoxville, and worked 4 years in Memphis, and one can get spoiled by the slow and gentle friendliness of Dixie. Generally, I've had courteous and helpful service form Allendale. Not fast, but courteous. Maybe she'd just gotten off the phone with one of those "I paid $6,000 for this camera, gudammit! I expect SERVICE!" - types, and was expecting more of the same. Fugedaboudit. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan States Posted May 31, 2009 Share #24 Posted May 31, 2009 Oh please, youl'll be telling us next that when some American bubble-head tells you to have a nice day, she means it. Last time I went to NYC, the tipping culture, hand out all the time, was stiffling. Over in Solms, people like Sonja Becker could not be more helpful. Yes, we are all a bunch of a-holes, aren't we? What the heck? I thought you folks all started loving us again after the last election:D This whole thing is probably just a momentary language gap turned misunderstanding. I'd be crap on the phone if you made me speak German. Of course they COULD just outsource their call center to India like everyone else. Now THEY are polite! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NZDavid Posted May 31, 2009 Share #25 Posted May 31, 2009 Think yourself lucky you actually got to talk to a real person at the company itself. Not a call center or a pre-recorded electronic voice and an infinite number of options. Customer service can be diabolical at times, but then so can customers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocker Posted May 31, 2009 Share #26 Posted May 31, 2009 We have some non-believers here Note I am not talking about any particular company. People on this continent really need to learn some business practices from our American friends. Wherever I go, whether it is to buy a drink, clothes or accommodation, staff simply seem not eager at all to make me feel like the king I am supposed to be. Once a transaction is complete that is the end of the interaction with the seller. Over the pond at least you get a smile with that, and after sales is pretty much standard. Just has to be said. Ah, it's a religion is it? Perhaps a touch of the Anthony Robbins here? There is a lot of simplistic nonsense in this "customer-focus" stuff! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
farnz Posted May 31, 2009 Share #27 Posted May 31, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) Yes, we are all a bunch of a-holes, aren't we? What the heck? I thought you folks all started loving us again after the last election:D ... Who's the "we" you're referring to? Waiters? I don't think you should put yourself down by calling yourself part of "a bunch of a-holes", Dan, because I for one don't think so. I read that Mark's comments, like mine, related to the American service industry not at the American people as a whole. Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
abrewer Posted May 31, 2009 Share #28 Posted May 31, 2009 I think I've talked to NJ once and don't remember any problems. It's likely the woman in Germany misunderstood the request. That happens even between native English-speakers (see thread on "How to talk British"). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
R10dreamer Posted May 31, 2009 Author Share #29 Posted May 31, 2009 Well, the indications are that she could speak English well enough to complete the business at hand but misundestood Gary's rambling declaration of affection for all things Leica. Mind you, he would likely have got short shrift here in the UK where "before we get off" has an entirely different meaning... If you can't be bothered to speak their language, it still pays to use simple language free of slang and colloquialisms to avoid confusion and, if you're a native of North Carolina, offence. I spent a year working in Research Triangle Park once and I often didn't understand what on earth they were were saying... I can't decide if you are an idiot a racist or just a jerk. Rambling...... where did that come from? I'm from Florida. Born and raised there. Moved to NC a few years ago. Florida is not exactly the center state for southern accents but are you suggesting that all people from NC have a deep southern accent?? Slang and colloquialism? Did you hear the conversation? You have made shocking generalizations and that is certainly more a sign of bigotry than intelligence. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
abrewer Posted May 31, 2009 Share #30 Posted May 31, 2009 Easy guys No reason for anyone to get their back up in this so-far civil discussion Please consider that this is the very topic under discussion: good communications among a thicket of cultural differences Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted May 31, 2009 Share #31 Posted May 31, 2009 Well Gary, I think you should have cut her some slack instead of immediately assuming she was being curt or rude. As Allan and others have said, she likely simply misunderstood what you were saying. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill Posted June 1, 2009 Share #32 Posted June 1, 2009 Back in the 1980s I worked for Siemens in the UK. All UK staff were trained in "business German" - enough to get by if the 'phone rang and the person on the other end was German. We were given enough to ask people to speak slowly and clearly, to ask what (or who) they wanted, and to take a message. In the 1990s I worked in Amsterdam for a year. Everyone spoke English to me, from the moment I got off the 'plane. I was regularly amused by getting into a taxi at Schipol and saying nothing more than "Apollolaan, alstublieft" and regularly getting the response "Yes Sir", or variations thereon. The project I worked on itself, in a Dutch insurance company, had 40 staff on it. The "project language" was English, for the benefit of me and my team of 6. Today I work for a very large American company. We operate in almost every country worldwide. English is the standard business language. Times change. As to the standards of service either side of the pond, I can only say that one often gets the service one deserves. If your language - body or spoken - is poor, then you will get the treatment you deserve. People in service industries and service roles are human too, and a smile and a bit of charm will go a long way. Finally, a tale of getting your own back. A pet peeve is being in a restaurant where you become invisible once you have finished your dinner. Attracting your waiter's attention to get the bill can sometimes become an exercise in itself. I was in this situation once, at a busy Italian restaurant in Leeds. After two or three attempts at gesticulation had failed, I dialled the reservations number stored in my mobile. "Good evening, Trattoria X, how may I help you?" "You have a lovely table for two, in the window" "Yes, indeed, Sir, would you like to book it?" "No, I'm sitting at it. I would like my bill, please..." Regards. Bill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevelap Posted June 1, 2009 Share #33 Posted June 1, 2009 ......Finally, a tale of getting your own back. A pet peeve is being in a restaurant where you become invisible once you have finished your dinner. Attracting your waiter's attention to get the bill can sometimes become an exercise in itself. I was in this situation once, at a busy Italian restaurant in Leeds. After two or three attempts at gesticulation had failed, I dialled the reservations number stored in my mobile. "Good evening, Trattoria X, how may I help you?" "You have a lovely table for two, in the window" "Yes, indeed, Sir, would you like to book it?" "No, I'm sitting at it. I would like my bill, please..." Regards. Bill . I should have used that ploy last Saturday night. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
farnz Posted June 1, 2009 Share #34 Posted June 1, 2009 ... A pet peeve is being in a restaurant where you become invisible once you have finished your dinner. Attracting your waiter's attention to get the bill can sometimes become an exercise in itself. ... I've experienced this often too and it never fails to puzzle me. I'd have thought that once you've finished a meal the restaurant staff would be only too keen to get the money into the till (unless you look like you're contemplating ordering more dessert, coffee, liqueurs etc) and to free the table up for more customers. Or is there a desire to keep the restaurant looking well-patronised by delaying your departure? Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill Posted June 1, 2009 Share #35 Posted June 1, 2009 Damnfino. I've wondered myself. It does irritate. Sometimes it backfires on them, as there have been times when I would order more coffee/liqueurs but get fed up waiting. Another irritant is the waiter only ever coming over to you during the main course and asking if everything is alright just as you have taken a mouthful. And of course the pointed and very carefully timed, "Was everything to your satisfaction?" just as your finger hovers over the "Would you like to add a gratuity?" button on the card reader... Regards, Bill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted June 1, 2009 Share #36 Posted June 1, 2009 Today I work for a very large American company. We operate in almost every country worldwide. English is the standard business language. Gosh, I had no idea GM sold as widely as that... or should that be "operated"? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill Posted June 1, 2009 Share #37 Posted June 1, 2009 ...and your point is...? Regards, Bill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted June 2, 2009 Share #38 Posted June 2, 2009 A pet peeve is being in a restaurant where you become invisible once you have finished your dinner. Attracting your waiter's attention to get the bill can sometimes become an exercise in itself. I was in this situation once, at a busy Italian restaurant in Leeds. After two or three attempts at gesticulation had failed, I dialled the reservations number stored in my mobile. "Good evening, Trattoria X, how may I help you?" "You have a lovely table for two, in the window" "Yes, indeed, Sir, would you like to book it?" "No, I'm sitting at it. I would like my bill, please..." Regards. Bill You are much more subtle than I am, Bill. I usually get my coat and walk out of the door. I settle the bill in the street when they have caught up with me.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wizard Posted June 2, 2009 Share #39 Posted June 2, 2009 Turning back to the OP, I am inclined to think the lady in Solms must have misunderstood the question. Or probably not understood at all, which is possible if you listen to a foreign language quickly spoken over the phone. She probably gave an answer she thought would make sense. Her 'thank you' at the end of the call goes along the same lines, she likely did not grasp the meaning of the flow of words entering her ear. As a non native English speaker, it took me a long time to sort out all the various accents and idoms English native speakers are using, the more so if reception quality is less than optimal, as e.g. on the phone or in a restaurant. Besides being extremely uncommon to answer 'No' to the question that was asked, it also makes no sense, as the customer could have had another issue he needed help with. So give her some credit, you would be surprised to see that although many Germans now have enough knowledge of English to get by, most of them are far from being able to understand everything if it is flushed on them at a native speaker's normal pace. Regards, Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted June 2, 2009 Share #40 Posted June 2, 2009 I agree with you wizard, she likely just misunderstood. This thread marks a high in my LUF career as it's the first time I've been branded an idiot, a rascist, a bigot AND a jerk, all in one post. Quite an achievement, actually. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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