You call the cable guy who can supposedly fix your cable and it’s clearly a guy from India who introduces himself as Dave. Now, you know this guy’s name isn’t Dave or Jim but you go along because you’re not looking to invite him to bbq over the summer, you just want to hook the kids up to their Cartoon Channel IV that keeps them so quiet and sedate.
Mind you, “Dave” didn’t get the job done. He even sent a super secretsonic pulse through my cable box and it still didn’t work.
But it kinda’ bugs me. This guy knows where I live, he knows my name, he can even send a super secretsonic pulse to my house but I can’t know his name. What’s the deal with that? It’s not like he’s an undercover cop. I mean, maybe he is if there’s something going on at the call center that I’m not privy to but it’s not relevant to my transaction with the guy.
Is it because they think I’ll freak out if I find out I’m talking to Vamoosh instead of Dave? That’s kind of insulting too. What do I care? Just send me the super secretsonic pulse, my man. And it’s not like because it didn’t work, I’m going to go out hunting for the dude. “Where’s Daaaaaaave?”
So they’re sending out a repairman. They said he’ll be here sometime between 2:30 p.m. today and 8:30 a.m. on July 17, 2017. But at least I bet he’ll give me his real name.
February 7, 2014 at 5:40 pm
And the repair dude sporting the body art he collected in prison will know where you live, what sort of car you drive, what electronics you have, your grandpa's old shotgun over the fireplace, the kind of watch you wear, where the doors and windows are, the presence or absence of an intruder system, whether or not you look like you could defend yourself against a home-invasion at 0-dark-thirty, the pix of your cute children…
But it's probably George Bush's fault.
February 7, 2014 at 9:18 pm
Spoken like a true rabid liberal.
February 11, 2014 at 1:15 pm
I Was Thinking More Like A Judgemental Biggot.
February 11, 2014 at 1:15 pm
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February 7, 2014 at 6:09 pm
Wow. What did a repairman do to you?
February 7, 2014 at 7:14 pm
I work in IT and it isn't all that unusual for Indians to use fake names. I worked with a firm who hired a developer, whose name is unpronounceable; they called him Sonny. After a few months he left their firm and they brought in a new guy. His name was "Sonny" as well.
February 7, 2014 at 7:51 pm
It's my experience that an overseas call center worker will choose an English name which approximates his/her own. "Sanjay" might become "Sam", for example.
February 7, 2014 at 8:11 pm
This is Peggy…
February 7, 2014 at 8:48 pm
Here's an interesting article about Indian call centers: http://www.forbes.com/sites/morganhartley/2012/12/16/the-culture-shock-of-indias-call-centers/
February 7, 2014 at 9:10 pm
I worked for a company which outsourced its phone support to India. The employees there were DIRECTED to select an American name on the theory that this would be more congenial to the customer. That's how I got to know Jack Nicholson. And Frank Sinatra.
February 7, 2014 at 9:10 pm
I worked for a company which outsourced its phone support to India. The employees there were DIRECTED to select an American name on the theory that this would be more congenial to the customer. That's how I got to know Jack Nicholson. And Frank Sinatra.
February 7, 2014 at 11:10 pm
Actually, I think it has more to do with the fact that some Indian/other ethnic names are virtually unpronounceable by Americans. Think of a name with 20 or more letters repeated by someone from Texas. Or Louisiana. Or New York.
It's a kindness of them to use those names.