BT and the Brummie

When it comes to frustrating calls to foreign call centres, most people have a complaint about being unable to understand their operator.

Fewer people write to such companies and complain, however, so it is rare that such companies need to defend their cost-cutting tactics to customers.

But when Brummie Viv Tomkins took her complaint to BT after four attempts of at least ten minutes or more, The Sun says, the 59 year-old Ladywood resident was not prepared for their response.

BT, in fact, implied that the problems in communication were her fault, because, they claimed, their poor staff in India couldn’t understand her brummie accent.

“I couldn’t believe the cheek of it,” she told the newspaper on Saturday. “I know I’ve got a Brummie twang but I speak the Queen’s English.

“I was on the phone each time for ten minutes minimum – I think to people in Mumbai – and got so frustrated because I couldn’t understand what some of the people were saying.

“I had to ask their staff to repeat themselves over and over. I felt like throwing the phone out of the window.”

BT’s response to her original letter came from their Correspondence Centre in Durham. Charlene Conway wrote, “I am sorry that you have been unhappy with the advisers.

“I can certainly understand the difficulty in resolving your inquiries whenever the advisers you have been speaking to are having problems understanding you.”

One wonders if their staff would have the same complaint if they had to talk to any of their “colleagues” in BT IT Support – based in Scotland…