are filipino CSAs allowed now to ask clients if they're filipino?

[ruger97]

It happened 2 weeks ago before I went for a one week vacation to New York that I called up EXPEDIA to confirm my "purchased" itinerary. After providing my itinerary number and full name, the CSA actually asked if I was Filipino. I was kinda like in a shock, i have friends working in Makati and Ortigas as CSAs (i used to be a medical editor before going back to my orig profession as a allied health professional now in the US) and from their training I learned they are not supposed to do that. I have to reprimand the CSA and reminded him that he might get into trouble as our discussion can/is being recorded. i think professionalism has to be in place still as one is being paid to do his/her job. in the end, the CSA failed to accomplish what i needed to know for my planned trip.


:hmm:

[aftercall12345]

it actually depends on the account and situation.if you are in an outbound account you are allowed to ask if the customer is filipino for rapport purposes. in my case I even ask him if he is Ilocano when I was still with AT&T long distance. it turns out that he was born just two towns away from my hometown in Isabela. I was able to make a sale because I spoke to him in Ilocano! hahahaha

For inbound accounts we usually dont ask customers if they are Filipino but its the other way around. If Filam customers would notice our accent they would ask if we are Filipino and they would even insist of speaking in Tagalog but of course we need to tell them that the call is recorded and we might get an autozero if we speak in Tagalog.

And besides it would be difficult to describe technical terms in Tagalog. How would you say "right click your mouse " in Tagalog? pindutin mo ang daga sa kanan? hahahahaha

[disguisedfemme]

i worked in a technical account and yes, we were allowed to ask customers if they are filipino. to gain trust and build rapport. We are not allowed to speak in tagalog though. but there was an instance that i have to give technical steps in taglish because it would be easier for the customer. But it was a challenge for me as that was the first time i did that. Ang hirap pala! :lol:

[ruger97]

so i guess in a way its being encouraged... tagal ko na nawala dyan, iba na pala trend. i know before it was not allowed.

[enid_warren]

ruger97...Expedia is ok with it actually...pero for customer support and corporate travel only...other Expedia brands hindi pwede...pede rin mag-tagalog, mandarin (kung marunong *** agent) at bisaya...as long as ang nag-initiate eh *** customer or in the case na Chinese at hirap sa English customers, *** mga marunong mag-Mandarin eh kusa ng ginagawa un...

[dawson_khaled]

tumawag ako sa customer svc dept ng office depot online. yung nakasagot obvious na pinoy kasi may thick ilonggo accent pa (marami akong ilonggo friends). after ko bigay name ko, tinanong kung amerikano ba ako. dito sa u.s, its a big no-no for customer service reps to ask kung ano citizenship ng caller. what does that got to do with anything? masasabihan pa silang racist.

[ruger97]

well... personally i think CSAs should just focus on providing what the consumer/client asks for instead of wanting to know the nationality of the person calling for their service.

or the customer service line should just provide the option of talking to someone in Filipino (tagalog), Chinese, etc. (similar to most companies here in the states which have Hispanic/Spanish talk lines e.g. those "para espanol marka dos/marka nueve" options) :)

[disguisedfemme]

no options for filipino speaking reps yet. mostly chinese or spanish speaking reps pa lang. And more often than not, its partly a mistake from the customer na rin that they did not choose the corect option for them to be helped in a better manner. ^_^

somehow i agree with you but with companies that have stiff competition, they have initiatives to keep their customers. rapport is one way to beat dead air and uncomfortable silence esp. in a tech support account. i believe 'how's the weather there?' is a question na gasgas na gasgas na gasgas na ginagamit pang rapport. hehehe

but.. to each his own. ^_^

[DI10]

depends on the account.
could build rapport though.