Location: Staffordshire, Bangalore.

What is it with customers at the minute and demanding to know where I am?

I have a blatant Midlands accent. Definitely British and yet customers repeatedly and determinedly ask me whether or not I'm in England. For any American readers this is like being called by someone with an obvious thick Texan accent and demanding to know if they are in America or not.

I know large companies outsource a lot but sheesh....very few outsource workers talk with a British regional accent.

One more odd story, of a type we get a lot:

A colleague of mine called a customer to get a reading which resulted int eh following exchange:

(Usual preamble)
Colleague: Would it be possible to get a meter reading this evening?
Customer: Pardon?
Colleague: Can we get a meter reading?
Customer: A what?
Colleague: A reading....for the electricity.
Customer: Pardon?
Colleague: A meter reading (Thumps head on desk, entire department is laughing at him)
Customer: Oh, which one?
Colleague: Electricity.
Customer: Pardon?
Colleague: The electricity meter.
Customer: What about it?
Colleague: Could you get a reading for it?
Customer? A What?
Colleague: A reading....(Entire department is cracking up, other customers are now on hold so we can hear how this pans out)
Customer: Sorry, I'm hard of hearing.
Colleague: (Groan) Ok, I'll send you a letter instead, ok?
Customer: Ok.

Bear in mind, the customer heard all the usual preamble perfectly well, including asking for the first line of the address and the postcode. My colleague guessed that he simply couldn't be bothered to get the reading, however the discussion he wound up having with my colleague probably took longer then getting the reading would have.

Some people go to so much effort to be lazy it's incredible.