Yes! More hate mail!

Heres a hatemail response to my Indian Customer Service Rant a while ago. I’ll put my comments in.
Oh, this was also posted by someone at an IP that resolves to internet.walgreens.com. Someone is surfing my website at your local walgreens! Naughty Naughty!
I understand the anger in outsource but come on grow up! I can understand being upset at the insurance company but why be upset with the help desk person.
Because if the help desk person says to their manager: “Gee, we’re getting a ton of complaints about X, maybe X will change” Change has to start somewhere, and unfortunally in the customer service industry the shit rolls downhill. If they give me their managers direct line, or better yet the CEO, then the customer service reps wont get as much flak.
They are doing their job!
And I am doing mine, so their customers can get drugs so they (and I) can get paid and their patients dont take a trip to the ER.
They work for a living and can not help that they have accents, try getting people in the phillipines or brazil!
You’re right. They cant help they have accents. You have me there.
Just grow up and don’t blame people who work for the f’d up companies. Yes, in case you are wondering, Yes, I am Indian. If you knew anything you would realize why companies outsource. The conversion rate for $1 is to 50 Rupees. Do you understand that?
Uh, why not blame the people who work for the fucked up companies. I dont think they are being forced to work at these places. I’m sure they damn well understood when they took the job that they would be the human shield against the pharmacist -> insurance war. I know damn well why these countries are outsourcing. Unlike some people who surf websites that openly bash their employer while at work (i assume you work for Walgreens, coming from internet.walgreens.com), I do have two cents in my noggin. And you’re Indian, congratulations, heres a cookie for your life accomplishments. Why should I give special treatment to an Indian who cant speak english vs a Chinese who cant speak english; an African American who speaks ebonics, or a Shit-Kickin Oakie who speaks in er.. Okie? If I cant understand whats coming out of their mouth, then theres a problem.
If you had a business how else would you save money?
Stop taking insurances administered by Walgreens Health Initative.. 🙂 These insurance companies are saving money by paying me cost + 1.50 on all Rx’s, changing info on the cards without issuing new cards, then hiring bargan basement help. Pretty shitty move for everyone involved except them (who are reporting record high profits this (and last) quarter). Eh, you wouldnt understand, you probably just sit there, drink coffee, and check off Rx’s coming from a Script-Pro belt while your Techs do all the work.
Forget that, my defense is b/c of how your reaction is to the help desk person. So what if they are somewhere else and so what if they have an accent. Grow up and do your job. And if you don’t like what you do, leave the stores, go work as a drug rep since you have such a wonderful accent and wonderful way of talking to people.
I’m pissed because I have to deal with them, and their accents are so horrible that it takes 20 times repeating for me to understand what the hell they are saying. Its a waste of time for me, the rep, and our employers. I’d work as a drug-rep, but I absolutely hate drug reps. I rate them as one step below a used car salesman, because thats pretty much what they are. I used to be tolerable when they gave out free pens and stuff, but a ton of them stopped doing that.
For the record, when I get a rep in India, I dont fly off the handle saying “You dirty foreigner stealing our jobs! I dont want to talk to you”. Im usually pissed off because I need to call the insurance company over something thats completely out of my control (and 99% of the time their fuckup) for a whole 3 bucks (I tip my pizza boy more), and then have to deal with the frustration of not being able to understand the person on the other end on the phone. I shouldnt have to repeat myself 1000 times or ask them to repeat themselves. The shit should be done right the first time. That means correct info on the cards, correct published formulary, and for petes sake better hold music!

Comments #

Comment by Kelly on 2006-07-11 23:37:08 -0700 #

amen to that…atleast you call insurance companies our pharmacists make us do it..then our customers get all pissy like its our fault their insurance company sucks ass

Comment by Anonymous on 2006-07-12 22:11:58 -0700 #

I couldn�t agree with you more. I have worked the past four years reporting to transplanted foreigners here in the pharmaceutical industry (mfg.). Communicating with these people is a royal pain in the ass. You have to dumb down the conversation to such a level and repeat everything at least ten to twenty times before they have an inkling of what the hell you are talking about. It is so frustrating you just want to bitch slap the fuck out of them. My family and friends have all made remarks that my verbal skills and conversational skills have decreased dramatically since I began reporting to a bunch of transplants. These people you have to deal with should at the very least be able to communicate in English on a middle school level or preferably a high school level. Then just maybe you could get to the point and have a real bi-directional productive conversation.
BTW: I have to ask do you work for Rite Aid? Just picking up on things you mention like Script-Pro and the filing system. I moonlight as a tech there b/c I start pharmacy school in the fall. I�m leaving a R&D job to go to pharmacy school and deal with the public. Plenty of sleepless nights over this decision.
Anyway, Kudos to you for saying the things everyone else is thinking.
Anonymous

Comment by Karen on 2006-07-14 11:23:25 -0700 #

I am so sick of managing peoples insurance. I just want to shout, “It’s your insurance. I don’t know why your copay is this, why don’t YOU call.” Why must we hunt down every piece of info…..oh wait, b/c retail bastards want us to provide good customer service which means being berated b/c thier insurance isn’t working. Maybe drugnazi was right about it not being too late for me. The future looks bleak. Everyone needs thei insurance info implanted into their damn arm so we can scan it and leave it at that……

Comment by The Guru on 2006-07-14 22:17:09 -0700 #

As a self appointed representative of indian-americans, I have one thing to say, your absolutely fucking right man! I applaud you bringing this up, in fact I have hardest time trying to understand unintelligeable english from the locals (i.e. southern slurs, ebonics and everything in between that has polluted the language) let alone outsourced english (which if you havent guessed it by now, annoys the living crap outta me).
I agree. Anyone that is verbally challenged as far as it comes to communicating in English should be ostracized from the English speaking community (that definitely MUST include the corporate sector). If you cant be pissed learning the language and being fluent then you deserved to get fudged.
LOL at the robot comment, I had scripted lines thrown at me with reps from rebate companies based overseas. Sucks big hairy ones.
Whats my solution ? I say charge callers $1.99/min for dialing a 1-900 number that goes to a well paid rep that offers extras on the side 😉
Love reading the blogs… keep ’em coming.

Comment by Lori Deshane on 2007-05-17 21:40:30 -0700 #

I realize you wrote this blog awhile back, but I just want to say that not all home health nurses are stupid. I am currently working in home health and have several years of acute care hospital experience. Since switching to home health, I have experienced the “home health nurses are stupid” mentality often. You try to drive 60 to 100 miles a day, give excellent care to 8 to 10 patients a day, and do a mountain of paperwork every day and then (and only then) can you call us stupid!

Comment by Lucky on 2007-06-05 00:55:27 -0700 #

Lori, my father had a home health care nurse visiting and taking care of him the last two years of his life and she was fabulous.