when the call gets pranked

after two long weeks of paid leave (woohoo, it's paid! - one of the major benefits of being a loyal employee), i finally went to work last night. i had this call with "mr.gatekeeper" which really turned me gaga, i almost tumbled down from my seat. hell, it was a hard "RFLMAO" (rolling on the floor, laughing my ass off) joyride!


mr.gatekeeper: ELO.

me: Yeah. Hi. I'm try'n'a reach "mr.label person"

mr.gatekeeper: SHE IN the RESTING room. YOU CALL later, ok?



yes, i know. holy guacamole! that's a lang bang! you know, language barrier: spanish no-pik-eeenglish peolple (most prominent) - they are the HINOJOSAs, the CECERESes, and the CABALLEROs; vietnamese: the NGUYENs - call them NGUYEN and they'll scold you like hell. guys, it's ngyen.; the TRANs, SINGHs, NGs, and PATELs.

most of them usually do not speak nor understand english. or if they do, then it's a "sorrri, pik-little eeenglish" case.

we call them lang bang. well, i do not have any personal grudge towards these people. it's just that in a call center, whenever you have mentioned the name of your company, client, or the product itself (or even your own name!) then you should end that freakin' call with a tiring TCPA (telephone consumer protection act) close, "thank you for your time. if you have any questions about this call, please dial 1-800-blah blah blah blah.... have a nice day!"

at the beginning of the call, these people would just say, "uhuh. me. me." so there's no reason for us to drop the call. we would get into the middle of the spiel until they give up, "ohh sorrri... no-pik-eeenglish." darn it!


ok, so what's with language?
1. we call restroom a restroom and not a resting room
2. neither can we call comfort room a comforting room
3. we call powder room a powder room and not a powdering room
4. why is no-smoking area not no-smoke area? can an area smoke?
5. why is sleeping quarters called as such? are there really sleeping quarters?
6. is there an english-speaking school?

well, the answers are falling flat on our faces. it's just than when you're into the call center industry, you'll get used to hearing hard-hitting errors. i swear! it's mortifyin'!

you'll get calls with label persons as mr.langis, mr.biological nutrition, mr.tule, mr.dude... now who would not laugh, especially when people around you are just as crazy as the label persons' names? it's a phone call away from that house in mandaluyong.