Hello, how can I help you?

talk to me politely or I'll hang up on you

Back in college, I majored in translation and interpreting. At that time, my parents thought that if I got to work in the ministry of foreign affairs for the country, it could show that I really succeeded in what I learned. I thought so too. To be able to work in the United Nations and interpret for decision makers all over the world must be the highest vocation for a translation school student. Well, I guess that is what everybody who does language as their major in school thinks and also society.

I still aspire to be someone like that from time to time. Imagine myself sitting in the transparent interpretation box with my headphones on. Be fluent in every language that I know and confidently translate whatever the important person says on stage. 

I got a job like that this summer. Sitting in a transparent box with my headphones on and confidently speaking French, the third language that I have learned throughout my life, all day long. Instead of the decision maker, at the other end of the line, it’s God. You know, customers are God. I wasn’t an interpreter. I worked as a booking agent in a call center for a campsite company.

By the way, have I told you I’m Chinese? Well, I was born and raised in China, neither French nor English is my native language. If you work in another domain, you could probably say something like ‘‘please excuse my poor French/English’’. But either in translation or customer service, you need to prove yourself to be capable of at least speaking the target language. If not, why would someone hire you in the first place? So, I was quite proud of myself for getting the job, which meant that they approved my language skills.

Did I choose this job voluntarily? Absolutely not. And have I mentioned that I hate speaking over the phone? But, I needed the money and I couldn’t find anything else. In other words, I had no choice. I knew that working in customer service was not easy. But dealing with French customers is a true nightmare. They love to complain about everything. The government, the weather, the coffee, the way a stranger walk, etc. ‘‘Oh la la’’ or ‘‘pffff’’, these kinds of sounds can be heard every 5 minutes when you are walking on the street. Not the most easy-going people to talk to.

Besides that, the French are known for being proud of their language. If you don’t speak perfect French to them, they prefer to speak even more imperfect English to you than continue the conversation in their native language. They can spot the tiniest foreign accent and juge your grammar right in your face. Not the nicest people to deal with. 

The summer of 2024 burnt like hell every day, not just because of global warming, but also because of all the dear French customers who called us to complain and who shot out their anger over the phone. 

‘‘I want my refund today, not in a week. If not, I’ll call you every day!’’, said a lady who yelled at me when I told her the refund policy of the company. ‘‘I’m not going to call you back. I have better things to do! You should call me back to check if I received the email or not!’’, demanded another lady who cut me short after I told her to call us back if she received no voucher. ‘‘I will not hang up if I don’t have the response today!’’, announced a young woman who reclaim her checks that we ended up never received. ‘‘You are a liar, the campsite is full of liar and your whole company is a lie!’’, yelled a man who got mad because he got a downgraded mobile home. These are just the few cases that I can recall.

Even though it was just a summer job, I tried to be a professional. I tried to see things from their point of view and to empathize, and as a part-time consumer, I understood their frustration and anger. But being yelled on the phone by strangers is definitely something hard to take calmly at the moment, especially when it’s not your faute 90 percent of the time. And they won’t be more gentle with you when they realize that you are not a French like them. They would just yell louder and slower and ask for someone who REALLY speaks French.

I did develop some coping mechanisms as time went by, and I applied techniques like : noting down the phone numbers of those yellers and avoiding their calls; putting them on hold and muting yourself after putting them back to create some kind of ‘‘bug’’ illusion and hanging up the phone. I try to be nice and helpful, but if the person at the other end of the line is disrespectful, I see no point in trying to reason with the customer. Most of the time, I do try to solve the problem after getting rid of them on the phone. It’s much more efficient this way. But, sometimes, sir, I just can’t help you fix the AC.

Don’t get me wrong, most of the time, the clients are polite and sweet. They call to book their vacation. Some drive all the way from Norway to enjoy the sun by the Côte d’Azur. Old couples call to book at their favorite campsite and that specific mobile home that reminds them of good memories. I sometimes get to laugh with the person at the other end of the phone and when it’s time to say goodbye, I realize that I was with that person for almost an hour. It feels good to be helpful. And the thing I like the most is at the end of the call, when they ask my name, they realize that I’m not French, and then they compliment my French. At this kind of moment, I tell myself, my tuition money gets its worth.

I recommend this job to anyone who learns foreign languages. You get to practice and listen to how native people speak. It helps you to be brave and cope with different problems in a short amount of time. But do I want to work in a call center again ? Probably not. It can be energy draining and once you are familiar with the routine, you get bored fast and you kind of stop learning, but just repeat things until you sound like a robot.