Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Call Center Agents and A Chinese Restaurant
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I was inside this Chinese restaurant, eating my fill of chili sauce filled dumplings and making sips on my hot beef noodle soup when I noticed a group of call center agents were pretty much filling the restaurant with their noise and laughter.
On a quiet Saturday morning, a group of people with shades, jackets, and ID's worn outside of their offices will most likely be from a call center, the most in-demand job in the country for the past 6-7 years now.
I usually don't mind them but I can get peeved whenever they would use English to people you don't usually use English with. They have this tendency(in sickening British preppy look) to speak English with each other outside of the office. People speaking in English is so very common here in Manila, but it is also VERY EASY to spot a natural from a poser. And most of these people come in phony! I mean, can you speak Tagalog instead of a phony English in a phony American twang?
What happened inside the restaurant. This group of people (they were just A table away from me) were talking about how they despised a particular person. One of them (a gay guy) uttered something I thought was pretty funny.
With all angst and emotion, he muttered "break loose hell." I almost chocked a sago (tapioca) upon hearing that person say that. "Wasn't it supposed to be all hell break loose instead of break loose hell?" I couldn't stop laughing about it silently until I got home and talked about it with a friend.
That one phrase I heard that morning made my day. I hope I didn't get to offend anyone...
This post was written by: Jerick Baluyot
Jerick Baluyot is a professional blogger, writer and digital marketing specialist. Follow him on Twitter
5 Responses to “Call Center Agents and A Chinese Restaurant”
July 25, 2008 at 12:43 PM
Hahaha and more hahaha! You've just uttered those words I've been itching to write about these phony (literally and figuratively) people.
The call-center industry has definitely created a certain sub-culture. Peculiar as it may seem, but this sub-culture is based on a "noveau riche" mentality reflective of a pretentious lifestyle drawn to nothing except unto itself.
I also hope I didn't offend anyone. But this post sure made me laugh.
July 25, 2008 at 10:15 PM
we pretty much feel the same sentiment jake. yep, there's a definite call center subculture going on here in the county. i have call center friends as well (i think everybody does) but it can get annoying when you see people (in sickening british preppy look -emphasis on that) speak english unpleasantly.
my friends still buy that story though...
August 1, 2008 at 10:26 AM
I can't stop laughing at "break loose hell", that just made my day haha. Why do they speak English to each other instead of Tagalog?
August 1, 2008 at 10:33 PM
@tayla...
that's the mystery of the century! i can't really decipher why would they do that. i mean, speaking in english in an office setting would be nice for this folks but on public places like jeepneys and the streets?
i guess they were just practicing their english.
did i sound a little discriminating? i hope i didn't because that wasn't my intention.
August 2, 2008 at 5:31 PM
no you're not discriminating at all, i have the same sentiments as you. i can see if they were talking to an English only speaking client but if they're around the same people why not speak your native language everyone understands it right? don't worry i've encountered people like that also.
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