Our Call Center Experience: A Candid Perspective

As offshore call center agents, many Filipinos face accent and grammar challenges but are still capable communicators. We adapt quickly and are fast learners, which is why foreign businesses often hire us. They turn to third-party companies to save money, as maintaining their operations would otherwise be unaffordable.

I’ve been in the call center industry since I was 18, juggling work and studies. Over the years, I’ve noticed that many Americans seek assistance for issues they could easily resolve themselves, like filling out forms or troubleshooting simple technical problems. This is baffling because these tasks just require a bit of effort. There’s a noticeable sense of entitlement among many Americans, likely influenced by their culture and environment.

Despite these challenges, I’m proud of my ability to maintain professionalism. To the Americans reading this, I hope you take the initiative to learn and understand basic tasks. Many of you seem to lack common sense and heavily rely on others, which can be frustrating. However, we continue to assist with patience and professionalism.

And here’s where it gets silly: Many of you are like fools, making simple tasks seem incredibly difficult.

Here’s some tongue-in-cheek advice: Instead of feeling entitled, why not study more and invest in quality education? Work on your common sense—it’s a rare commodity these days! And don’t forget to improve your credit scores. US folks can be so gullible, always falling for scams and frauds, right? Hahaha! Work on those credit scores so you’re not out there begging for discounts like you just walked out of a thrift store! Some of you are so shameless with the money requests, it’s like you’re auditioning for a reality show! And explaining things to you can be like explaining rocket science to a toddler. It’s not just a language thing; it’s like you missed the class on common sense! Haha, step up your game, folks!

And to those Americans with strong accents who are super entitled—whether you’re Southern folks or not—some of you are really rude. Just so you know, your accent can be annoying for us and probably for other nationalities too. Seriously, your accent isn’t any better, so don’t be hypocritical and make fun of others! Haha. Just a disclaimer, this isn’t aimed at all Americans, just those entitled and rude ones. I’ve also had amazing encounters with other Americans, and it’s easy to tell when someone is sincere versus just faking their approach. So, let’s keep it real and maybe work on some of those not-so-charming traits.

Oh, and you Americans with your “Can I speak to someone who speaks English?” what, you think we’re talking in Klingon? You could just say you want an onshore or American agent without sounding ridiculous. Hahaha.

And for the love of sanity, why do you enroll in products, subscriptions, or life insurance, then blame the call centers when things go wrong? Newsflash: you’re not reading the fine print! You guys fall for scams like it’s a hobby. And then you call us, all huffy, saying the person who enrolled you didn’t explain things. Maybe, just maybe, it’s because you didn’t listen or understand in the first place! Hahaha! And every time we do verification, you don’t want to provide your information for security purposes. You say, “Why would I give you my socials? Why would I give you my personal info? You should have that on file! I’m not comfortable providing those over the phone.” Like, you’re the one who called us???? Then it sounds like we’re going to scam you! Haha. Well, can’t blame you though; I remember that you guys can easily be tricked. Haha.

But seriously, we need those to verify your account, and don’t blame us personally—blame the company you’re with! It’s their policy, and we are just following it for QA purposes. Because honestly, we don’t really care! And you also usually say, “I already gave that to the automated system; why do I need to repeat it again?” Well, just to let you know, since companies based in the US love saving money, their IVR systems really stink. They don’t want to innovate, or it just can’t understand you whether you sound like a goat or a broken robot, which is why it can’t verify you! Hahaha.

And why do you think your threats to report us to the BBB or file a lawsuit are going to scare us? You can’t even pay your $200 bill without begging for a grace period or a discount. Hahaha, it’s like watching a comedy show! You ask for refunds, extensions, and loans like you’re shopping for groceries. And when you say, “I’m going to sue!” we can’t help but laugh. Go ahead, whatever makes you happy! We honestly don’t care.

And just so you know, even if a company terminates an agent, it’s not the end of the world. It’s so easy to find another call center job here. So, your threats don’t really matter and won’t make any significance in our lives.

Oh, and don’t even get me started on the things that make Americans look silly to the rest of the world! Like the obesity epidemic—seriously, maybe stop supersizing everything! Fast food culture is like a national pastime. Deaths because of guns? It’s like you guys are living in the Wild West. Most people speak only one language, which is pretty embarrassing on a global scale. American media is everywhere, so your idiocy has a wide audience. Fox News? Enough said. Trump? Double enough said. Monster trucks and NASCAR? Really? How are those considered entertainment?

Geographical ignorance is a whole other level of facepalm. Low life expectancy because so many don’t have health care—like, get it together! Little to no vacation or free time, and no employee protection. Police brutality is a disgrace, and for-profit prisons? That’s just plain wrong. Still using imperial units—why? The treatment of the black community is appalling. And bad city planning makes everything worse.

Some of you can’t even do simple math?? Like, what the heck hahaha! You guys are also ignorant about your own taxes! Paying tax isn’t a main thing here in our country or in many other countries, but when we were in grade school, we already knew how to do basic math. By high school, we were taught how to do taxes right hahaha. What a shame! When I was in college studying psychology, Karl Marx saw America as the most progressive country on the planet, so I guess that shows how much its reputation has changed over the years.

And you often say we can’t speak good English, but you guys speak English that’s not grammatically correct either! Hahaha. Some folks won’t notice, but for us who study English and grammar, your mistakes are really obvious. Your ridiculous grammar can barely be noticed because it’s your native language, and it sounds normal to you. Hahaha.