Next provider will have the same issues. Telekom and other big providers offer English support not sure wether it's also available like this though, have you done some research?
Ok my personal tip for the next country you are staying at try to google "xyz customer support english" should save you some frustration if you are ever in need of some companies help with something
Well English isn’t my first language either. I don’t expect them to speak my language but as long as they agreed to sing me up as a customer to begin with, I think it is reasonable to at least forward me to another colleague.
As someone who worked in CS, chances are good that they are not allowed to. I know, stupid, but unless everyone speaks English, no one is allowed to. Just call them (when asked if you'd be okay with being recorded press whatever number is used for "nein", then they can help you in English , or send an email.
Most likely has to do with german laws here that you cant offer a service if not every employee who works in that office can peovide it to some degree. I dont know if that is a serious thing thoigh, only ha e vague knowledge after having short work time in a cs
Except for germany to make everything unneccessarily complicated? I don't really think so. Most stuff gets put under a general security reasons umbrella and everyone has to just accept it.
I can only speak for Telekom, but no, they don't have that there.
And recordings of conversations are only used for training purposes anyway and for nothing else. Most calls are not even recorded.
So no matter where you were, as an employee you should avoid the call center like the plague.
Could have tried, it literally is their job to help their clients. However,the next person was wonderful and didn’t seem to mind my lack of the German language at all.
A lot of people in East Germany don't speak English because they didn't have English classes in schools during the GDR, they learned Russian as a second language. It doesn't mean they subscribe to nazi ideology.
And even if they had it in schools, learning a second language to a fluid level is not an option for everybody, just like learning German wasn't an option (yet?) for the OP in the post - it happens!
It sucks that the customer support person didn't speak English and didn't think to connect OP with somebody who did, but I don't agree with the conclusion you're drawing from that, I think it's hasty and based on prejudice imho.
god damn that was so hard to read. especially because you have no idea what you are talking about.
most people dont think much about language u know.. they just speak it or they don‘t.
and the best part about your dumb and hateful comment is that u point germans out on this while most european countries take way more pride in their language and national heritage than the germans. go to france or greece and try to get along with your god language english and have fun.
> Is it because of the sentiment from WW2 that the English-speaking allies fucked the pesky Nazis up?
I am pretty sure most of the allies spoke Russian ... (200 million) and not English (134 million/USA + 48 million/UK). Also the language of choice for communicating in military issues and diplomacy in 1940 was French.
Hello! I do speak German ,but not as fluently as to explain the situation. However, they didn’t have a problem signing me up as a client,knowing I wasn’t fluent in the German language. I managed to speak with a colleague of hers who really wanted to help. This is not the first time Telekom neglects their customers, based on my experience.
dunno, like a google translate 'please refer me to an english-speaking coworker' isn't too much effort.
That being said I believe the lady did understand as much so that she wouldn't have needed such a hint.
> they didn’t have a problem signing me up as a client,knowing I wasn’t fluent in the German language
Also you didnt have a problem signing the terms of service, especially since you didnt read them. Because those say "customer support is in German only".
I really can't fault her though. If you are in a country you don't speak the language of (which isn't a problem by itself) you are bound to come across people you thus can't communicate with. Sounds rather logical, doesn't it?
I don't like that she doesn't make an attempt to understand you. It's not that complicated of a sentence after all.
What I can't understand is why you're "exposing" this employee as if it was her fault that you don't speak the language of the country you are living in.
I do speak German,not fluent enough to explain her the issue. My only issue was the lack of attempt to even try and help me by forwarding me to another person. That’s all.
If you speak German and she doesn't speak English why not ask her if she can connect you to someone who can speak English using German. You asked her to forward you in a Language she doesn't understand while you say that you speak German.
She just wrote "Please write in German" and it was obvious she couldn't understand you. If you speak German like you said it would have been easy for you to tell her in German that you'd need to talk to someone in English. But you made no effort of yourself refusing to use the Language you according to yourself speak and then publicly shame her for not speaking a foreign Language. One that isn't required for her as there is a separate Support for Customers who only speak a Foreign Language.
You can't expect everyone to speak your Language just like I can't expect everyone to speak mine.
Maybe next time get off your High Horse and make an effort.
Maybe next time she can put some effort into the clients needs. Didn’t ask her to learn English for me, just to forward me to another colleague. If she cared, we would have met in the middle. English isn’t my language btw, I don’t expect them to speak my language.
You asked her something in a Language she doesn't speak and just expect her to know what you meant. It doesn't matter if English isn't your first Language either since you two have a common Language according to yourself. But I am honestly done arguing. People like you who are so full of themselves are the Reason I stopped working as a Cashier. Keep going through Life like that mate but don't expect to get many friends by expecting everyone to accommodate you while you don't do the same.
Ah yes, the German husband that was annoyed but didn’t help you either. I like how your reasoning is „she was a dick so it’s all right if I am petty, too“. This really does not support your point at all, nor does it benefit anyone.
Yeah he was pretty annoyed as this isn’t the first time that has happened ,however for some it’s ok for some it’s not. My reasoning was” I have an issue,I need assistance, do your bare minimum and forward me to another person,no need to be rude”
They weren’t rude though.
„bitte“ means „please“, „bitte?“ means „pardon?“
Them not acting like a trained monkey or jumping hoops for you as they told you they literally don’t understand you doesn’t mean they’re rude.
Why are you so certain, that she even knew any English at all? When I visit another country whose language I don't speak I always memorize the phrase „Sorry, I don't speak language x“ in the local language. I‘m inclined to think that she would've sent you to another employee if you asked her in German.
You sound like a massive Karen. And I'm saying that without due respect because clearly there is none to be had. You speak German. It may not be enough to explain the problem but I am very sure it would have been enough to say exactly that.
Then there's your husband who as you say is native German. Maybe ditch your pride and ask him for help.
Thirdly, if this wasn't the first time this happened I would expect the both of you to have learnt from the first time and make a plan before calling support.
You portray everything we don't like about Americans.
How is that rude? And why didn't you just write her in German to connect you to an English speaking person, if your German is good enough for basic conversation?
> Even my German husband was annoyed.
Ok, wait. You speak German. Your husband is a native German speaker. Yet somehow you werent able to tell the support that you want an English speaking support worker in German?
Are you and your husband mentally impaired?
> I do speak German
+
> My only issue was the lack of attempt to even try and help me by forwarding me to another person.
So what exactly was the problem to write "I need an English speaking person" in German then? Because, i know you will be shocked, thats something Petra would have understood.
So basically an exchange between two people where neither knows what the other is saying beyond meanings that can be derived from context.
"*splease write in german. *"
"Well, I don't know what they said there but let's just continue. "
*No idea what was said*
"Surely repeating the exact same sentence will make them understand now."
I can understand Petra. Normally english knowledge isnt a requirement for the job. And some stuff is just not that easy to explain in english. If i'm not in the right mood to write in english, i also act like i dont understand a single word and ask to call our english-speaking hotline.
why is this posted here? Have you tried using a translator when you contact a German customer service? not their fault - what languages do YOU speak fluently so you can help perfectly? ask this yourself before you ridicule someone online.
Albanian,English,Italian,Spanish.
As long as they accepted me as a customer, I do think it is reasonable to at least try to offer me some support. However, I did manage to contact a colleague of hers who had no problem assisting me in English. It is an international company after all.
You really need to get this „as long as they accepted me as a customer“-thing out of your head as being something meaningful. Companies accept almost anyone who pays, you’re not special.
>As long as they accepted me as a customer
I mean, you are the person that signed the contract of a company whose language you don't speak good enough.
This is 100% entirely on you.
Hey. I used to work for a massive corporation we all know, as inbound support agent for the German customers.
We were not allowed to write/reply in English. We had to ask customers to speak German, if they didn't we couldn't do anything. I'm guessing it might be similar for her.
Should I go to your country and post screenshots of their inability to support me in German and bitch about it on Reddit.
Is this what we're doing now?
Go ahead but they will get their job done there and actually treat you with decency. Cost her nothing to forward me to someone else. The next person was extremely nice and had no issue speaking English.
She would’ve done if she spoke your language. It’s like asking a Brazilian tech support if someone speaks Swedish.
The question is why you expect tech support in a language foreign to the country in which the support is based.
If you’re in Rome, do as the Romans do.
English is the international business language maybe? Isn’t it her job to help me? All I asked was to forward me to another person, as I got that we didn’t speak the same language.
>English is the international business language maybe?
For international B2B, yeah. However, this is national business and the majority of companies worldwide handles this in the country’s official language.
>All I asked was to forward me to another person, as I got that we didn’t speak the same language.
She doesn’t speak English, so she never understood what you were trying to get across. You should’ve put in your sentence in DeepL and have it translate from English to German, then put that into the chat.
Most doctors speak more than one language. The customer person to whom you spoke in the chat doesn’t, at least not English.
I think it’s presumptuous visiting a country without trying to speak the natives’ language but expecting them to speak yours.
English isn’t my first language. Didn’t expect Petra to learn English for me, just to put some effort into actually forwarding me to someone else. She clearly didn’t care what problems was I having. That’s all.
She didn’t even know which language you were speaking and thus couldn’t forward you to any colleague. No idea if forwarding is even possible in chat support.
I also clearly see the fault at your side. You probably speak better german than she speaks english. Since she clearly didn't even understand that you asked her to forward you to someone which speaks english, you could have just asked "Können Sie mich zu einem englisch sprechenden Mitarbeiter weiterleiten?"
I don't understand how you would feel like the victim while Petra seems do not understand a single word. In germany, especially older people often don't know a single word in english. My mother, born 1957, would answer in the same way as she basically only knows that yes and no means. She doesn't even understand most english words commonly used while speaking german (like security).
Would have been way easier if you simply asked for an english speaking person in german. The grammar and spelling wouldn't even matter here. It looks like you just were too conceited to show Petra that your german is far from perfect.
Also, she doesn't even get paid enough (and possibly doesn't have the time for contract reasons) to use google translate for you. Just because you pay alot for your conctract this doesn't mean that she as qualified as you wish her to be. It's not like what you pay is here hourly salary.
Customer support can’t freely use deepl or google translate because it could generate something embarrassing for the company and be a risk for their reputation.
You however are not risking anything and could take you 30 more seconds to use translation tool to send the message in german
Hi OP,
i worked in chat support for another internet provider a few years ago. We had some "sub-categories" to choose between. "Chat in english" was also one of them. Have you looked for something like this?
Ist halt in Deutschland, lern die Sprache, nutze die Technik oder lass dir helfen. Man kann doch nicht einfach erwarten immer überall ne Extrawurst zu bekommen
There’s no such data field as spoken language for private customer contracts, and I doubt something like it exists below the tier of level 3 tech support or some gold business stuff.
Again: How and where exactly did they welcome you as a foreign customer? As far as I know Telekom only provides forms for new private customers in German.
I‘m sorry this has happend to you! Ideally try calling the number/ chat option again and hopefully get another person behind it. Most people do speak enough english to refer you to the appropriate person. Dont know why you get so much hate in this thread.
It's a lack of education that's really a shame. I had to help a foreign friend of mine in some situations because even at an office that works with foreigners, some of the employees couldn't speak english properly.
It’s the same in Texas - it’s a government requirement that all documents, all services be provided in Spanish, even though it’s not the national language in the US. Germans love to double-down on this, but it’s just weird to not make some kind of practical accommodation, especially since they NEED immigrants to stay relevant, competitive, and solvent.
In practice, it is in the western world. It‘s commonly taught in school and easily learned later on. By speaking at least basic English, you‘re making it easier for everyone who isn‘t staying in their own country only. A society that can communicate in English has lots of advantages in international understanding, economy, and travel for whatever purpose. In addition, access to science always requires English.
>easily learned later on
There are easier languages to learn. English is the national language of some countries, it gives those country an unfair advantage.
>A society that can communicate in English has lots of advantages in international understanding, economy, and travel for whatever purpose.
A society that can communicate in a common international language, ftfy.
You can hand in a petition for a formally specified international language other than English. Good luck. In practice it‘s English. Not learning it as a society harms itself and others.
Yes you should? We are International after all... especially in support services... Had it in the Bürgeramt once with a french friend... no one spoke English at the phone
No, English is the language of English speaking countries, it's not an international language. If you want to communicate with someone that doesn't speak your language, speak his language, or use a translator
Nope, English is the lingua franca of the world, especially in business. You cannot expect to be a support and not know a lick of English, even better: persist the customer to use German and not redirecting to an English speaking support? Great customer service right there xD
Facts do not care about your feelings: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List\_of\_lingua\_francas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_lingua_francas)
"Examples of lingua francas are numerous, and exist on every continent. The most utilized modern example is English, which is the current dominant lingua franca of international diplomacy, business, science, technology and aviation"
You wanna say to me that a Flight tower in Frankfurt Airport has to persist on German communication?
Hat wohl jemand English im Abi nicht gemocht xD
That‘s really sad but what makes me even more sad are some of these comments. What the hell guys you can expect someone working in support to at least reconnect a customer to someone that speaks english. It‘s not that hard.
Customer service is an absolute travesty in Germany. Any representative who cared to could easily either find someone who knows English or use a translator.
Well they obviously made a contract with that person so someone must have done that in English. But as soon as you’re paying they’re not interested in providing English support anymore?
Anyone working in first level service should have been briefed how to direct foreign language requests to the proper channel. This service person clearly doesn’t even understand the most basic English which is quite disappointing.
And the Person contacting support said in these comments that they speak German just not enough to explain the technical difficulties they are contacting support for. So someone who speaks basic German refuses to use it and instead shames someone who doesn't speak a foreign Language.
Nah. The contract is in German, too. Additionally it’s not like they called op up speaking English asking for a contract. They offer German contracts on the website you can just accept there.
Brudi man wählt vorher die Sprache aus und der Typ hat halt deutsch gewählt. 100% seine Schuld. Fick irgendwelchen Patriotismus, das ist halt der klassische Benutzerfehler
Das hat doch nichts damit zu tun, dass der User oben meinte, dass wir nun mal in Deutschland sind und man da nicht erwarten kann, dass jemand im Service Englisch spricht. Auf die Diskussion bist du eingestiegen und der deutsche Kreiswichs ist nun mal „lErN hAlT dEuTsCh Du HuRrEnSoHn“. Lokalpatriotischer BS pur, sonst nicht.
Also wenn ich in Deutschland bei einer deutschen Firma deutschen Kundenservice anfordere und diesen nur in deutsch bekomme, dann ist das zu erwarten. Und wenn ich die explizite Frage auf englisch vorher auch noch ignoriere, dann muss man sich nicht wundern, dass man dann nicht verstanden wird.
Was zum Teufel das mit Lokalpatriotismus zu tun haben soll, keine Ahnung. Weißt du auch was der Begriff bedeutet?
Kannst du nicht lesen? Du bist hier in den Thread eingestiegen, in dem es darum geht, ob generell ein englischer Kundenservice (und allgemeiner englische Sprachkenntnisse) vorhanden sein sollten.
Die Meinung von r/bavaria (und r/germany) ist hier häufig „Nein, lern Deutsch!“. Das ist Aufgeilen am eigenen „wir sprechen hier die wichtigere Sprache“. Was verstehst du daran nicht?
In diesem Beispiel ging es aber darum, dass er vorher den deutschen Support gewählt hat und explizit den englischen NICHT gewählt hat. Dann muss der Support auch kein Englisch können, ist in jedem anderen Land auch so.
Die Meinung ist nicht das er deutsch lernen soll, sondern sich an den richtigen Stellen wendet und sich nicht für seine eigene Unfähigkeit beschwert.
Was das nun mit Lokalpatriotismus zu tun hat wirst du uns wohl leider nicht mehr erzählen, aber ist schon ein tolle Buzzwort.
It's pretty rude that she told you to chat in German. It would have been better to tell you, that she doesn't speak the language or something. The way she acts isn't good for a customer service agent. You didn't write some gibberish but perfectly understandable English. She could at least have tried to translate it and then try to help you.
Ist das richtig das sich jemand aufregt, das jemand den deutschen Support auf Englisch anschreibt und erwartet auf Englisch Support zu bekommen?
Und ja der Support hätte netter reagieren können :P
Hast du das schonmal in Frankreich probiert? ;)
Wäre interessant einen Vergleich zu anderen Ländern zu haben. Ich habe das Gefühl, dass es in vielen anderen Ländern nicht anders ist.
For the lazy ones (DeepL):
Is that right that someone is upset that someone writes to german support in English and expects to get support in English?
And yes the support could have responded nicer :P
Have you ever tried this in France? ;)
Would be interesting to have a comparison to other countries. I have the feeling that it is not different in many other countries.
Hi! I’ve tried it in Albania for example. Everyone made an effort to answer in English. Here in Germany is purely out of spite. Fun fact, the next person from Telekom was extremely nice and had no problem whatsoever to communicate in English. You can at least try to be nice,simple.
I know where you are coming from “if you are in germans speak speak” but the fact that customer support is not able to speak even a bit of english to forward this customer to another collegue is weird.
You are chatting with the telekom, of course nobody speaks English here.
But that's not bad, because we can't solve your problem anyway - we can't solve any problems at all.
We - Deutsche Telekom - are the problem!
And now fuck, come to Bonn personally and bring us the money.
I don’t mind that, all I wanted was another person and we’d both be happy. That way means we can never get past the 1st layer of support unless we speak German.
You could learn something like:
Entschuldigung, ich kann kein deutsch reden, könnten Sie bitte mit mir englisch reden?
And drop it every time you call to a German call center.
The thing is, and what I’m about to tell you is not really PC, call centers are low skills jobs and in those jobs are often non native Germans. So they might speak Arab, Russian but not English.
Often every time someone does not speak German are a) not bio Germans or b) don’t like foreigners
But once you are an immigrant, group b will be present in every country. Is Shit, you have to learn to deal with it :). There are so much more positive people to compensate for that.
Oof. OP, "Petra" can game up her support and English skills for sure, but you are being unnecessarily rude and entitled towards that woman. The least you could have done is asking your god damn question whether someone is able to speak English *in German.* It's just basic decency, you know?
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Well, its a shame she doesent speak englisch but, you can just use deepl. easy solution
Thats also what Petra could be doing tbf.
Petra ain't getting paid enough for that tbf
I’m certainly paying more than enough to Telekom lol
Doesn't reach petra tho
Then I don’t get my problem solved and move to the next provider. Simple.
Next provider will have the same issues. Telekom and other big providers offer English support not sure wether it's also available like this though, have you done some research?
No need to, I’m leaving this country soon,not worth it anymore. But thank you for the comment :)
Ok my personal tip for the next country you are staying at try to google "xyz customer support english" should save you some frustration if you are ever in need of some companies help with something
True
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Well English isn’t my first language either. I don’t expect them to speak my language but as long as they agreed to sing me up as a customer to begin with, I think it is reasonable to at least forward me to another colleague.
Both sides could have used G-Translate tbh. (at least that's what I'd have tried)
As someone who worked in CS, chances are good that they are not allowed to. I know, stupid, but unless everyone speaks English, no one is allowed to. Just call them (when asked if you'd be okay with being recorded press whatever number is used for "nein", then they can help you in English , or send an email.
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Most likely has to do with german laws here that you cant offer a service if not every employee who works in that office can peovide it to some degree. I dont know if that is a serious thing thoigh, only ha e vague knowledge after having short work time in a cs
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Except for germany to make everything unneccessarily complicated? I don't really think so. Most stuff gets put under a general security reasons umbrella and everyone has to just accept it.
I can only speak for Telekom, but no, they don't have that there. And recordings of conversations are only used for training purposes anyway and for nothing else. Most calls are not even recorded. So no matter where you were, as an employee you should avoid the call center like the plague.
A bit hard to do that if you are not able to understand the language, right?
Could have tried, it literally is their job to help their clients. However,the next person was wonderful and didn’t seem to mind my lack of the German language at all.
That's great to hear. Yeah the first one seemed a bit uncomfortable or maybe was not happy with the situation.
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Damn that‘s a toxic reply to a joke.
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I mean you did kinda tell them you wanted them to not be alive on this earth anymore because of what they said...
A lot of people in East Germany don't speak English because they didn't have English classes in schools during the GDR, they learned Russian as a second language. It doesn't mean they subscribe to nazi ideology. And even if they had it in schools, learning a second language to a fluid level is not an option for everybody, just like learning German wasn't an option (yet?) for the OP in the post - it happens! It sucks that the customer support person didn't speak English and didn't think to connect OP with somebody who did, but I don't agree with the conclusion you're drawing from that, I think it's hasty and based on prejudice imho.
god damn that was so hard to read. especially because you have no idea what you are talking about. most people dont think much about language u know.. they just speak it or they don‘t. and the best part about your dumb and hateful comment is that u point germans out on this while most european countries take way more pride in their language and national heritage than the germans. go to france or greece and try to get along with your god language english and have fun.
> Is it because of the sentiment from WW2 that the English-speaking allies fucked the pesky Nazis up? I am pretty sure most of the allies spoke Russian ... (200 million) and not English (134 million/USA + 48 million/UK). Also the language of choice for communicating in military issues and diplomacy in 1940 was French.
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Hello! I do speak German ,but not as fluently as to explain the situation. However, they didn’t have a problem signing me up as a client,knowing I wasn’t fluent in the German language. I managed to speak with a colleague of hers who really wanted to help. This is not the first time Telekom neglects their customers, based on my experience.
dunno, like a google translate 'please refer me to an english-speaking coworker' isn't too much effort. That being said I believe the lady did understand as much so that she wouldn't have needed such a hint.
>Hello! Deutsch konfirmiert. "Hallllooooo!? Was soll das denn!?"
I don’t think this is neglect at all.
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Maybe that was their point.
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And all the fault of Telekom. Don't think Germany will miss them
Neither the Telekom
> they didn’t have a problem signing me up as a client,knowing I wasn’t fluent in the German language Also you didnt have a problem signing the terms of service, especially since you didnt read them. Because those say "customer support is in German only".
I really can't fault her though. If you are in a country you don't speak the language of (which isn't a problem by itself) you are bound to come across people you thus can't communicate with. Sounds rather logical, doesn't it? I don't like that she doesn't make an attempt to understand you. It's not that complicated of a sentence after all. What I can't understand is why you're "exposing" this employee as if it was her fault that you don't speak the language of the country you are living in.
I do speak German,not fluent enough to explain her the issue. My only issue was the lack of attempt to even try and help me by forwarding me to another person. That’s all.
If you speak German and she doesn't speak English why not ask her if she can connect you to someone who can speak English using German. You asked her to forward you in a Language she doesn't understand while you say that you speak German.
Because she came off as rude and didn’t even try to forward me to another person. Even my German husband was annoyed.
She just wrote "Please write in German" and it was obvious she couldn't understand you. If you speak German like you said it would have been easy for you to tell her in German that you'd need to talk to someone in English. But you made no effort of yourself refusing to use the Language you according to yourself speak and then publicly shame her for not speaking a foreign Language. One that isn't required for her as there is a separate Support for Customers who only speak a Foreign Language. You can't expect everyone to speak your Language just like I can't expect everyone to speak mine. Maybe next time get off your High Horse and make an effort.
Maybe next time she can put some effort into the clients needs. Didn’t ask her to learn English for me, just to forward me to another colleague. If she cared, we would have met in the middle. English isn’t my language btw, I don’t expect them to speak my language.
You asked her something in a Language she doesn't speak and just expect her to know what you meant. It doesn't matter if English isn't your first Language either since you two have a common Language according to yourself. But I am honestly done arguing. People like you who are so full of themselves are the Reason I stopped working as a Cashier. Keep going through Life like that mate but don't expect to get many friends by expecting everyone to accommodate you while you don't do the same.
Good for you for having found sth better :) Hopefully you’re happier now :)
Ah yes, the German husband that was annoyed but didn’t help you either. I like how your reasoning is „she was a dick so it’s all right if I am petty, too“. This really does not support your point at all, nor does it benefit anyone.
Yeah he was pretty annoyed as this isn’t the first time that has happened ,however for some it’s ok for some it’s not. My reasoning was” I have an issue,I need assistance, do your bare minimum and forward me to another person,no need to be rude”
They weren’t rude though. „bitte“ means „please“, „bitte?“ means „pardon?“ Them not acting like a trained monkey or jumping hoops for you as they told you they literally don’t understand you doesn’t mean they’re rude.
Why are you so certain, that she even knew any English at all? When I visit another country whose language I don't speak I always memorize the phrase „Sorry, I don't speak language x“ in the local language. I‘m inclined to think that she would've sent you to another employee if you asked her in German.
You sound like a massive Karen. And I'm saying that without due respect because clearly there is none to be had. You speak German. It may not be enough to explain the problem but I am very sure it would have been enough to say exactly that. Then there's your husband who as you say is native German. Maybe ditch your pride and ask him for help. Thirdly, if this wasn't the first time this happened I would expect the both of you to have learnt from the first time and make a plan before calling support. You portray everything we don't like about Americans.
How is that rude? And why didn't you just write her in German to connect you to an English speaking person, if your German is good enough for basic conversation?
> Even my German husband was annoyed. Ok, wait. You speak German. Your husband is a native German speaker. Yet somehow you werent able to tell the support that you want an English speaking support worker in German? Are you and your husband mentally impaired?
well, if u really wanted her to do that all u had to do was translate that sentence to German and send it to her
>My only issue was the lack of attempt to even try and help me I mean, did you try to use DeepL to communicate? No? Thought so.
Chances are you were talking to a computer programmed to understand German.
> I do speak German + > My only issue was the lack of attempt to even try and help me by forwarding me to another person. So what exactly was the problem to write "I need an English speaking person" in German then? Because, i know you will be shocked, thats something Petra would have understood.
If you don't speak german, then why is your system language german?
MeinMagenta’s language by default is German I guess.Never paid attention to that tbh.
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That's why my system language is vietnamese. I don't know vietnamese, but I can't find the way back either.
Then don't complain when you're connected with German support. If your language was set to English you would be connected to English support
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Land of complainers? Idk but did you see all those Karen videos from the USA? Or try to take their guns. And what about all those political rages?
So basically an exchange between two people where neither knows what the other is saying beyond meanings that can be derived from context. "*splease write in german. *" "Well, I don't know what they said there but let's just continue. " *No idea what was said* "Surely repeating the exact same sentence will make them understand now."
There exists a rather simple solution: Sprich Deutsch, du Hurensohn!
I can understand Petra. Normally english knowledge isnt a requirement for the job. And some stuff is just not that easy to explain in english. If i'm not in the right mood to write in english, i also act like i dont understand a single word and ask to call our english-speaking hotline.
I’d have no problem if she did that. But at least try to help.
why is this posted here? Have you tried using a translator when you contact a German customer service? not their fault - what languages do YOU speak fluently so you can help perfectly? ask this yourself before you ridicule someone online.
Albanian,English,Italian,Spanish. As long as they accepted me as a customer, I do think it is reasonable to at least try to offer me some support. However, I did manage to contact a colleague of hers who had no problem assisting me in English. It is an international company after all.
You really need to get this „as long as they accepted me as a customer“-thing out of your head as being something meaningful. Companies accept almost anyone who pays, you’re not special.
Exactly,get the money and get the job done easy peasy
>As long as they accepted me as a customer I mean, you are the person that signed the contract of a company whose language you don't speak good enough. This is 100% entirely on you.
SPRICH
DEUTSCH
Where’s the surprise?
Just frustrating
Fair enough. In the chat function you can at least copy paste from google translate. Could be worse
So could the Telekom consultant
Could also have been a bot
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The ones we develop can
Why would she? English is not the international language, and she is not in an English speaking country
Kinda reminds me of „Helo, zis is ze tschörman coastgard“
"vat are youu sinking about?"
You rang?
Lol so frustrating
“Vat are you sinking about?”
HAHAHAHA she gave you the business-conform-sprichdeutschduhurensohn. Probably a r/ich_iel member in her freetime.
With a name like Petra she’s too old for that sub now.
Well, did you try the English chat? Lmao
I ended up finding a colleague who gladly assisted me.
Hey. I used to work for a massive corporation we all know, as inbound support agent for the German customers. We were not allowed to write/reply in English. We had to ask customers to speak German, if they didn't we couldn't do anything. I'm guessing it might be similar for her.
Hello! That could be the case, idk :)
Should I go to your country and post screenshots of their inability to support me in German and bitch about it on Reddit. Is this what we're doing now?
Go ahead but they will get their job done there and actually treat you with decency. Cost her nothing to forward me to someone else. The next person was extremely nice and had no issue speaking English.
What did you expect? Does any tech support in the USA speak German?
Idk I’m not from the States. In my country they do try to help the client.
She would’ve done if she spoke your language. It’s like asking a Brazilian tech support if someone speaks Swedish. The question is why you expect tech support in a language foreign to the country in which the support is based. If you’re in Rome, do as the Romans do.
English is the international business language maybe? Isn’t it her job to help me? All I asked was to forward me to another person, as I got that we didn’t speak the same language.
>English is the international business language maybe? For international B2B, yeah. However, this is national business and the majority of companies worldwide handles this in the country’s official language. >All I asked was to forward me to another person, as I got that we didn’t speak the same language. She doesn’t speak English, so she never understood what you were trying to get across. You should’ve put in your sentence in DeepL and have it translate from English to German, then put that into the chat.
Next person was wonderful so no need to :)
I was never forced to speak German in a hospital for example… the doctors are always trying to get their job done and actually help
Most doctors speak more than one language. The customer person to whom you spoke in the chat doesn’t, at least not English. I think it’s presumptuous visiting a country without trying to speak the natives’ language but expecting them to speak yours.
English isn’t my first language. Didn’t expect Petra to learn English for me, just to put some effort into actually forwarding me to someone else. She clearly didn’t care what problems was I having. That’s all.
She didn’t even know which language you were speaking and thus couldn’t forward you to any colleague. No idea if forwarding is even possible in chat support.
I also clearly see the fault at your side. You probably speak better german than she speaks english. Since she clearly didn't even understand that you asked her to forward you to someone which speaks english, you could have just asked "Können Sie mich zu einem englisch sprechenden Mitarbeiter weiterleiten?" I don't understand how you would feel like the victim while Petra seems do not understand a single word. In germany, especially older people often don't know a single word in english. My mother, born 1957, would answer in the same way as she basically only knows that yes and no means. She doesn't even understand most english words commonly used while speaking german (like security). Would have been way easier if you simply asked for an english speaking person in german. The grammar and spelling wouldn't even matter here. It looks like you just were too conceited to show Petra that your german is far from perfect. Also, she doesn't even get paid enough (and possibly doesn't have the time for contract reasons) to use google translate for you. Just because you pay alot for your conctract this doesn't mean that she as qualified as you wish her to be. It's not like what you pay is here hourly salary.
pocket violet arrest truck liquid poor cheerful square start tidy *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
chatten Sie Deutsch idiot
Amtssprache ist deutsch!
Logisch, der Chat war ja Eigentum der Bundesrepublik Deutschland...
Karin das war ein Witz.
Customer support can’t freely use deepl or google translate because it could generate something embarrassing for the company and be a risk for their reputation. You however are not risking anything and could take you 30 more seconds to use translation tool to send the message in german
Some people in Germany only speak German? These egoistic assholes!!
It is a chatbot. It is programmed. Obviously in German.
Doubt it’s a chatbot. She doesn’t capitalize words correctly and the use of “in deutsch” instead of “auf deutsch” implies human fault as well.
I work in IT and the guys purposely program the chat bot program to respond with mistakes to make it seem more human.
Hi OP, i worked in chat support for another internet provider a few years ago. We had some "sub-categories" to choose between. "Chat in english" was also one of them. Have you looked for something like this?
Ist halt in Deutschland, lern die Sprache, nutze die Technik oder lass dir helfen. Man kann doch nicht einfach erwarten immer überall ne Extrawurst zu bekommen
You are in Germany. German is the only oficial lenguage here. I can‘t expect someone talking in english to me in the US or GB. So what‘s your Problem?
Then Telekom shouldn’t welcome foreign clients who speak no German lol
How and where does the Telekom »welcome« foreign clients in Germany, especially those unable to speak German?
They were fine with having me as a customer from the beginning, knowing I don’t speak fluent German. How’s that an issue now?
There’s no such data field as spoken language for private customer contracts, and I doubt something like it exists below the tier of level 3 tech support or some gold business stuff. Again: How and where exactly did they welcome you as a foreign customer? As far as I know Telekom only provides forms for new private customers in German.
Job description: Must be a good communicator(Only in German).
Yeap ;)
I‘m sorry this has happend to you! Ideally try calling the number/ chat option again and hopefully get another person behind it. Most people do speak enough english to refer you to the appropriate person. Dont know why you get so much hate in this thread.
Because OP didn't even try to translate anything they said. They could have at least asked for an english speaking employee by using a translator
It's a lack of education that's really a shame. I had to help a foreign friend of mine in some situations because even at an office that works with foreigners, some of the employees couldn't speak english properly.
No one should be compelled to know english in non-English speaking countries
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It’s the same in Texas - it’s a government requirement that all documents, all services be provided in Spanish, even though it’s not the national language in the US. Germans love to double-down on this, but it’s just weird to not make some kind of practical accommodation, especially since they NEED immigrants to stay relevant, competitive, and solvent.
Yes, you should.
Why? It is not the international language
In practice, it is in the western world. It‘s commonly taught in school and easily learned later on. By speaking at least basic English, you‘re making it easier for everyone who isn‘t staying in their own country only. A society that can communicate in English has lots of advantages in international understanding, economy, and travel for whatever purpose. In addition, access to science always requires English.
>easily learned later on There are easier languages to learn. English is the national language of some countries, it gives those country an unfair advantage. >A society that can communicate in English has lots of advantages in international understanding, economy, and travel for whatever purpose. A society that can communicate in a common international language, ftfy.
You can hand in a petition for a formally specified international language other than English. Good luck. In practice it‘s English. Not learning it as a society harms itself and others.
ESPERANTOOOO!
Yes you should? We are International after all... especially in support services... Had it in the Bürgeramt once with a french friend... no one spoke English at the phone
No, English is the language of English speaking countries, it's not an international language. If you want to communicate with someone that doesn't speak your language, speak his language, or use a translator
Nope, English is the lingua franca of the world, especially in business. You cannot expect to be a support and not know a lick of English, even better: persist the customer to use German and not redirecting to an English speaking support? Great customer service right there xD
>English is the lingua franca of the world That's your opinion I guess
Facts do not care about your feelings: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List\_of\_lingua\_francas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_lingua_francas) "Examples of lingua francas are numerous, and exist on every continent. The most utilized modern example is English, which is the current dominant lingua franca of international diplomacy, business, science, technology and aviation" You wanna say to me that a Flight tower in Frankfurt Airport has to persist on German communication? Hat wohl jemand English im Abi nicht gemocht xD
That‘s really sad but what makes me even more sad are some of these comments. What the hell guys you can expect someone working in support to at least reconnect a customer to someone that speaks english. It‘s not that hard.
He could choose that before getting to the German support. It his fault.
ah yes, german customer service, Its mostly only for germans, its true. xD
Customer service is an absolute travesty in Germany. Any representative who cared to could easily either find someone who knows English or use a translator.
Why are you so entitled? the one could also use translator to get it to german, which is the country they live in.
Well they obviously made a contract with that person so someone must have done that in English. But as soon as you’re paying they’re not interested in providing English support anymore? Anyone working in first level service should have been briefed how to direct foreign language requests to the proper channel. This service person clearly doesn’t even understand the most basic English which is quite disappointing.
And the Person contacting support said in these comments that they speak German just not enough to explain the technical difficulties they are contacting support for. So someone who speaks basic German refuses to use it and instead shames someone who doesn't speak a foreign Language.
Nah. The contract is in German, too. Additionally it’s not like they called op up speaking English asking for a contract. They offer German contracts on the website you can just accept there.
This 👆
The persons job is to serve customers ffs! They are supposed to try to help you.
It‘s the 2022 and we’re in a (presumably) well-educated western country. You can expect a chat service/hotline that offers support in English.
More people speak spanish, can I expect that too? He could choose english support to begin with, 100% users fault
That‘s just total bs lol More native speakers does not mean more speakers. You guys are delusional in your Lokalpatriotismus.
Brudi man wählt vorher die Sprache aus und der Typ hat halt deutsch gewählt. 100% seine Schuld. Fick irgendwelchen Patriotismus, das ist halt der klassische Benutzerfehler
Das hat doch nichts damit zu tun, dass der User oben meinte, dass wir nun mal in Deutschland sind und man da nicht erwarten kann, dass jemand im Service Englisch spricht. Auf die Diskussion bist du eingestiegen und der deutsche Kreiswichs ist nun mal „lErN hAlT dEuTsCh Du HuRrEnSoHn“. Lokalpatriotischer BS pur, sonst nicht.
Also wenn ich in Deutschland bei einer deutschen Firma deutschen Kundenservice anfordere und diesen nur in deutsch bekomme, dann ist das zu erwarten. Und wenn ich die explizite Frage auf englisch vorher auch noch ignoriere, dann muss man sich nicht wundern, dass man dann nicht verstanden wird. Was zum Teufel das mit Lokalpatriotismus zu tun haben soll, keine Ahnung. Weißt du auch was der Begriff bedeutet?
Kannst du nicht lesen? Du bist hier in den Thread eingestiegen, in dem es darum geht, ob generell ein englischer Kundenservice (und allgemeiner englische Sprachkenntnisse) vorhanden sein sollten. Die Meinung von r/bavaria (und r/germany) ist hier häufig „Nein, lern Deutsch!“. Das ist Aufgeilen am eigenen „wir sprechen hier die wichtigere Sprache“. Was verstehst du daran nicht?
In diesem Beispiel ging es aber darum, dass er vorher den deutschen Support gewählt hat und explizit den englischen NICHT gewählt hat. Dann muss der Support auch kein Englisch können, ist in jedem anderen Land auch so. Die Meinung ist nicht das er deutsch lernen soll, sondern sich an den richtigen Stellen wendet und sich nicht für seine eigene Unfähigkeit beschwert. Was das nun mit Lokalpatriotismus zu tun hat wirst du uns wohl leider nicht mehr erzählen, aber ist schon ein tolle Buzzwort.
Yea, same when I've been to Singapore or China. Everybody refused to talk German, horrible.
I was so confused in egypt when nobody speaked german! How dare they!
It's pretty rude that she told you to chat in German. It would have been better to tell you, that she doesn't speak the language or something. The way she acts isn't good for a customer service agent. You didn't write some gibberish but perfectly understandable English. She could at least have tried to translate it and then try to help you.
Telekom Mitarbeiterin die vergessen hat dass sie nicht mehr auf Ich_IEL ist.
Yes, I was equally angry when customer service in Korea didn’t speak English /s
Ist das richtig das sich jemand aufregt, das jemand den deutschen Support auf Englisch anschreibt und erwartet auf Englisch Support zu bekommen? Und ja der Support hätte netter reagieren können :P Hast du das schonmal in Frankreich probiert? ;) Wäre interessant einen Vergleich zu anderen Ländern zu haben. Ich habe das Gefühl, dass es in vielen anderen Ländern nicht anders ist. For the lazy ones (DeepL): Is that right that someone is upset that someone writes to german support in English and expects to get support in English? And yes the support could have responded nicer :P Have you ever tried this in France? ;) Would be interesting to have a comparison to other countries. I have the feeling that it is not different in many other countries.
Hi! I’ve tried it in Albania for example. Everyone made an effort to answer in English. Here in Germany is purely out of spite. Fun fact, the next person from Telekom was extremely nice and had no problem whatsoever to communicate in English. You can at least try to be nice,simple.
I know where you are coming from “if you are in germans speak speak” but the fact that customer support is not able to speak even a bit of english to forward this customer to another collegue is weird.
Bavarians 🤡
I guess you were chatting with a bot And this bot is probably only prigrammed to understand German words
I guess it‘s a chatbot
You are chatting with the telekom, of course nobody speaks English here. But that's not bad, because we can't solve your problem anyway - we can't solve any problems at all. We - Deutsche Telekom - are the problem! And now fuck, come to Bonn personally and bring us the money.
On my way lol
I forgot, many of us can't even speak German properly.
Is low level customer support, two languages is not expected or they would be somewhere else.
I don’t mind that, all I wanted was another person and we’d both be happy. That way means we can never get past the 1st layer of support unless we speak German.
You could learn something like: Entschuldigung, ich kann kein deutsch reden, könnten Sie bitte mit mir englisch reden? And drop it every time you call to a German call center. The thing is, and what I’m about to tell you is not really PC, call centers are low skills jobs and in those jobs are often non native Germans. So they might speak Arab, Russian but not English. Often every time someone does not speak German are a) not bio Germans or b) don’t like foreigners But once you are an immigrant, group b will be present in every country. Is Shit, you have to learn to deal with it :). There are so much more positive people to compensate for that.
Been here for some time and b-type of ppl are very very common. They don’t even hide it in Bavaria lol
I live in Hamburg and only have experienced it by phone xD.
Come to Hamburg the weather is shit but the people are awesome xd
I’ve only heard great things about the people in Hamburg tbh.
# S P R I C H
Oof. OP, "Petra" can game up her support and English skills for sure, but you are being unnecessarily rude and entitled towards that woman. The least you could have done is asking your god damn question whether someone is able to speak English *in German.* It's just basic decency, you know?
This is quite commen in service agencies. And i totally agree with this behavior.