Tamilians on this TV commercial get the sale where call centers fail!
Americans are so resistant to getting calls from Indian call centers, that managers at these call centers often feel that the problem is that Americans don’t like Indians. This is simply not true! Americans are a bit squeemish at first if you are from a culture that they are not used to, but if you are charming and perhaps funny, you can easily break through the cultural barrier. The best thing about America is that cultural borders ARE crossable, and sometimes can be crossed faster than you think if you have the right approach.
There was a recent commercial on TV for cell phones. There were two Tamilian guys who were very funny, and likeable. An overweight goofy looking freckled American boy named Billy steps up and gets roped by a noose around his leg that hoisted him up in to the air upside down. One of the Indian guys said, “Silly Billy, you fell in to the contraPT”. Billy got trapped by a contract that was more like a “contrap”. This commercial was popular all around the United States.
North Indian call centers and airline workers think that they need to be as fair skinned as Europeans, and have perfectly neutral accents, and discard anything Indian about themselves to do well in the modern economy. The irony is that these particular dark skinned Tamilians with very Thick, but understandable accents in the commercial became instant hits with Americans, while call center workers who pretend their name is Mike and pretend they are located in New York are NOT very popular with Americans.
The truth is that Americans normally feel threatened by people from the Middle East and South Asia who wear very foreign clothing, and who are perhaps dark, veiled, or have strong accents. HOWEVER, Americans usually make an exception for Indians, since we perceive Indians as being GENTLE and INTELLIGENT when we meet them in person.
My point is that call center workers need to work harder at being PERSONABLE, instead of working hard to erase their Indian-ness. Americans normally like Indians who are personable — so there is no need to pretend not to be Indian. Additionally, no matter how hard you pretend not to be Indian, you will still sound foreign to us unless you have been socializing exclusively with Americans for two decades.
I met one North Indian girl who was working on an airline in India. She was so fair, that she could almost pass as a European. But, her attitude was terrible. She PRETENDED not to know what masala chai was. Pretending that you are ignorant about Indian culture does not erase the fact that you are an Indian — it only proves that you are confused, and too snobby to accept the culture you were born into.
All you have to do is speak clearly, be helpful, and likeable! Instead of being fake, focus on your interaction skills, and the rest becomes secondary!
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