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I can't understand them


Ace_of_Hearts

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It is rare anymore when I can understand someone over the phone. Most especially females.

They communicate in a cadence that would wear out a sprinter in 5 seconds. Their voices rise and fall in the middle of a sentence and the lack of a pause where a period should be is nonexistent. Add to that a cheap headset that has an echo and whatever they said as an introduction to the business goes unheeded.

Add to that, acronyms that you have never heard before along with other forms of titles, names, and abbreviations and the conversation turns into a headache on my end of the phone. 

The conversation with my insurance agent receptionist this morning is a perfect example. 

After she rattled off the unintelligible name of the company through that echo headset I finally heard (I think) "How may I help you"?

I gave her my name and my company name and requested a proof of insurance form be emailed to me.

She ripped off the name of some individual that handled that and than began what I think were instructions to email her. (Why would I want to email her when I was on the phone to her).

The conversation didn't last much longer as I just couldn't understand half of what she was saying even though I told her to slow down and speak clearly.

Almost every phone call to any company starts out this way.

We don't teach them how to cross a street anymore and now talking on the phone has become a non-communication adventure.

 

 

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When we gat a voice mail from one of the doctors offices. I have to listen to it at least 3 times. 
I think everybody should hire southern girls. Them I can understand. 

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Seems like most of the females between 18 to 60 speak like a high school, valley girl wannabe. Irritates the hell out of me. I can't understand what they are trying to say and lose any interest in what they are saying within seconds.

 

SPEAK LIKE AN ADULT......PLEASE.

 

Sorry folks, this is one of my pet peeves.

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People don't know proper phone etiquette.  There is an art and style to speaking on a phone that is different than speaking in person.  Speaking in person, you have the advantage of sight so you can watch their lips.  We all read lips to some extent.  On a phone, all you can do is hear and like many of us, our hearing is compromised and we don't hear as well as we used to.  Slow down, enunciate.  It really torques me off when someone is trying to give me a number or leaves one as a message that you have to play the recording a half dozen times to write the number down.  I make a habit of distinctly slowing down and speaking clearly so as to avoid this.  Doing otherwise is just plain rude.  Very unprofessional.

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I have the same issues and it’s pretty aggravating. I think I have come up with a solution. 
 

One thing I have been doing that I find fun and entertaining is I repeat back to them something completely different from what I think they said. That always results in them repeating what they said nice and clear, especially if it’s going to cost them something or make them look stupid. 
Example:

Yesterday I called my surgeon’s office to find out about an X-Ray authorization and an Occupational Therapy authorization. 
The girl I was talking to is Latina and talks with an accent and very fast. 
I think she said “Okay hang on let me verify that for you. Hold on a second.”

What I heard was gibberish. 
What I said to her instead of “Please repeat that.” Was;

”Oh thank you, I try, but it’s hard these days with all the CoVid crap going on.”

There was a pause and then she said very clearly “I’m sorry. I think you misheard me. Please hang on. I will check for you.”

I laughed and said “Thank you”. 
No stress, no misinterpretation. 
Try it. It works. 

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It's currently fashionable for a lot of young people to actually raise their voice at the end of a sentence. It REALLY irritates me. Apparently they do so because they think it sounds less condescending when they talk to others.

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Please understand...I am NOT trying to excuse bad telephone etiquette. But part of the problem is the telephone equipment still in use which causes frequency-clipping at both high and low frequencies.  Add to that the fact that female voices generally have a higher frequency range, and the sad fact that most of us old farts have nerve damage and loss of hearing in the higher frequencies and it doesn't help the situation at all.  Add in foreign accents, and even the possibility that the speaker may have a headset with the mike attached and have it too far or too close, and "Hunh?  Could you repeat that, please, and more slowly?"  Then, of course, even with a male speaker, I have difficulty understanding the Hindustani-accented English speakers that most scammers are using! :angry:  

Oh, well....

Stay well and safe, Pards!

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14 minutes ago, Sixgun Sheridan said:

It's currently fashionable for a lot of young people to actually raise their voice at the end of a sentence. It REALLY irritates me. Apparently they do so because they think it sounds less condescending when they talk to others.

 

Exactly. Frequent example I hear a lot:

 

Q: What's a good number I call you back on?

 

A: 555-666-7777? Always ends it with a questioning sound as if they don't actually know their own number!

 

Please spell your name:

 

R O B  J O H N S O N?

 

Again, people sound as if they are uncertain about their own name. 

 

Spell it like you mean it, people! It's YOURS! OWN IT!

 

:angry:

 

Now I require distilled liquid...

 

:D

 

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When my audiologist tested my ears I asked about hearing my wife. He said older males tend to have difficulty hearing and understanding women and small children Something about the frequency sign waves of the aspect ratio of hearing reverberation.

 

Anyway I asked for a note from him saying its not my fault, that I am listening. He laughed and it was a no.

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Yeah the whole Valley Girl thing with the odd intonations and putting the emplasis on the wrong sy LAH ble is annoying.  Everything being awesome and "I feel you" is also a real PITA.  It is also disconcerting that the younger generation can't count or make change.  Something comes to $10.25 and give give them a twenty and a quarter is met with blank stares.  Most of the time they hand you the quarter back and give you $9.75 because that is what the cash register told them to do.

 

P.S.  Rather than put the change in your hand first, they stack it on the paper money and hand it to you and the coins slide onto the floor.

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Make them count back the change to you if you really want see heads spin. :D

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1 hour ago, Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933 said:

Yeah the whole Valley Girl thing with the odd intonations and putting the emplasis on the wrong sy LAH ble is annoying.  Everything being awesome and "I feel you" is also a real PITA.  It is also disconcerting that the younger generation can't count or make change.  Something comes to $10.25 and give give them a twenty and a quarter is met with blank stares.  Most of the time they hand you the quarter back and give you $9.75 because that is what the cash register told them to do.

 

P.S.  Rather than put the change in your hand first, they stack it on the paper money and hand it to you and the coins slide onto the floor.

Yes, that “Valley Girl” intonation or whatever you may call it is quite annoying. Trouble is, it’s everywhere. My wife was watching shows on Lifetime and the Hallmark channel. All the women in these shows talk like that with an upswing in pitch as they end their sentences. My wife started doing that crap. Well, I ticked her off good but I brought it to her attention. Often. And finally, after a couple of spats, she got the point. 
 

That ridiculous statement that moron men use now “I feel you” is also another aggravating thing. My response depends solely on who is around and it sure as heck ain’t polite enough to post here. Let’s just say they never use that phrase with me again. 

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After reading all these responses I have a smile on my face.

 

THANK GOD I AM NOT ALONE IN THIS WORLD!

 

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I generally stop the person on the phone and explain to them that I am hearing impaired and that they MUST speak plainly, slowly, and a little louder.  When that fails, (it usually does) I stop them again and admonish them to enunciate properly and to take their time!!

 

I HAVE asked to be transferred to someone who speaks English as a first language, (politely) on more than a few occasions!!

 

If it is important enough, they’ll see to it that communication is clear and concise.

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My response to “I feel you” is usually, “You do and I’ll break your jaw!” :o :lol:

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Utah Bob said it right!
Hire Suth'n girls!

It's been my observation that the further north you go, the faster people talk.

I've frequently wondered if the girls at the drive-thru window weren't rejects from auctioneer school.

I make a point of speaking a little slower than standard, a little louder than standard, for the same reason I print instead of write in cursive.

Too many years of communicating in venues where a good clear commo is what kept my partner and I alive.

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Then compound the problem with the (expletive deleted) mask.  All I hear is, "Muff, muff, muff, muff.". 

 

I got a phone message from my dentist office wanting me to confirm an appointment for the next day.  As they already completed the work I was sure I didn't need the appointment.  Rather than call, I dropped in to clear up the conflict.   After listening to the lady explain and only understanding every 5'th worrd, I just asked if the appointment was cancelled.  She said yes.  Ok.

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4 hours ago, Trailrider #896 said:

and the sad fact that most of us old farts have nerve damage and loss of hearing in the higher frequencies and it doesn't help the situation at all. 

 

The high frequency in my left ear is gone.  The high and middle frequency in my right ear is gone. I got hearing aids about 18 months ago.  Now I can hear a lot of stuff I don't to hear. And it competes with all the sound that I need to hear.  There is no net gain - just more noise.

 

I was in the dentist chair and the lady assistant was working behind me and trying to chitchat.  I couldn't make out what she was saying but she laid out her instruments and it sounded like someone dropping an armload of crowbars on a concrete floor. 

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I think most of the young people talk too fast, boys and girls. Geez slow down!

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“Slow down darlin’.  (Switching to a southern drawl now), “Ahcain’t  unnerstan ennythin’ yersane.”

 

CB

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15 hours ago, Utah Bob #35998 said:

When we gat a voice mail from one of the doctors offices. I have to listen to it at least 3 times. 
I think everybody should hire southern girls. Them I can understand. 

I generally agree with Brother Bob but I received a call from a Mississippi girl that would like to be a Valley girl.  The worst of both worlds.

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Hmmmm...seems as if all y'all are sayin' ya don't understand women!  Heck, I gave up trying that decades ago!  :D  Except for my wife.  She has learned to use "guy speak"  and to pitch her voice a bit lower so I can hear and understand her.

 

15 hours ago, Finagler 6853 Life said:

It really torques me off when someone is trying to give me a number or leaves one as a message that you have to play the recording a half dozen times to write the number down. 

 

When I have to leave a call back number on a message machine I start with my name, my phone number said slowly, and close with "Again, that's Subdeacon Joe at 5...5...5...1....2...1....2, that's 5...5...5...1....2...1....2"

When I have someone rattling things off too fast I use the "Say Again! Please."  If I have to do that twice I tell them that my hearing is really bad, please talk louder and slower.

 

Also, if at a drive through I'm able to clearly hear and understand the person I'll let them know that.  But, if I have to do the "Say Again" several times I will let them know that they are too fast and/or too quiet, and to keep in mind that not everyone is 18 with good hearing and the speech patterns of high schoolers.

 

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14 hours ago, Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933 said:

Yeah the whole Valley Girl thing with the odd intonations and putting the emplasis on the wrong sy LAH ble is annoying.  Everything being awesome and "I feel you" is also a real PITA.  It is also disconcerting that the younger generation can't count or make change.  Something comes to $10.25 and give give them a twenty and a quarter is met with blank stares.  Most of the time they hand you the quarter back and give you $9.75 because that is what the cash register told them to do.

 

P.S.  Rather than put the change in your hand first, they stack it on the paper money and hand it to you and the coins slide onto the floor.

 

I don’t give them $20.25, I give them $20.00 then after they enter it I’ll give them the other .25.  All it does though is reinforce my belief that schools are getting dumbed down.  Oh, by the way, pennies really screw them up. 

As for the mask thing if I can’t understand a mask wearer in person I tell them that I read lips, they generally will lower the mask. 

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Ahh... welcome to Curmudgeon Land...
This is where we all go, when we get old.

That annoying thing, is called a dipthong.
Listen carefully to the professional voices on commercials.
Especially so with female voice... you will hear the gliding vowel go down in pitch.
This is a characteristic of female voice artists.
The annoying twit on the phone uses a rising dipthong which you hear as a question mark at the end of her (endless) sentence.

My favorites, and the ones I imitate on the phone with telemarketers is the (racist) Indian accent.
Her:  "(heavy Indian accent) Hello, my name is Debby."
Me: "(heavy Indian accent) Hi, my name is Rakesh Kendalwal"
Her: "(angry Indian accent) I don't think your name is Rakesh."
Me: "(laughing Indian accent) And I don't think your name is Debby."

< phone hangs up on her end >

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I used to do business with a very nice man who was French Canadian. Extremely strong accent. When I was talking to him face to face I could usually understand him.

 

I called his office one day and was talking to the secretary, and she said she wasn't sure about the answer to my question, and would I like to speak to Claude.

 

I said, "I can't understand him on the telephone".

 

She said she heard that a lot.

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I hated it when someone would call and leave a LONG message on the answering machine in a fairly normal voice and speed and then say their phone number at the very end so fast it was indecipherable.   Had to play the whole LONG message over again to try and hear the number.  Finally solved the problem.  I threw away the answering machine.

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I'm glad to see that I am not alone.  Up here if you phone a federal government agency, 9 times out of 10 you will get an East Indian on the other end, and then I'm really lost.

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On top of just not being able to understand these people on a phone call, I just love the "voice activated microphone" that always seem to drop the first word. How many times is it polite to ask a person to repeat what they said. Drives me nuts and more so the older I get.

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The atrocious enunciation and general "Marbles in the Mouth" I keep experiencing is becoming epidemic.

SWMBO is getting bad as well: starts off strong and clear, but as she keeps talking in the same sentence and breath, she gets less clear and lower in volume.

She felt I was getting hard of hearing, so I got checked.

Nope. My hearing was just fine in the left ear but a little down in the right. Not enough to warrant a hearing aid.

The sound on some TV programs is another bug-a-boo!

Some are clear and understandable, while others have me turning on the Closed Captioning to understand what they are saying.

 

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1 hour ago, Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474 said:

The sound on some TV programs is another bug-a-boo!

 

Seems like old movies and TV shows had a pretty even sound level.  Newer movies have low talking with a lot of background noise. Can't make out what's being said. Then they hit some action spot and the sound level is unbearably loud.

 

We did some in person business with a small company in northern Louisiana.  Now I can do southern as a native language.  But I had to do some careful listening and interpretation to understand there people.  He told about doing business with cajuns in southern Louisiana.  "You just can't understand these people. 

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