My Fake American Accent (Ang Buhay na Walang Tulugan)

Share

Photo courtesy of http://3.bp.blogspot.com

My Fake American Accent (Ang Buhay na walang tulugan)
(The Title was derived from one of my favorite Independent Film Entry in Cinemalaya back in 2008 which was directed by Ned Trespeces.)

CSR: Thank you for calling… this is Cat , how may I help you?
Cust: What did you say your name was… Mat?
CSR: No, sir, it’s Cat…
Cust: Sorry, can’t hear ya… didja say Pat?
CSR: No, its Cat, sir, C as in C-A-T…meow meow…”
CSR.: Thank you for calling , my name is Mary .how may I help you?
Cust: Where are you located ?
CSR: We’re physically located in Manila ,
Cust: Look you transfer me to an American Agent now, I said now!!!

If you are and you have been working in the call center industry, these types of conversation over the phone is perhaps familiar to you already, nothing new. We talked and laughed about this during coffee breaks , smoking time, lunch on a midnight, and drinking session at 6 A.M.
But I intend to write this blog not just for the call center agents, but to those who will be and who are interested to ride in the call center caravan.
Let me start it…
Everyone is on their way home and is off to bed, but not me, I actually just got out of the shower, getting ready for work. While everyone else calls it a day, I’m just starting mine. This is how it is when you work in the call center; your body system and adrenaline works on night time. This is where you live up literally to the phrase “turning nights into days”. If you’re a happy-go-lucky person, you would probably be drinking beer instead of coffee at 7am which was not unusual for people that works in a call center.
On my shift , I struggle to stay awake all night by drinking cans of soda, cups of coffee and lots of Junk .. ah I mean junk food. Furthermore, to keep my sanity I put the caller on hold , talk to my teammate ,or if it’s a bad call , utter foul language and after a couple of minutes go back to the caller ,like as if nothing happened, sound like as if am more than willing to help him/her and at the end of the call usually say “thank you so much for calling”. Ironic.

On avail time, “chika to the max” as what we call it , team meetings here and there , agents are happy and when the queue strikes and you see the command center flash in the screen,“back to phone, 90 calls waiting”, everyone will go back to their station and change mood in a matter of minutes.
Perhaps I couldn’t find any exact word to describe what a call center life is; it’s liberating, challenging, toxic, hilarious, sleepless and at times luxurious.

The Call Center caravan is like a melting pot. You get to meet a lot of people from nurses, teachers, tourism graduates, computer science nerds, to psychology graduates. No age limit because it’s a borderless industry, the work environment is totally different from that of the traditional corporate environment wherein hierarchy of positions is entirely felt. There are also career opportunities and I mean lots of them. Call centers provide a lot of positions for aspiring candidates, from entry level agents to managerial positions. I would say there is an equal battleground for everyone.
Money is the driving force in a call center industry; whoever offers the highest compensation that’s what you would aim to apply and get hired for. Being in the call center industry for around four years now, I already have that bragging rights , I can demand for the compensation rate I want . Look,  I’m only 22, I’ve graduated last year , I started working when I was in 3rd year college but still manage to graduate on time. Now even after graduation, I found myself still working in a call center maybe because, I really like the fun-loving, liberating environment in it and the more than enough salary that I get every pay day.
But at the end of the day, I still get myself into thinking is this where I wana grow old to? Does this fake American accent of mine will give me that sense of achievement? Is this something worth fulfilling? Perhaps I can’t say YES to those questions and maybe that’s also the reason why I started taking up my Masters Degree, I wanted to have a job that would give me a sense of fulfillment ,something that can change , something that I can really have an achievement on.
A few months from now or a year after I finish my Masters Degree, I may take advantage of whatever opportunity that comes my way, maybe apply for a day job or maybe as an instructor in a university or maybe in abroad, but one thing for sure ,I will always bring with me whatever lesson I’ve learned from working in a call center with my fake American Accent.

Enhanced by Zemanta

©Copyright 2011, Definitely Filipino™ Blog Network. All rights reserved. Unless otherwise stated, all articles in this blog are opinions of their respective authors and not necessarily of Definitely Filipino and its staff.

Share

Author: janemallari

a lifelong seeker of how it is to be human.

Website - Twitter - Facebook - More Posts

You may also like:

Facebook

38 Responses to My Fake American Accent (Ang Buhay na Walang Tulugan)

  1. naginusaraMarch 29, 2012 at 6:04 AM

    pasalamat nalang tayo na kahit papano may trabaho tayo dahil na rin sa kabobohan ng ibang mga kano… Naging DSL tech support din po ako dati…. Akalain nyo may computer sa bahay tapos browser lang di pa alam?…tsaka mayatmayang tumatawag kc di lang makapag log.in sa email nila?… Ay nko ang yayabang pa ng mga ugali eh wala naang alam…

    Reply
  2. tolaFebruary 28, 2012 at 2:15 AM

    kudos!very well said…:)

    Reply
  3. Manang Cam GarciaJanuary 12, 2012 at 7:34 PM

    So Janemallari, I take it you are a Transgendered person, since you mentioned you are “Female-man”…. Well if you are; I am glad to know that. Take care…

    Manang

    Reply
  4. NicoleJanuary 12, 2012 at 10:15 AM

    hi are you a girl or a boy? Im just curious about your pic and your name.. anyway, I like your blog..=)

    Reply
  5. BrianJanuary 12, 2012 at 7:45 AM

    Personally I prefer to speak to a Filipino on the phone than talk an arrogant American (or Australian) on the phone (BTW: I am a born & bred White Aussie) I can almost always pick when I am speaking to a Filipino person; they are polite, friendly, fun & like to talk! :)

    I LOATHE American accents & LOVE it when I do pick the Filipino accent so always ask the Agent if they are Filipino, personally; I much prefer the ‘cuteness’ of a Filipino accent over an arrogant sounding American accent anyday… The real joke is that Americans chastise others, when they inherited English from the British occupation, then have the gall to correct British/Australian English which is “correct English” with their own botched version called US-English’… :)

    But I ask; WHY must one adopt an American accent? I read here the racist explanation, I know people here who demand to speak to an Australian on the phone when they call, I have never put this down to being Racist, just purely ignorant on their part, as my experience when speaking to my own Countrymen on the Phone when seeking help is far from satisfactory, so much so I now HOPE I land a Filipino or Indian Agent on the phone as I know they aim to please & are pleasing to speak to, so ignore the ignorant uneducated people who try to make your day a bad day.

    My Fiance has just completed her Care Givers Course & is looking at working in a Call Centre; I just hope she can find a Call Centre who offers good pay incentives with friendly work colleagues around the Cainta area of Rizal, as I am sure it would be a great experience for her until she finds her calling abroad.

    Reply
  6. argelsencesDecember 21, 2011 at 2:18 AM

    Just an info, though our CS is booming, here in my place (working abroad), when we have received a call, and it has a strong American accent, we already assumed it is Filipino (i applauded them for that), but problem is, i do not know, if this is in their sop, they are very rude to ask, and very demanding, (i am not sure to call them, outbound agents?). So nowadays, when we heard someone talking with a strong American accent, we do not entertain them, i am sorry about this, but it happens.

    Reply
    • BrianJanuary 14, 2012 at 9:50 PM

      >>>>argelsences

      Funny? A LOT of Australian’s do the same thing here when they meet an American! Americans who come here mostly are ignorant Tourists who have no idea about what happens in their own backyard let alone WHERE Australia is!

      WE ARE the Guys that the Yanks send in to EVERY War effort to do their Guerrilla warfare, from the Jungles of Papua New-Guinea to Korea & Vietnam, Somalia to Iraq & Afghanistan, Yanks CAUSE the problems make a big mess of things and leave it to the ANZAC’s to clean up and restore Peace…

      Yet they have such a HIGH & MIGHTY attitude regards an accent? Well let me inform you, the Filipino LOVE American’s & God ONLY knows why because the rest of the World find them ignorant, brash, rude & so damn nauseating!

      Get off of your high Horse argelsences, I have spoken to literally thousands of Filipino the past few years, my Fiance is Filipino, MANY of my friends are Filipino, I am born & bred Aussie, maybe it is our “Fair Go” Policy of helping those down & out (like the bloody Yanks in each War they have LOST!) & helping our fellow Brothers & Sisters who are in need.

      I WISH the People of this World were more like Filipino & LESS like the marauding Yanks plundering other Countries for their own gain including ours, America restricts Trade to them yet force their second rate garbage down our throats THEN have the gall to charge Australians 4x to 5x what Americans pay at the Checkout for Groceries because they came here & ran every competitor out of Business undercutting Prices then drove Prices up to a stage we can barely afford to feed our own Families!

      When Australia becomes a 3rd World Country we CAN THANK AMERICA!

      Reply
  7. Definitely Filipino « FilipinoFestival.comDecember 20, 2011 at 6:38 PM

    [...] 26 My Fake American Accent (Ang Buhay na walang tulugan) (The Title was derived from one of my favorite Independent Film Entry in Cinemalaya back in 2008 which was directed by Ned Trespeces.) CSR: Thank you for calling… this is Cat , how may I help you? Cust: What did you say your name was… Mat? [...] [...]

    Reply
  8. kenDecember 19, 2011 at 12:00 AM

    nice article though. Im also working in a call center and Americans are really racist when you say the word FILIPINO. Other Americans or people from the west that i have talked with would say “our maid is a Filipino” then i will say that “Im sure they are really hardworking” then they will say “yes! very hardworking”

    Reply
  9. ManetteDecember 18, 2011 at 4:00 AM

    Been there, done that. I understand how you feel. LOL. I worked in the call center industry for almost eight years before deciding to call it quits. I would say the experience and the things I learned in the industry, may it be job-related or not, is more than worth the pay I received.

    Reply
  10. galoDecember 18, 2011 at 3:42 AM

    who cares about accent, basta nagkaintindihan kayo, english is a a very hard language, mga europeans they don’t speak perfect english, tayo lang naman pinoy mahilig sa pagbatikos, we are bilingual, ok accept it. its good marami tayong alam, di lang tayo bilingual may mga iba pang dialect like visaya, ilokano etc.etc. so what is the problem kahit na nga chinese language iba-iba pa rin. ang importante ay you can communicate and to know and understand this is not our first language, we have a mother tounge they call it. Taglish tayo. ok lang.

    Reply
    • galoDecember 18, 2011 at 5:22 AM

      Lastly to the author, you do not have a fake american accent, it’s real! our English is the product of our education system pattern to American education system. Filipinos, everywhere they go in a foreign country, people will know its american english as soon you speak with them. Ang buhay na walang tulugan ay di lang po sa call center, pano naman ang mga nurse, security officer, casino employee, airport officer na night duty and entertainers of sorts. hahaha matira matibay. meron din namang pong tao na tawagin ay “night owl’. I admire you for looking forward to your future. God Bless and good luck.

      Reply
  11. Manang CamDecember 17, 2011 at 11:19 AM

    The American language is an important indicator, or should I say the accent that comes from the East, Midwest, North, South, and the West. Yes Americans once they recognize that you speak English with a slight foreign accent tend to want to talk to a “real” life American as Apple Pie, Baseball playing Ny Yankee, and who won the War, all three, WWI, WWII, and to some degree Vietnam….

    So’s if youse not spaking English purfectly, and can say “As American as Apple Pie”, without substituting the “P” sounds for “F’s”, and put in connecting words in a sentence, then you’re going to be asked to call a real live Americano. It doesn’t matter if you have an English Degree from Ateneo Univ, Far Eastern Univ, UP Diliman, or have gotten a Masters in Linguistics. W/O those small indicators Americans look for, you may as well work for a foreign county.

    Okay, enough of my attempt at sarcasm. I’m a Filipina American who was born in the US to parents that immigrated from the Philippines after the War. Being immersed in the rituals of the American language, and being taught to speak English w/o an accent, I can say that Americans look for those small insignificant indicators that the party is from another country.

    Americans are a funny lot, they don’t mind if the American they are talking to comes from and has the accent of a Texan, Chicagoan, New Yorker, Georgian, or one from Alabama. What they want is to speak to someone who speaks English American style.

    But what would happen if you took a Filipino, who was born here in the US, take them back to the Philippines, let them be a CSR for a week, with one small requirement, they learn how to speak with a Filipino accent, real one with the missing connecting words, slurring letters, inserting the letter “B” for “V”, transposing “F” into “P”, then after a few days of training let them man the phones for that first call from some unsuspecting American with a bad attitude.

    Just think of the fun and laughter from the entire staff, as everyone listens into this particular phone call from a repeat American caller who is calling in, and has a real bad attitude. The only rule is for the Filipino American is to sit for a few minutes and listen to the rant and raves, then let that caller have it in their native American voice. I can see the hairs of this poor American caller suddenly stand up as he gets the biggest raking over the coals, and is now being told off in a nice way…..

    Reply
  12. reyDecember 17, 2011 at 9:04 AM

    after working in the industry for most for 2 yrs I applied for a teaching job in Thailand…my accent was one reason why i got the job. :)

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

CAPTCHA Image

*

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>