I sometimes come across telephone conversations that stymie me. This week I was helping with some phone calls at work when I encountered one for the books. I only understood one word in twenty. It was in English. Sort of.
The only words that made sense were “one hour.” That was the only clue I needed to decipher what the customer needed, but even so, I missed out on what could have been a stimulating conversation. This customer might have spoken some philosophical magic which would have enlightened my life, but by not being able to understand a word, whatever was said was lost to history.
It is always better to speak slowly and get the point across. Fortunately the person did not seem to be eating while talking, but the words came out a mile a second. I spoke slowly and calmly and thanked the customer for being patient while the situation took longer than an hour. They seemed satisfied, though I also could not decipher an expression of thanks.
Our phone personnel have a translator service, but how does one request one for bad use of English?
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