# How do you deal with accents that you can't understand? (Customer service or tech support)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-deal-with-accents-that-you-cant-understand-customer-service-or-tech-support/1021986>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [August 12, 2025, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-deal-with-accents-that-you-cant-understand-customer-service-or-tech-support/1021986 "2025-08-12T19:03:02Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\
**Post date:** [August 13, 2025, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-deal-with-accents-that-you-cant-understand-customer-service-or-tech-support/1021986/41 "2025-08-13T18:25:09Z")

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> [@DPRK](#):
>
> It is not that there is a particular problem with Americans— a mad accent could also come from a Kiwi, Scot, etc. The point is that it is more likely in native English speakers than in someone who painstakingly learned “standard” pronunciation from tapes

@Grrr wasn’t AIUI having a problem with Americans, but wanted to speak with an American. I was pointing out that that wouldn’t necessarily help.

– many people from India (and some other places) are native English speakers (often in combination with another language or two, but not always.) It’s just a different English, with a different accent and some different terminology.

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**Author:** ![Apodder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apodder/32/17727_2.png) [@Apodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apodder)\
**Post date:** [August 13, 2025, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-deal-with-accents-that-you-cant-understand-customer-service-or-tech-support/1021986/42 "2025-08-13T19:10:45Z")

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That’s a really interesting observation!

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**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\
**Post date:** [August 13, 2025, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-deal-with-accents-that-you-cant-understand-customer-service-or-tech-support/1021986/43 "2025-08-13T21:11:23Z")

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provided they didn’t employ same ESL people

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**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\
**Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-deal-with-accents-that-you-cant-understand-customer-service-or-tech-support/1021986/44 "2025-08-14T17:10:18Z")

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I work for a multinational company, so I run into all kinds of accents and calling back in hopes of getting a different co-worker on the other end isn’t an option. I just ask them to repeat themselves more slowly and sometimes eventually ask them to try expressing it a different way. They ask the same of me, as many of them have a hard time understanding a Texas accent. I never thought my accent was that thick, but it’s enough that I get other people asking where I’m from because they’ve never heard someone with an accent like mine.

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