True story of opting for Sky broadband and ridiculous PC moderation on this forum

[#1]

This happened to a friend of mine.  She moved into a new flat and went for the cheapest broadband option out there which was Sky.  Her broadband was so slow it took her 4 days leaving PC on 24 hours to download World of Warcraft (about 12gb).

I said she should have gone with Plusnet who I have used for many good years mainly because of their customer support which is based in Yorkshire.  I made a joke that she will probably have an Indian or Pakistani call centre with Sky.  When she eventually did report her slow broadband she had to hold for ages and got through to a Pakistani or Indian person.

They might know English but their mastery of the language means difficulty in understanding the most basic words.  It's a bit like using an Android phone to text and it keeps on substituting words for what you wanted to say.

This can be funny when relating afterwards but at the time it's very frustrating for the consumer.  Sky know this - they are saving millions a year by employing people at much lower wages than properly run British companies like Plusnet.

So it may not be as cheap as Sky as a consequence, but you will receive probably a faster broadband and better understanding support, which I have received over the many years.

I made a video of this true story in a "Peter Sellers" style comedy, and there was nothing racist in it, yet some moderator on this forum decided they could not handle it, because of modern political-correctness and some deluded over-bearing pandering to intimidation from certain pro-active campaigners out of touch with the real world.

That is the only disappointing matter in this episode - that down-to-earth Yorkshire folk can be so PC that even a TRUE story cannot be dramatised in a whimsical satirical animation.

Finally, I see many comments on this forum complaining about various faults and poor performance issues, none of which I doubt.  But I would respond that you are better off with Plusnet to handle these problems than trying to communicate through a foreign international call centre with people thousands of miles away.

[#2]

dear oh dear.

[#3]

Sky call centres are based in 

SHEFFIELD

STOCKPORT

DUMFERMLINE

LIVINGSTONE

so will have people with various accents

[#4]

Their Sky TV support is in Scotland as I've often called them, but perhaps their broadband is elsewhere.  You may be correct as I don't know otherwise.

[#5]

Broadband support was in Scotland when I was with Sky just over a year ago.

I would say more but value my place here,

[#6]

I've just migrated my second line from Sky to BT purely for VFM reasons and have to say there's nothing wrong with either Sky's (backhaul) network or CS.

In fact their CS is very good IME, no long waits in phone/chat queues ever, which is more you can say for certain ISPs and I always got friendly Scots when I called them...

[#7]

Well I stand corrected on that, although the person I referred to did have an inidan or Pakistani sounding rep dealing with her (nothing wrong with that if no language barrier).

Only bit that bothered me is my whimsical video removed because of over-zealous policing on this forum.  Are they saying Peter Sellers playing an Indian/Pakistani in The Party was racist???  I'd call it harmless stereotypical comedy which we ALL find no offence from.  A Yorkshire based company I would have thought would feel the same way.

[#8]

Pity there's no ignore function on this forum that would work for posters...

[#9]

i think it's fair to say that a white man playing the role of an indian/pakistani man that conveys a stereotype can only every be deemed as rascist.

also, you are in no position to say that ALL would find no offence in it.

and the fact that you had to add (in brackets) "nothing wrong with that if no language barrier" clearly suggests you do think there would be something wrong with it otherwise you wouldn't have added that. that's the equivalt of "i'm not racists, but....."

it's ironic that the indian and pakistani people working in those call centres are mosty likely more educated than you are, yet you feel you have to belittle them with racist (mildly or not) "comical" videos.

[#10]

I added the paranthesis qualifying my remarks for jokers like you Chenks, an out-of-touch psuedo liberal person who THINKS he knows how other races feel.

So Peter Sellers in The Party was a racist film according to your standards.  So Ben Kingsley playing Gandhi was also racist.

Had I depicted a white stereotype, like a cockney or a Scotsman with a haggis around his neck, that would also be racist or do white people not count?

Trouble is once you get into "racism" some people lose their reason.  You cannot see that if there is a language barrier there could be a problem in communication?  You are not in the real world!

You like to use the word belittle. If you approach all comedy portraying stereotypes as belittling then you will find offense at everything while not realising your own flawed measures which are not applied across all races.

[#11]

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@Ralphie wrote:

Had I depicted a white stereotype, like a cockney or a Scotsman with a haggis around his neck, that would also be racist or do white people not count?

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used in your context, yes it would count.

and a language barrier is not linked to colour of skin - maybe once you undertstand that you will understand why everything you said was based on race.

i could easily speak to you in a way that you would have no idea what i was saying - and i'm a "white" scottish person.

[#12]

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@Ralphie wrote:

 an out-of-touch psuedo liberal person who THINKS he knows how other races feel.

---

And you do?

[#13]

@chenks76 Surely there are people of Indian origin resident in the UK who work in CS, and some of them will have Indian accents.  And I quite agree, there are people from Scotland and a couple of areas of England who, when they want to, can speak in a way i find largely incomprehensible.

Saying that people you can't easily communicate with are "mosty (sic) likely more educated than you are" is hardly relevant.  I wouldn't trust a friend who is a hospital consultant, to build my extension.

[#14]

i'm not sure i follow your point about those of indian origin in the UK?

and the comment about education as that in India (and such like) you'll find that almost everyone working there is university degree educated. it was simply a tool to suggest that the OP might be sub-educated (to go along with his clearly skewed views).

[#15]

You're the one who linked skin colour with language barrier Chenks, you psuedo liberal.  Everyone knows about foreign call centres employing people who's English may be passable but lead to errors in understanding what the consumer is trying to say.

When I listen to Pochettino, Spurs manager, his broken English loses a lot of the point he is trying to make, whereas Mourinho (who worked as an interpreter) gets his point over perfectly because of his mastery of the language. Oh, for pedants like you, Mourinho is darker skinned than Poch, going against your racist argument.

People like you play the race card and then think you are on a pedestal, and anyone who disagrees with your view, is some neanderthal knuckle-dragger who should be shown general disdain or censor. You don't like freedom of speech, you are in a politically-correct enclosure in which only people of your ilk are invited who conform to your autocracy.

You make a lot of false assertions about me, the OP, whom according to you, am sub-educated because I made a funny video which featured a racial stereotype.

You don't know whether I am white, black, of mixed race, male, female, or whatever and you know nothing regarding my education but decided to casually toss in an insult as you Scots toss the caber. And even if a person is, in your words, "sub-educated", does that disqualify them from expressing a view?

I have worked and lived closer to the people you think I have demeaned, than you. I am also of the strong belief that various groups of all walks, can laugh at themselves with no harm done.

Perhaps you prefer the toilet humour of fake "leftie" Ben Elton to the sea-side capers of Benny Hill. I prefer the latter by far. At least Benny Hill did not need to be aired beyond the watershed to allow his act to be shown.