Hi
I work in an inbound call center of a top canadian bank.
recently while on a call a cx called me F***ing Paki. The customer said this without any provocation from my side.
I have never felt so hurt and humiliated before, considering that I am a middle age family man from a decent background, it was like somebody has slapped me on face. I brought this to the attention of my team leader but her attitude was, well-too-bad-dont-take-it-personally.
I was kept thinking that should I take this as an extra perk of doing a job, assuming I dont have any safeguards. Do I have any recourse. Couple of my colleagues said just forget it, no use taking any punga in this kind of economic scenario, just keep your job safe. This incident has shaken me. The calls are recorded so there is evidence of this abuse.
Should I escalate it, Do I contact any govt agency, Please guide me if you have any idea as what should I DO????????????????
Location: British Columbia
Posted on: 21-04-09 13:16:57
Anytime you work in any job where you deal with customers, clients or the general public in ANY capacity, you will find yourself dealing with human beings that are less than pleasant. Being a professional at your job means taking these types of comments in perspective and keeping in mind that this person's racist comment reflects more on them, than on you.
Its not something that takes the pain/hurt away, but I think you do need to reframe it (think about where its coming from) otherwise any time you do a job where you are dealing with people, you will be ill prepared for those people who do not have social tact, good manners or even control over their own tempers. Please dont take it personally, they dont know you, they are just venting out what is really there lack of control over a given situation.
I would just feel sorry at their ignorance, and imagine the people around them (their families or friends ) may also be subject to their language.
If you are still bothered by this situation, maybe talking with a counsellor, or if your company offers any employee assistance programs may help.
good luck ..it happens to me a lot and sometimes in person. However it takes time to learn not to take it personally.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
~ Morning rain
I would say don't take it personally.
It is possible that the customer had a bad experience with a pakistani and took it out on you.
I once had a stranger in a subway say 'Bloody paki' to me. I turned back and said 'That's right...we are all dangerous paki's and what are you going to do about it!' 
peace,
seenappa
Location: God's own country
Posted on: 21-04-09 13:46:05
Quote:
Originally posted by webtypical
Should I escalate it, Do I contact any govt agency, Please guide me if you have any idea as what should I DO????????????????
It depends on what you want.
If you feel that your jobs is essential to you for day today living, you may choose to forget about it. or if you feel that we are in this country to earn money despite whatever wrong is being done to us, you can forget the whole matter and concentrate on your job and getting your weekly pay stub.
Assuming that you have the recorded conversation in your hand, you can go to the Human Rights tribunal and get a very decent financial compensation for this. Before you file with the Human Rights Tribunal, have the recorded copy in your hands. Gora supervisors generally try to erase these kind of conversations from the system so that the name of the bank is upheld.
You can go to the Human rights tribunal website and see some examples of cases in which the tribunal has awared compensation to visible minorities. Examples include Gora's being promoted while Aboriginals were not, and Black people fired wheile gora people did not..
As a visible minority who did no provocation , you have the right to sue them.
I was in a similar sitaution as you before with my gora employer regularly ill treating Visible minorities and treating them like crap and paying them low salaries. In my case, i could not go to the Human rights tribunal as I had no proof (hard copy).
Hope this helps
Peace by TK
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I am a Gents and not a Ladies.
Well thats why they say you are king in your own country.
There was this one time where this white lady who for some reason was late in exiting the bus and people already started getting into the bus. She was like, "these bloody immigrant men, why dont they go back to where they came from, totally lack mannerisms".
Location: British Columbia
Posted on: 21-04-09 14:26:17
Quote:
Originally posted by tamilkuravan
Quote:
Originally posted by webtypical
Should I escalate it, Do I contact any govt agency, Please guide me if you have any idea as what should I DO????????????????
It depends on what you want.
If you feel that your jobs is essential to you for day today living, you may choose to forget about it. or if you feel that we are in this country to earn money despite whatever wrong is being done to us, you can forget the whole matter and concentrate on your job and getting your weekly pay stub.
Assuming that you have the recorded conversation in your hand, you can go to the Human Rights tribunal and get a very decent financial compensation for this. Before you file with the Human Rights Tribunal, have the recorded copy in your hands. Gora supervisors generally try to erase these kind of conversations from the system so that the name of the bank is upheld.
You can go to the Human rights tribunal website and see some examples of cases in which the tribunal has awared compensation to visible minorities. Examples include Gora's being promoted while Aboriginals were not, and Black people fired wheile gora people did not..
As a visible minority who did no provocation , you have the right to sue them.
I was in a similar sitaution as you before with my gora employer regularly ill treating Visible minorities and treating them like crap and paying them low salaries. In my case, i could not go to the Human rights tribunal as I had no proof (hard copy).
Hope this helps
Peace by TK
TK - You are talking about discrimination in the workplace. this is someone who was called a name by a customer on a telephone. His workplace may be very egalitarian. It may not be.
If the original poster feels that the call really affected him psychologically,. rather than taking headaches to contact the Human Rights Commission, he should contact the ontario worker's compensation board to see if there is cause for claim. However, in the greater scheme of things this isnt about Money, its about being able to understand that sometimes people take out their frustrations on you and they feel powerless so its the only thing they can do.
However for some perspective, visit the following sites. Its not to make light of the OP's situation, but just to say its too common:
http://www.notalwaysright.com" rel="nofollow">LINK (very funny about dumb customer remarks or aggression by customers)
http://www.planetfeedback.com" rel="nofollow">LINK (customer feedback on businesses and services - not funny but interesting at times).
-----------------------------------------------------------------
~ Morning rain
Quote:
Originally posted by webtypical
Hi
I work in an inbound call center of a top canadian bank.
recently while on a call a cx called me F***ing Paki. The customer said this without any provocation from my side.
I have never felt so hurt and humiliated before, considering that I am a middle age family man from a decent background, it was like somebody has slapped me on face. I brought this to the attention of my team leader but her attitude was, well-too-bad-dont-take-it-personally.
I was kept thinking that should I take this as an extra perk of doing a job, assuming I dont have any safeguards. Do I have any recourse. Couple of my colleagues said just forget it, no use taking any punga in this kind of economic scenario, just keep your job safe. This incident has shaken me. The calls are recorded so there is evidence of this abuse.
Should I escalate it, Do I contact any govt agency, Please guide me if you have any idea as what should I DO????????????????
Next time keep some anti-racist jokes handy and give it back to the #### (please dont swear)
Some Anti-Racist Jokes
----------------------
A fat racist and a skinny racist jump off a cliff. Who wins? Society
How do you get a racist to laugh on a Sunday? Tell them a joke on Friday
Why don’t racists like gettong blowjobs? They don’t like any jobs
Why is a racist like a dog? Both mark their territory with ****
Have you heard the one about the racist who choked on Yogurt? He found out there was a foreign culture in it
How do you confuse a racist? Write PTO on both sides of a piece of paper
How do you get a one-armed racist out of a tree? Wave.
How does a racist pick his nose? From the mail-order catalogue.
How does a racist steal a bike? Picks it up and runs
How many racists does it take to change a light bulb? None, racists hate being enlightened
My racist has got no nose. How does he smell? Terrible
What did the racist do with a packet of M&M’s? Put them in alphabetical order.
What did the racist put on his job application form under the section “Sign here”? Sagittarius
What do you call 10,000 racists under the sea? A good start
What do you call a racist abortion centre? Crime stoppers
What do you call a racist with a high IQ score? A Cheat
What does a racist and a sperm cell have in common? Only one in a million work.
What does a racist and an apple have in common? They both look good hanging from a tree
What happened to the racists snow tyres? They melted
What should you do with a group of racists? Hate them all for existing and put them all on a boat and send them back where they came from.
What’s Red, White and peels? A Ku Klux Klan member trying to get a suntan
What’s the difference between a racist and a bucket of sludge? The Bucket
What’s the difference between a racist and a Pizza? A Pizza can feed a family of four.
What’s the difference between a Schoolyard racist and Adolph Hitler? Opportunity
What’s the most confusing day for a racist? Fathers Day
What’s the difference between a ghost and a racist? One is a sheet-wearing spook who tries to scare people out of their homes, and the other one is a dead guy.
What’s the difference between a racist’s house and a porcupine? With the porcupine, the pricks are on the outside.
Why do racists compete on skin colour? If they competed on brains they would lose.
Why do racists smell so bad? So Blind people can hate them too
Why do racists stink of pee? Aftershave
A man walks into a Private Hospital for a Brain transplant.The doctor shows the patient 3 brains and 3 price tags next to each brain. The patient can choose which brain he wants.
A White mans brain £500
A Black mans brain £500
A Racists mans brain £2000
Patient asks why the Racist brain costs so much
Doctor replies “Cos. it’s never been used”
Englishman, Irishman and a Racist standing on a cliff. A genie appears and grants each one a wish, when they jump off the cliff their wish will be granted.
Englishman wishes for loads of money, jumps off and lands in a truck full of Money. Everyone lives happily ever after.
Irishman wishes for peace in Northern Ireland, jumps and lands in a field of roses with angels singing in the background. Everyone lives happily ever after.
The racist didn’t understand the question, jumped off anyway and died. Everyone lives happily ever after.
