Mostly when I deal with an immigrant Indian ...I can feel the difference in their approach, attitude, customer service, conversation ...
whether it is a front line person at stores like wal mart etc or
u reach some1 at call centre in bell or rogers etc or
could be your colleague or working at airport or could be any where...
and I was wondering could it be that I am biased or others feel the same ? Is it just me or is it true ? And I myself am an immigrant so I am not complaining...I just want to clarify... Do others feel the same ? Why when I see an indian at work place or anywhere I dont feel...oh wow an indian now my work wud be easier...why I get feeling that oh no..an indian ...now see what I will have go thru...
Why I want to avoid interaction with them ? (besides socially)
I must admit that it happens to me as well. Basically, for me the worst thing that could happen to me in Canada is to have an Indian immigrant Boss. Call me biased or whatever, but this is what my opinion. I am in the same category as you are, except it's only limited to the workplace. Fortunately, I am spared of any Indian Boss here in Canada so far.
I have seen at my own workplace a South Asian manager in another department, who when talking to any Caucasian or Canadian born Indian is very happy from deep within. But when it comes to greeting any fellow immigrant, his lights go off.
So, yes you're not alone. May be it's a colonial hangover.
Quote:
Originally posted by febpreet
Basically, for me the worst thing that could happen to me in Canada is to have an Indian immigrant Boss. Call me biased or whatever, but this is what my opinion.
I have seen at my own workplace a South Asian manager in another department, who when talking to any Caucasian or Canadian born Indian is very happy from deep within. But when it comes to greeting any fellow immigrant, his lights go off.
So, yes you're not alone. May be it's a colonial hangover.
Good thread. We have all experienced the above when dealing with desi-coworkers.
Febpreet: The best way to find out is to put yourself in the Desi-manager's shoes, to see what's going on his mind. The moment he sees another desi guy in his team, he is thinking \"aahh..this guy is going to get me into trouble with his sloppy work..maybe even get me fired. At the very least, he will try to dominate me and take over my job some day. I need to keep my distance from him\".
The best way to deal with him is 1) Give him some breathing space( without falling all over him). 2) Give him the opportunity to see your quality work. He will gradually warm up to you, maybe even consider you his right-hand.
My two cents,
seenappa
I found out that when ever a desi is in front of me the job is half done before it started. It is the approach which also matters. 
Location: Western Hemisphere
Posted on: 08-08-10 08:44:23
Quote:
Originally posted by Aashu
Mostly when I deal with an immigrant Indian ...I can feel the difference in their approach, attitude, customer service, conversation ...
whether it is a front line person at stores like wal mart etc or
u reach some1 at call centre in bell or rogers etc or
could be your colleague or working at airport or could be any where...
Completely agree. I've had wonderful Indian colleagues, peers and counterparts, but the twisted attitude I've seen are mostly from front line people at stores (most recently at UPS store). Fortunately, I've had good experiences at call centers. I've also found that the quality of service or attitude is very good when you deal with people of indian origin who were born here.
My first negative experience was in 1992 at JFK where there was a desi guy giving out change to pay for the baggage cart. I gave him $20 and he gave me the needed money and walked away without giving me the change. I had to chase him down. Nice icebreaker for someone entering NA for the first time.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Dimple2001
Having gone through the posts in this thread, my personal experience has been nice with the Indians here in Toronto. We have landed on 30 July, and the immigration officer was a Canadian of Indian origin. He took about 5 minutes to complete our paperwork and with a warm smile.
Later we met a lady in the SIN card office in the Gerrard Square office, who went out of the way to explain us how the TTC works. WOW! that was really nice (incidentally the office was empty and we were the only ones waiting for the sin number)
Icing on the cake was a taxi driver, and aged Sardarji. We were going to Eaton Square Mall, in his taxi. When we reached the destination, the metre read CAD 17, but, he took from us CAD 15, said discount for fellow Indian.
I still do not know how Indians are at work place, but guess would find out in due course of time.
Quote:
Originally posted by Aashu
Mostly when I deal with an immigrant Indian ...I can feel the difference in their approach, attitude, customer service, conversation ...
Can you be specific about the differences? What do you mean when you say an immigrant Indian? Except for first generation Indo-Canadians, we all are immigrants.
I have both positive and negative experiences when dealing with people of my own background. The worst I can think of is kind of "reverse racism" where a "desi" cashier girls at stores or fast food places will give preferential treatment to Caucasians and will be rude to me. Similar is case with those sales rep at Future Shop or Brick where they won't even say hello to you or help you. And these can be people who have recently immigrated for first generation Canadians. The best experience I can think of is a "desi" driver who gave me a ride to my work when I was walking on the sidewalk. I was working on a Sunday and the bus wouldn't go to the place of my work.
And I have dealt with lots of "desis" at my work and have both pleasant and unpleasant experiences. But I also had a share of pleasant and unpleasant experiences with people from other backgrounds.
However, the new immigrants go through that "cultural shock" or getting through the norms and traditions native to Canada, that we went through but now have got used to it. A specific example will be the way "desi" people will conduct themselves while waiting in a line. That will give a cue whether a person has just immigrated or has lived in Canada for a long time.
Same is case while entering or exiting a subway car. You are supposed to allow people to get out before entering. Also, you are supposed to leave enough space and not come in way of people getting out of the subway. But people used to riding Bombay local trains still tend to carry the old behaviour with them.
I visit the South Fletcher library in Brampton. The major patrons of that library are "desis" and most of adults do not know how to behave in a library, neither do they teach their children how to behave in a public places. It is one of the most noisiest library I have come across with rude and noisy patrons. It is shame that parents pass on their bad habits to their kids.
