The virus protection software on my new laptop wasn’t working so I called tech support. A man with an accent I assumed to be from the south of Korea took my call and instructed me to remove then reinstall the software.
Even in the States, I’ve been in the habit of asking phone support staff where they are physically located, and what the weather is like there, rather than wait in silence as the computer does what it needs to do. I’ve found out that the GEICO call center is located in Virginia Beach and Amex often answers calls from India.
I didn’t even question the fact that my man was in Korea, but I asked anyway. He told me he’s in Shanghai! I asked him if he’s Chinese, and he told be he was! He told me he provided tech support for China, Japan and Korea.
Korean is a pretty obscure language, and very few foreigners picking it up. I am guessing my man was from the handful of ethic Korean who live to the north of North Korea. It’s not uncommon to talk to an Indian customer support representative in the US, but I was pretty shocked to find outsourced phone support even in Korea.