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How would your company handle a French-speaking telephone caller offering you work? Three quarters of British firms lose foreign calls at the switchboard. CM finds out how UK hauliers measure up.
by Karen Miles • Few hauliers would deliberately throw away the chance to take on regular, profitable business. But what do they do if the offer comes in a foreign language? Alarmingly, they often seem to turn it away.
Large and small companies offering international or domestic-only business seemed to do equally well—or badly.
Out of the 16 receptionists who received the initial request:
Christian Salvesen
COIROAMPIX
"Allo, est-ce-que vous pouvez m'aider s'il vous plait? Je voudrais parler a quelqu'un au sujet de passer un contat de fret avec vous." ("Hello, can you help me please? I want to speak to someone about arranging a freight contract.")— Brigitte Johnson, Christian Salvesen: "In general the British do expect foronly five managed to eigners to always speak English. It's really fairly bad."
come through the trauma and return any French words at all.
Laser Transport's receptionist returned an impressive "Ne quittez pas madame" ("Hold on") but the international operator's performance was unfortunately guillotined when the line was cut off.
Stobart's receptionist threw in a few "s'il vous plaits" and eventually managed to take the caller's name and number in French. Framptons International's operator battled politely through and finally gave—in French—another depot number to call.
The receptionists at NFT, McGregor Cory and A One Transport, although largely ignorant of French, were friendly and attempted to pass on the caller to someone they believed was better qualified. Sadly, their aspirations failed to materialise.
Personnel at the UK-only operator NFT were goodnatured and tried to give the
caller a London company, but failed to speak a word of French. One staff member spoke loudly enough about the caller to be heard saying to another staff member: "Here, see if you can understand any of that."
The post-receptionist service at international distribution company McGregor Cory would have been enough to put off any French request. CMs caller was passed to two separate people and eventually told to "telephonez encore s'il vous plait" ("phone again, please").
The most surprising turningdown of business among the 16 occurred at the international haulier A One Transport. After a polite, but largely unsuccessful conversation with one office employee, the caller was passed to another who said—in English—that A One did not even carry international traffic.
The Lane Group, another international operator, also managed to turn down the offer of work through linguistic ignorance coupled with a seeming lack of desire to find out the caller's details.
The attitude at international haulier Plane Trucking would also have put off enquiries. The operator shouted over the caller: "I can't help you because I don't know what you're saying." He then came back and gave out a French number consisting of 14 digits—only one of which he translated into French.
Roy Bowles Transport's receptionist appeared to have attended the same school of international diplomacy. Free of any niceties he barked: "You've got the wrong number, you've got the wrong number ...And anyway we don't do any Continental work."
If Meachers Transport ever thinks of entering the interna tional market then it could do with brushing up on linguistics and telephone manner. "I just don't understand you, I just don't understand you," the receptionist repeated. In a last ditch effort she offered: "Don't you speak Anglais?"
Better attempts were made at domestic operator Hanson Transport, where after the initial receptionist's panic of "Does anyone speak French?" the caller was passed on a struggling but helpful French speaker who wanted to give another company's number.
At Taylor Barnard, another UK-only company, a helpful employee in halting French advised calling P&O's Ferrymasters.
Of CM' s limited trawl, Capel Express (Ipswich), Barbour European, Beck & Pollitzer and Framptons International were
all able to put the caller on to excellent French speakers.
But Christian Salvesen topped the lot. After contacting its Elstree depot in Hertfordshire the caller was swiftly passed on by the receptionist to Brigitte Johnson. The French-born personal assistant summed up the British: "In general the British do expect foreigners to always speak English. It's really fairly bad."