Please tell me if I'm being overly sensitive

[OriginalGeek]

One of my jobs at this large (1000+ employees) not-for-profit organization is pregramming the phone switch - I am not responsible for content, just getting it done. SO today I get an inquiry from the acting CEO (he's on the verge of retirement and they are looking for a new one) asking to change the way the phone menu system works.

As it stands, callers get a greeting and are instructed for English press 1 and for Spanish press 2. Everybody's equal, everybody gotta press something. Well the boss wants to eliminate the "for English" prompt and have just a Spanish prompt so when you call in your greeting is thanks for calling, for spanish press 2, otherwise stay on the line.

This is part of the email I wrote but have not sent yet:

<anything in these brackety things I deleted or changed because they might identify too much and I'm not willing to air this out less anonymously than I have to. I don;t think it affects the content meaning though>

I have to ask if we are really wanting to risk alienating Hispanics by making this change? As it stands right now, everything is equal. English speakers press a button for what they want and Spanish speakers press a button for what they want. If we make this change it’s like we are telling Hispanics they are not important enough to have a menu system that speaks directly to them. English speakers get to go on their merry way but if you speak Spanish, you got to work harder to <be a part of us>.

Maybe I’m over-thinking it but it just seems wrong to me. Especially in a state that has a large Hispanic population. A population that we said several years ago were important to us and created marketing and hired bilingual people to directly go after them.


Some background:
I was so proud of my organization several years ago when we realized we were doing very little to accommodate the Hispanic community and we made a concerted effort to reach out to them and include them. We are in a state that has a large Hispanic population, especially in our major areas of operation.
I am just ornery enough to make a stink out of this however I also have a family to feed and my particular skillset might not get me far outside this organization. Also they have been very good to me and have paid for a LOT of my education to do what all I do.
I don't want to make a stink and let down my boss (who I think is just one of the greatest people on the planet) or my wife and kids who need me to feed them lol. But it also doesn't sit right with me and and I don't need shit weighing on my conscious later.

So is this a pick your battle kind of thing? Am I just being too sensitive and Hispanic people may not even notice or care? Maybe they'll just be happy there is any facility for them to speak to us. One thing for sure is we need them a lot more than they need us. Usually.


Every chance I ever got to vote against "Speak English or get out" laws I did it. I looked at the people who were for it and those against and found I liked the againsters far more often than the forskins...

I don't even care if that makes me naive.

[elleng]

1. I'd stick with simplicity:

Do we really want/need to go there? Everybody's equal, everybody gotta press something.

jmo, and no, I don't think you're being overly sensitive.

[Major Nikon]

2. I'd say you're being overly sensitive

You are not removing the option for people who want to use Spanish, and you're not even making it harder for them. You're just making it easier for English speakers, which is probably going to be the lion's share of your calls anyway.

[OriginalGeek]

3. 1 and 1

and yes, CEO estimates 90% but I think that number is high.

New callers will never have known how it was so they probably won't care but repeat callers who have been with us a while might.

I can honestly see both sides and that's why I'm torn. By the by, CEO is not malicious.. He really is a good guy and I doubt he intentionally means to slight anyone - I just don't know if he's considered all the angles.

He is working through the marketing director to get this done so I have no direct contact with him about it. Maybe I should talk to that guy first...

[Skittles]

4. as someone who has to call overseas a LOT

I've never felt diminished pressing a button for English

[Duer 157099]

5. As someone who absolutely detests those things

(whatever they are called, that message that answers the call and then gives all the options etc)

I want to cut them as short as possible. I want to start pressing buttons the instant I know what I have to do, and if it is at all possible to eliminate even ONE WORD from the goddamned thing, then I say DO IT no matter what. They are too long, too wordy, take up too much of my time and they hoenstly make me really angry when they give me a bazillion options and I have to sit through ALL of them. If you can do something to reduce that message, no matter what, I stay DO IT.

[quakerboy]

6. Interesting to apply in this circumstance

What he has been asked to do reduces the number of buttons and English speaker pushes. But likely increases their wait and message times, because instead of pushing "1" and going to the next option, you have to wait for the message to finish and the next option to automatically go.

[Duer 157099]

9. Really good point

if that is the case, then whatever the programmer can do to make it so the customer spends less time on the thing, the better. If getting to press a "1" moves the process forward, then that is the preferred method, I think.

[quakerboy]

7. Maybe a touch too sensitive

You are not doing away with the Spanish option, or even making it harder to get to, so I would not rank it up there with "English or get out"

But a couple things, if you are determined that you need to say something. Sell it based on the customers not yourself, phrase it as a question not an attack. Present the case without presupposing that what he is doing is wrong, just that this is an aspect that occurred to you. And make it clear you are ready and able to implement his changes(ie this is not defiance or laziness).

My instinctive revision of your words:

"As I looked at how to implement your idea, it occurred to me that we might be at risk of alienating Hispanics by making this change. As it stands right now, everything is equal. English speakers press a button for what they want and Spanish speakers press a button for what they want. If we make this change, some customers may feel that we are telling Hispanics they are not important enough to have a menu system that speaks equally to them."


You might also consider including a more practical argument. I posted above, it seems to me that this will actually increase customer wait time on calls. Right now, English speakers hear "press 1", do it and move to the next fork in the tree. With the new proposal, don't they have to wait out the message plus whatever timed wait to give Spanish speakers time to press their button?

[pacalo]

8. You may be overthinking. My guess is the CEO wanted to eliminate a step.

I'm assuming that most of your calls deal with English-speaking clients?

You know the company better than I, though.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

10. forskins ?!

heh.

[OriginalGeek]

11. Thank you all!

Your input has certainly helped. Yes avoiding an accusing tone is one of the things I was worried about.

And I hadn't even thought about this change making it take longer - After hours tonight I will program it a couple different ways and time it to see if what he is asking will actually accomplish what he wants. I'll bring up the prospect of it with my direct boss to let him know I am both working on the problem and that there might be unintended consequences (isn't it a law that there always are? lol)

Thanks again to all of you. I'm so glad I found this place!

[Phentex]

12. As time goes by...

you will find there isn't much the lounge can't help you with.

:hi:


(Double negative, ends in preposition. It's just how I want to say it.)

[LuckyLib]

13. What I find fascinating is that a CEO has time to deal with such a tiny issue.

Good grief, the entire employee staff could find a list of countless other items/policies that need addressing in that company, and he's focusing on this?

The most effective phone trees I end up on start right out with "Name of company" and "Press 1 for English" and "Imprime el numero dos para espanol." (in Spanish, thereby reaching Spanish speakers right off the bat.)

The company is lucky to have someone as concerned as you are about clients.