Grossly unfair! Immigrants to be tested on knowledge of British culture. Plus how to handle incomprehensible call centre people

The Daily Mail is often good for a giggle, and so it proved this morning when I read that would-be immigrants are to be tested on British history and culture.

Questions (says the Daily Mail) will include asking who was Britain’s Prime Minister at the outbreak of World War 2. I’ll lay a bet that most will say Churchill – and be wrong.

This is all so unfair. Not only will immigrants be willing to work harder; they’ll be better educated, too.

Meanwhile, a bit of useful info sent by Lesley Southgate, bless her.

If you call an 0800 number and end up talking to someone abroad – maybe in India, Pakistan, Ireland, etc. – you can ask very politely (this is not about trashing other cultures): “I’d like to speak to a customer service representative in the United Kingdom.”

If the rep suggests talking to his/her manager, again politely say, “Thank you, but I’d like to speak to a customer service representative in the United Kingdom.”

Guess what? You will be connected to a rep in the U.K. Lesley says that’s the law, and it takes less than one minute to have your call re-directed. She put it to the test.

Lesley goes on “Imagine what would happen if every United Kingdom citizen insisted on talking to only UK phone reps from this day on”. Then she says what a lot of jobs it would create, and suggests a viral campaign.

That’s all very well, but would they know who was Prime Minister in 1939?

About the Author

In 2003, the Chartered Institute of Marketing named Drayton one of 50 living individuals who have shaped today’s marketing.

He has worked in 55 countries with many of the world’s greatest brands. These include American Express, Audi, Bentley, British Airways, Cisco, Columbia Business School, Deutsche Post, Ford, IBM, McKinsey, Mercedes, Microsoft, Nestle, Philips, Procter & Gamble, Toyota, Unilever, Visa and Volkswagen.

Drayton has helped sell everything from Airbus planes to Peppa Pig. His book, Commonsense Direct and Digital Marketing, out in 17 languages, has been the UK’s best seller on the subject every year since 1982. He has also run his own businesses in the U.K., Portugal and Malaysia.

He was a main board member of the Ogilvy Group, a founding member of the Superbrands Organisation, one of the first eight Honorary Fellows of the Institute of Direct Marketing and one of the first three people named to the Hall of Fame of the Direct Marketing Association of India. He has also been given Lifetime Achievement Awards by the Caples Organisation in New York and Early To Rise in Florida.

4 Comments

  1. Luke

    One would expect the increased customer service costs to destroy good jobs in the UK.  

  2. Tim

    My wife's currently involved in editing a book about the test.  10 or so (British) people in the office tried the test online – and only one passed.
    One of the questions is to do with conditions for entitlement to certain benefits – but the law has changed since the test was written, so you have to answer the question based on what it was a few years ago. 

  3. Jeff

    Loved this insight into the law. I have been using a variation ever since call centres in India Phillipines etc were established
    Simply ask to speak to someone about “Closing The Account” [ be it any utilities phone gas electricetc]- Amazing hoow quickly that UK based supervisor appears on line to try and reolve issues.

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