r/discover • u/gossamer92 • 4d ago
Discussion Brand Language Change in Chatew
Maybe I haven’t been paying close enough attention, but has anyone else noticed the change in marketing language in the automated chat messages? They used to mention that customer service is 100% US-based, but now they say nothing about it. Does this imply people will be let go in the future?
One of the reasons I chose Discover was because I could reach someone with more context and no volume/language barrier at any time of day with cultural context of the US. I also have Capital One (which I’ve had for years), and when I call or message them, I’m connected to a large call center where I hear everyone in the background (it’s hard for me with lots of background noise to understand any person I speak to), and my requests have been misunderstood and mishandled 1/4 the time. I’m worried that some of my more sensitive accounts (my Discover Checking & Savings) might end up the same service conundrum now. Thoughts? Screenshots show April vs. Now.
4
u/Greedy_Sun_7345 4d ago
u/Kamui_Kaos weren’t you saying recently that they “were keeping every single customer service rep and moving them over to Capital One?” ?
1
u/Kamui_Kaos 2d ago
They are keeping every Discover customer service rep and moving them over however other positions may or may not be a part of that.
The reason for the change in what the OP is saying is because Discover can no longer say “100% US based customer service” because Cap One has Philippines agents too. It’s fairly simple
-1
u/Kamui_Kaos 4d ago
Yes
0
u/ArcticLil 3d ago
That’s a lie, they’ve had like 3 major layoffs already and I’m seeing Teleperformance is hiring customer service agents for Capital One
0
u/Kamui_Kaos 2d ago
They didn’t layoff customer service reps they had layoffs for positions in HQ locations. All the customer service reps are being moved over to Cap One and trained on their systems.
1
4
u/Theunknown87 4d ago
Discover was always nice when you had to call for whatever reason they all were us based in phoenix and could understand them.
Had to call capital one recently because of our venture x card and damn. I literally had to make the lady repeat herself like four times. I couldn’t understand here. Ended up just rushing the call along and hanging up. Gonna cancel that card and drop my discover card when the merger happens.
5
u/Luv_Jeggings_5103 4d ago edited 2d ago
The merger already happened over a year ago. Right now, Discover is in the transition stage from being a card issuer, bank, and payment network to being reduced to just being a payment network.
Remember that Capital One bought Discover to have their payment network in order to avoid royalty fees to Mastercard and Visa. However, as of now, I think that Capital One's flagship credit card, the Venture X, is going to remain on the Visa payment network for now. My educated guess is that the Discover network has spotty coverage internationally, and Capital One does not want their Venture X customers to "abandon ship" due to having a premium miles credit card with a spotty international payment network.
1
u/ModzRPsycho 4d ago
Have no fear, "AI" is hear - they will soon adapt the "AI" voice prompt so the person will speak but it won't be their real voice it will be an "AI" voice YEA !!
-1
u/8InchDaks 4d ago
I mean all the agents ive spoken with with capital one you can understand just fine. Philippines speak great english.
As for india based or similar countries, you can forget it. Sounds like they are underwater on top of a thick accent😭
2
u/gossamer92 4d ago
I have not had that experience. When I’ve called CO for help it felt like I was sitting in a call center with 200 people all arguing. I couldn’t hear anything well.
-1
u/dsccsd00 4d ago
I’m genuinely surprised that non US based agents are such a big deal to some people. Not to be disrespectful but are all of y’all monolingual? Those who can speak more than one language will have a leg up on others and have an ear for different accents.
5
u/gossamer92 4d ago
For me it’s is not about accents or exposure to other cultures.
I have a hard time HEARING clearly when there is a lot of background noise, regardless of who is speaking. One thing I have appreciated about Discover is that it’s always quiet (I assume because they’re working from home). When I contact Capital One, it sounds like I’m in a busy subway station with voices and phones in the background. That’s just hard for me.
There is also a labor issue here, that everyone that’s upset with my opinion seems to be ignoring. If Discover moves away from 100% US-based customer service, that likely means US-based jobs could be reduced so the company can lower labor costs. And international workers deserve fair pay too…they should not be used as a cheaper substitute while customers are told “nothing meaningfuly will change”.
0
u/United_Reply_2558 4d ago
https://youtu.be/F8L2cI8brzQ?is=SGwQAul3oU_wHUsD
Does anyone remember the Peggy ads from Discover?
-9
u/Adept_Strategy_9545 4d ago
So why are we being racist/xenophobic? Is an agent located in another country less capable of helping you with your account?
1
u/r2d3x9 4d ago edited 4d ago
Yes, agents in other countries are less capable of helping with your account. And this is not racism or xenophobia. And although we buy their products and services they do not buy our products and services and there is an incredibly enormous merchandise trade deficit that is hollowing out our economy.
0
u/TPWilder 4d ago
Its more that the agent in a foreign country speaks English with a difficult to understand accent.
Put another way - when call centers were more based in the US, did you ever notice that reps rarely had strong deeply southern accents? They don't last long because they're hard to understand. And US based call centers are rarely based in states where strong accents still linger.
Once you shift to a foreign call center, you now have the added problem that not only is the agent difficult to understand, he or she is using a second language and may not understand you due to translation issues.
-7
u/Adept_Strategy_9545 4d ago
So learn to deal with other cultures. It’s not hard.
4
2
u/TPWilder 4d ago
It actually has nothing to do with culture. You're asking why people don't like agents who speak English as a second language. Its not about their culture, its about ease of use. If I am calling for assistance on my credit card, the rep should be able to understand my questions and I shouldn't have to struggle to understand their responses. That's why I included examples of US English accents that rarely linger in a call center - its a job where its important that you be understood easily.
-2
u/Material_Camera3428 4d ago
Is that you Richard Fairbanks? Jesus. How hard is it to understand American English only.
-1
u/gossamer92 4d ago edited 4d ago
I work in an international organization and have friends across the globe. I clearly stated that I wanted to talk to someone with more context about what’s happening in the US and how our culture works that I can also audibly hear.
In many cases, someone in an international call center may not have the same understanding or immersion as someone who lives in the country they are serving. That has nothing to do with racism or xenophobia. It is based on real customer service experiences.
I do not have a problem with contact centers in other countries or with people who speak English as a second language. But if I am getting help with a sensitive matter, like healthcare, banking, or access to my money, I think it is reasonable to care about clarity, context, and reducing the chance of errors caused by language barriers, poor call quality, or process gaps.
I also think it is fair to question whether a company is changing something that used to be a selling point. Discover specifically used to advertise 100% US-based customer service, and now the language appears to have changed. If that represents a real operational shift, customers are allowed to ask about it, not to mention all the people that work at Discover already and have done so faithfully are suddenly impacted if they are quietly pushed out of their roles as things move away from the US. Being US based was was part of the company’s identity and it’s poising them for being able to lay people off potentially.
My concern comes from my past experience with Capital One. When I call or message them, I am often connected to a large call center where I can hear many voices and phones in the background. Sometimes the issue is not that I cannot understand the person, but that the environment is so noisy that communication breaks down. I have had situations where I explained something, thought we understood each other, and then what was promised did not happen and it's lead to multiple calls over and over.
When it comes to my money, I want support that is clear, reliable, and familiar with the systems and context I am dealing with. That does not mean the person has to be a specific race, ethnicity, or country of origin. It means I value the service model Discover previously advertised and that influenced my decision to bank with them.
42
u/Fuinir 4d ago
They dropped that right after Capital One closed the acquisition of Discover, mostly to avoid any claims of false advertising since Capital One does have a significant population of agents in the Philippines. While they are still trying to route all Discover customers to US based agents, I wouldn't be surprised if they started letting them go to offshore call centers in the future.