On Thursday night, we got our home Internet set up. Today I’ve managed to get it encrypted, so we can actually use it for other than nonsecure stuff. Both involved long trips through the customer-support number, at €.10 per minute. Customer service is never fun, but it’s even less so when you have to guess which number to press because you don’t understand the language. Fortunately in each instance once I got through to a real person they were able to help me in English and transfer me to the correct unit, though there were the usual holds, disconnects and calling back along the way.
Don’t get me wrong; I think it’s entirely normal and reasonable that Netherlands customer service should be conducted in Dutch, and I think of it as a gracious and kind bonus that so many people are happy to speak English to me. I think it’s only fair that I should have to learn Dutch to function fully here.
It’s just that the next person who tells me that I don’t really need Dutch because everyone here can speak good English is likely to get an earful.
Gosh, I never thought about having to navigate a phone menu! Those are discouraging enough in English…sheesh. I’m with you on learning the language of the country you’re living in. I feel the same way about English in The States. My da was big on insisting everybody speak English well eough to be integrated socially AND economically. His work crews were multi-national (giving a leg up to the greenhorns was another biggie with him) and English was the language on the job site. How else to get Poles, Swedes, Slavs, Italians, Germans and the guy from Zimbabwe to be able to work together? Good luck with your language lessons. Smart woman like you should be a functional Dutch speaker in no time! ~LA