Finnair has made headlines in Finland based on chat replies its customer service agents have recently provided in Finnish.
Finnair provides customer support through a chat on its website in English and six other languages, handled by its customer contact center in Sofia, Bulgaria.
You can access Finnair here.
The issue on hand is that the Sofia center is capable of providing customer support in English, but all the other languages are going through a machine translation that often yields incorrect words used and understanding lost.
Phone support in Finnish is provided by contact centers in various regions in Finland.
Conclusion
When I spoke with one customer service rep recently, there was a rooster sound in the background, and when I talked to a Hilton Diamond desk employee, she answered the call in El Salvador.
It is widespread for companies to provide English-language customer support from various countries, although the Philippines must be the most common.
Not sure how well Bulgarian translates to other languages through English? The Finnish language is especially particular; these machine-learning translators don’t often work well.
Finnair’s WhatsApp support for Platinum and Lumo members must be based in Finland because I have not come across incorrect or misunderstood words.