DIFFERENCES WITHIN CANADA, BETWEEN CANADIANS
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Canada is not only a distinct country and peoples that require knowing about and paying attention to when serving them, but there are cultural, language, and regional differences within its borders that can( and will) affect these strategies.
So, we asked Mike Aoki and Afshan Kinder about them. Here are their insights.
MIKE AOKI: I would like to point out especially to our American audiences that 90 % of Canada ' s population lives within about 100 miles( yes, 160 kilometres) of the U. S. border. It is spread out mostly east to west and concentrated in a handful of major urban areas located in the southern part of the country.
So, some of the regional differences end up being more eastwest, than north-south, within Canada. Here are some examples:
• Newfoundland and Labrador, which has a distinct identity and dialect. They were a British colony, and briefly a self-governing dominion until 1949, when it joined Canada. The residents value relationships and want customer service that values that relationship.
• In Quebec, French is the only official language, and uses French common law, rather than the British common law which forms the basis of both English-Canadian and U. S. law.
Most large Canadian contact centers value staff who can speak both English and French. Also, the solutions offered to Quebec-based customers must conform to Quebec laws, which may differ from those in the other provinces and territories.
• People in Toronto tend to be very fast-talking and impatient, wanting answers quickly.
• In contrast, being on the West Coast, Vancouverites are more laid back and speak slower, like Los Angeles residents which they share with the film industry i. e.,“ Hollywood North.”
• Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, which are Canada’ s central provinces, prefer straightforward customer service and are suspicious of fast-talking reps.
"... CANADA ' S DIVERSITY, REGIONALLY AND CULTURALLY, SHAPES CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS."
-- AFSHAN KINDER
There are also differences between urban and rural areas. Rural residents may have slower rates of speech than urban residents and want more time spent during the conversations on pleasantries and small talk; I can attest to that as I come from a rural community in southwestern Ontario.
So, when I ' m training agents, I always mention to listen to the customer’ s rate of speech and speed up or slow down accordingly. Also, adjust your level of formality from“ strictly business” to“ professional but customer-relationship-focused” depending upon the clues the customer provides.
In Canada we ' re also trying to cover many time zones in the same continent. They range from the Newfoundland Time Zone, which is-3.5 Universal Standard Time( UST) to the Pacific Time Zone, which is-8 UST, which affects agent shift scheduling and coverage( British Columbia, which is on Pacific Time, recently made daylight savings time permanent).
Also, if you say bilingual to an American, they ' re thinking English and Spanish. But in Canada it ' s English and French.
Canada also tends to be more multilingual. It ' s not uncommon for Canadian contact centers to officially offer English and French, but have another dozen or two dozen languages that they could accommodate. At least somebody there will speak that language.
AFSHAN KINDER: One of the biggest misconceptions, especially from outside the country, is that Canada is one big market with one personality. It’ s not. We’ re a country of 10 provinces and three territories, and each has its own identity, priorities, and expectations.
Take French Canadian customers as an example. They’ re not limited to just Quebec. We have strong francophone communities in Eastern Canada, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. They tend to value warmth and relationship building, and they respond well to a more conversational tone.
Our Indigenous communities bring another dimension that needs to be understood. Because of the historical trauma they’ ve experienced, trust and respect are incredibly important.
Many Indigenous communities are also in remote areas where connectivity isn’ t always reliable, and that affects their access to digital channels, which is a disadvantage.
This is being recognized and there was promising news that an Indigenous‐led consortium in the Yukon is working to secure the funding needed to become the region’ s primary telecommunications provider. If successful, it would mark the creation of the first Indigenous‐owned telco in Canada, which would be an incredible milestone.
We’ re also a highly multicultural country. Immigration standards are high, so newcomers bring strong education and a range of cultural norms.
That shows up in how the customer experience( CX) is delivered. Some cultures are indirect in stating their needs; others prefer more formality; some are uncomfortable with conflict.
So yes, Canada’ s diversity, regionally and culturally, shapes customer expectations. If you understand that, you can design much better Canadian CXs.
8 CONTACT CENTER PIPELINE