Customer Demographics - Montreal/McGill and (Inner) London - A Comparison
The fascinating aspect of working in customer service, for me at least, is the opportunity to speak to hundreds of different people every day. And in a city like Montreal or London, there is the added incentive to interact with a really diverse population.
When I was in Montreal, I worked as a student fundraiser at my university's alumni association for two years. As one of the world's most international institutions, the fundraising job at McGill involved extensive interaction with people originating from more than 100 countries in the world, even if all the people we spoke to lived in Canada or the US. Similarly, my current job in Central London involves speaking to hundreds of people originating from every corner of the globe - some have lived here for generations, others have recently moved here. It's exciting to speak to so many different people, despite the occasional non-English-speaking git.
What I have found especially interesting however, working in the two phone-based jobs, is the noticeable difference in demographics I have encountered. In Montreal, it was rare to speak to recently-immigrated Africans or African-Americans. I spoke to a lot more people of Polish, Greek and (continental) French-origin than I have here in London. And though I haven't measured it accurately, I'd venture to guess that a third of the customers I deal with are of African-origin, most of whom are from West Africa (Nigeria and Ghana in particular). In Montreal I spoke to a lot of Jews, here I rarely speak to people with noticeable Jewish names. Conversely, I spoke to a small though noticeable percentage of people of Indian-origin in Montreal, but here I'd guess that between a seventh and sixth of all my customers are of South Asian origin. Most of these South Asians are Bangladeshi. In Montreal, most of the South Asians were Indian, a few were Pakistani and hardly any were Bangladeshi. There were a handful of Sri Lankans - all Singhalese. Here, all but one or two Sri Lankans I've dealt with were Tamil. Most of the Indians are either Gujarati or Punjabi. There is also a noticeable minority of Malayalis (or Keralites).
There's also an interesting difference in East Asian demographics. In Montreal I felt like I spoke to people of greater East Asian diversity than here in London, but there are noticeable differences in their origins. In Montreal most were of Vietnamese-extract, followed by Chinese. Over here the overwhelming majority are Filipinos. More specifically, they dominate the Cleaning, Portering and Lower level Nursing services. (And as a brief aside, this situation is virtually replicated in Muscat's hospitals in Oman!) In fact, I'd go as far as saying that after West Africans, the biggest group of foreigners that I deal with are Filipinos. It feels especially pronounced because two of the three main types of jobs we deal with regularly are Cleaning and Portering. After Filipinos, there is a minority of Malaysians and then Chinese. In stark contrast, I've spoken to only one or two people of Vietnamese-extraction over here.
Then there's people of Scottish and Irish-origins. It's probably fair to say that I spoke to more people of each group in Montreal, but the major difference is generation (and I'm basing my hypothesis on thickness of accent). Most, if not all the Scots and Irishmen I've spoken to here are recent arrivals whereas all the Gaelic folk in North America had pukka North American accents.
I've also found that I've spoken to surprisingly few people from Latin America or Spain and Portugal both here and in Montreal. I've spoken to a few Brazilians and Spaniards over here that I don't even remember speaking to in McGill. And though it may surprise some that I spoke to few Mexicans in North America, one must remember that these were all McGill graduates that I spoke to. And finally, I've also noticed that I speak to a lot more people whose English is not their forte here in London, than was the case in McGill.
Next Post in Series: The Actual Demographics
When I was in Montreal, I worked as a student fundraiser at my university's alumni association for two years. As one of the world's most international institutions, the fundraising job at McGill involved extensive interaction with people originating from more than 100 countries in the world, even if all the people we spoke to lived in Canada or the US. Similarly, my current job in Central London involves speaking to hundreds of people originating from every corner of the globe - some have lived here for generations, others have recently moved here. It's exciting to speak to so many different people, despite the occasional non-English-speaking git.
What I have found especially interesting however, working in the two phone-based jobs, is the noticeable difference in demographics I have encountered. In Montreal, it was rare to speak to recently-immigrated Africans or African-Americans. I spoke to a lot more people of Polish, Greek and (continental) French-origin than I have here in London. And though I haven't measured it accurately, I'd venture to guess that a third of the customers I deal with are of African-origin, most of whom are from West Africa (Nigeria and Ghana in particular). In Montreal I spoke to a lot of Jews, here I rarely speak to people with noticeable Jewish names. Conversely, I spoke to a small though noticeable percentage of people of Indian-origin in Montreal, but here I'd guess that between a seventh and sixth of all my customers are of South Asian origin. Most of these South Asians are Bangladeshi. In Montreal, most of the South Asians were Indian, a few were Pakistani and hardly any were Bangladeshi. There were a handful of Sri Lankans - all Singhalese. Here, all but one or two Sri Lankans I've dealt with were Tamil. Most of the Indians are either Gujarati or Punjabi. There is also a noticeable minority of Malayalis (or Keralites).
There's also an interesting difference in East Asian demographics. In Montreal I felt like I spoke to people of greater East Asian diversity than here in London, but there are noticeable differences in their origins. In Montreal most were of Vietnamese-extract, followed by Chinese. Over here the overwhelming majority are Filipinos. More specifically, they dominate the Cleaning, Portering and Lower level Nursing services. (And as a brief aside, this situation is virtually replicated in Muscat's hospitals in Oman!) In fact, I'd go as far as saying that after West Africans, the biggest group of foreigners that I deal with are Filipinos. It feels especially pronounced because two of the three main types of jobs we deal with regularly are Cleaning and Portering. After Filipinos, there is a minority of Malaysians and then Chinese. In stark contrast, I've spoken to only one or two people of Vietnamese-extraction over here.
Then there's people of Scottish and Irish-origins. It's probably fair to say that I spoke to more people of each group in Montreal, but the major difference is generation (and I'm basing my hypothesis on thickness of accent). Most, if not all the Scots and Irishmen I've spoken to here are recent arrivals whereas all the Gaelic folk in North America had pukka North American accents.
I've also found that I've spoken to surprisingly few people from Latin America or Spain and Portugal both here and in Montreal. I've spoken to a few Brazilians and Spaniards over here that I don't even remember speaking to in McGill. And though it may surprise some that I spoke to few Mexicans in North America, one must remember that these were all McGill graduates that I spoke to. And finally, I've also noticed that I speak to a lot more people whose English is not their forte here in London, than was the case in McGill.
Next Post in Series: The Actual Demographics