Contacting Turkish Companies in English

Since my summer vacation is coming to an end, I realized I had so much to do with so little time. I needed to call the bank, set up Digiturk (Turkey's satalite TV), call TTNET (my ISP), Vodafone Turkey (my cell company) and do some other odd chores. This post will focus on the English services that various companies offer over the phone.

Let's start with Garanti Bank. I bank with Garanti because my salary is directly deposited to the bank. After receiving my new credit card, I had some questions about the card so I called the bank. In the US, when you call a company to speak with a customer service rep, you almost always hear an option for Spanish speakers. Well in Turkey, it's the same think except the option isn't for Spanish, it's for English. The English speakers with Garanti are very helpful and their English is clear and easily understandable. While they aren't always the most knowledgeable staffers, I can easily communicate with them.

Digiturk is one of Turkey's most popular satellite TV providers. I chose to go with Digiturk because they offer many channels in English. Our monthly service is cheap, too. We will pay 27 Lira a month for one year. We have HD channels and approximately 26 channels in English. I called Digiturk to request the service at our home and just like Garanti, they have an option for English. I've found the English speaking customer service reps on the phone to be very helpful and I can easily understand their English. One strange thing is that Digiturk does not have an English website which surprises me because there are thousands of English speaking potential customers in Turkey that they could potentially tap into. I was pleasantly surprised to hear an English option when I called them.

TTNET, my ISP, also does not have an English website. I did find their English speaking reps on the phone to be helpful. I once had a technical issue that required follow-up with their technical service department. I was informed that I would be contacted shortly by an English speaking tech. Sure enough, someone called within an hour and helped me with my problem.

Vodafone in huge in Europe and many countries around the world. According to Wikipedia, they are the second largest mobile telecommunication companies in the world. Unfortunately, they too, do not have a website in English for residents of Turkey. Luckily, like the other companies I've talked about, they have pretty good English speaking call center staff. While the English speaker from Vodafone was the most difficult communication I experienced, I was able to call and get answers to my questions. They helped me out.

I'm sure there are many other companies in Turkey that offer English speaking services to English speaking residents in Turkey. I've found that most governmental agencies do not have English services. Luckily, my Turkish wife is by my side to help me when I'm in a bind.