I (along with my family) have almost always flown on Delta for travels. I now make all my reservations via the internet. However, occassionaly, I need to call Delta instead...for changes and answers to specific questions. I have called Delta to make changes a few times this year. Each time, I called expecting to engage in a friendly, professional, and clearly-spoken conversation with the ticket agent...as I have always experienced in the past. But instead, each time, I got a voice on the other end that made me think I had dialed the wrong number. Is this Delta Airlines?, I asked. And something (sounding mumbled) was said back to me. I thought I heard 'Delta' someplace in their words, but I wasn't sure. I just kept talking, giving them my confirmation number and politely stating that I needed to find out if the date on my ticket could be changed to another date. Something, again, was said back to me...I think I heard a 'yes' in there somewhere...so I kept talking. Eventually, I picked up on the person's accent some more and thought it might be someone of East Indian (politically correct phrase? If not, I apologize) descent. So, being the extremely patient and culturally accepting person that I am , I just kept my calm, patient-toned voice and took the extra 15 minutes or so it took to change my reservation and confirm that what the ticket agent was saying and what I was agreeing to were the same thing. Every time I call now it is the same way. And I will continue to fly Delta, despite the frustration that can occur when I call Delta. However, I have to wonder...is the use of employees with strong foreign accents as ticket agents hurting the success of Delta? And if Delta is hiring directly from places like India to save money, is it really going to save them money in the long run? I can imagine all of the not-so-patient people who have given up on trying to make a reservation because it takes too long...and very plainly, it is often times impossible to understand the ticket agents. The first time I experienced this, I thought the person on the other end was someone I had called in error and was playing a joke on me. It didn't sound like the professional Delta company I had always known. I can just imagine what it must be like for those who are elderly or otherwise somewhat hearing impaired. I am guessing that they give up and don't buy a Delta ticket. I realize that Delta is a worldwide carrier and what I am about to ask is fairly bold, but aren't there enough people in the States who speak English and need jobs who ould fill these positions? Please help me understand this. One more thing...you know how there are so many computer-voiced prompts on company voice message systems now...i.e. credit card phone lines...can't Delta make use of a system like that? For example, a computer voice says "if you need to change your reservation, please enter the date and time on the numeric keypad."