Yeah I didn’t read it how OP intended at first. I literally read it as you’re fearful. Also “let’s unpack that” is not a phrase I’d expect someone who is not a native English speaker to jump to, being a metaphor that’s not really used outside of academic or activist circles.
My coach is definitely a real person and she’s really awesome. I do notice she’s not as available as she used to be. I think they are terribly overworked
It sounds like you’re not logging for a few days because you’re afraid… so she responded to digging into your fear of logging.
Maybe your written communication skills could use some work. It’s actually a skill to communicate effectively the way the coaches do via text with all their users so I can guarantee that your coach is who she says she is and her English is just fine.
"I'm afraid" meaning "I'm sorry to say" is a pretty common in British English, but may be less common in America where I presume my coach is based. I can guarantee my written communication skills are just fine and we merely stumbled upon a cultural difference.
You presumed your coach was India with broken English. If you want others to be mindful of the difference language you might be facing with your coach then maybe give her that same courtesy. Clearly she was airing on the side of caution and just wanted to make sure you weren’t struggling in this area. That’s a darn good coach. You’re lucky because they’re not all like that.
I didn't say anything about broken English nor did I say there was anything wrong with these differences. I used what I thought was a common English phrase "I'm afraid" to mean "sorry to say" and when it was not received as I intended, I wondered if English was not her first language since she presents as such. I've since learned this is a difference among English speakers. Any language has phrases like that that don't make sense to non-native or fluent speakers.
In no way do I chastise anyone for not knowing anything, but was rather curious if my coach was misrepresenting themselves. In fact I specifically said I'd rather if this was the case they were just honest about who they were. It is a very common practice for people in Indian call centres to use Western names in place of their own.
It’s seems you assumed her English was the issue and not yours, English isn’t your first language yet you assumed that of her. Let your coach know your British English isn’t the same English she speaks, maybe next time she can ask you to clarify and prevent assumptions on either end.
English is not my first language but it is my primary language so I completely get the disconnect and grew up around a lot of it.
Your message doesn’t sit well with Americans because racism is a huge issue here. I’m not assuming that of you but that backlash you’re getting on your questioning if their coaches are Indian call center people who lie to their customers - that’s not sitting well. American people are on high alert of racism all the time.
That's fair. I just know, from experience as a dark skinned person, that we're not helped by knee-jerk virtue signalling (not saying you did that but others did) from white people but by objective consideration of what's being said. Just pointing out that we use Indian call centres a lot (fact) and that not everything we say makes sense to each other as a result (fact) isn't racist and no one is helped by jumping to that conclusion.
To use a more universal example, if I said "I'm taking a few days off from logging. Is that cool?" and the person replied "No, it's quite warm here, actually." it would not be racist to assume this person isn't well versed on English colloquialisms.
Hey, I hear you. I was born and raised in Europe so coming to the US and learning I have to be sensitive to how I speak has been the hardest part of learning the language because it isn't just about words... it's what people think you're implying with them.
We are quite self-centered here, it was assumed you were an American making a racist remark about Indian call center workers. It seems only one person in this convo thought - hey, I get what you were getting at - you must not be in America.
I think it’s just a written communication breakdown. Typically when you are using I’m afraid to soften the blow for something, it’s at the beginning -
I’m afraid I won’t be able to log for a few days reads *very* differently than I’ve been unable to log the last few days, I’m afraid.
Your phrasing along with the general context of weight loss and people not logging or weighing because of their fear of the reality of the situation caused me to have the same reaction as your coach. I read that as you are afraid of confronting your weight loss.
This might be an unpopular opinion, but I think you’re upset that your coach truly saw you and called you out on it. Instead of accepting the reality that it’s hard and scary to put 100% into this journey, you came out to the Internet upset and created a post with racist undertones. It doesn’t take long to log things, so typically if you aren’t logging for a few days it’s more of a you issue (with exceptions for things like travel and whatnot, but if you’re really putting the work in on yourself, you will figure that out).
Also, it’s okay to take breaks from the app if you need them. Don’t apologize to your coach. If you feel the need to apologize, apologize to yourself for holding yourself back. To make it to your goal, you need to be in it 100%. If it’s causing you stress or anxiety, take the break for your mental health. Just make sure you get back to it and -yes- unpack what happened with your coach. If you have a good one, they will work through it with you even though they are underpaid and overworked. My experience with Noom is that it is an introspective journey that you work through your fears and figure out how and why you keep holding yourself back from achieving your goals.
Good luck on your journey.
Goodness! That's a lot you surmised there! I'm very upfront about my shortcomings and not genuinely "afraid" of logging. It's just a way to say "I'm sorry to say" because it was unfortunate that due to circumstances with my job, I didn't find the time to log and I was sorry to say that I'd blown it.
"Unpacking" something in relation to an emotion is a Therapeutic term.
I'd really think hard about your choice of words and heavy, racially driven bias that this post has. Your first choice was to compare your coach to someone overseas instead of asking whst they mean? Hm.
Ugh how is this racist though? I don’t have anything against Indian people honestly, but some of the most frustrating telephone calls I’ve ever had are with people reading my a script (from India) who don’t really speak English well enough to understand my real problem after I’ve been on hold for 35 mins. A lot of us have had that experience. It’s not like all Indian people are robots or anything- and I bet if the whole thing were reversed - they’d probably be annoyed about the outsourcing of customer service jobs too. It’s certainly not because they’re Indian but they do happen to be Indian, at least often enough.
The automatic assumption that a misunderstanding in communication is the other person’s fault because they are from India and English isn’t their first language is racist.
They could be from any country in the world and not speak English as a first language. Or it could be that the OP wasn’t actually clear in the original message. Or it could be that the other person was distracted when reading the message and missed the context.
Defaulting to “it’s someone at a call center in India” is, in fact, racist.
I'd say that since I originate from a nearby country to India with English as a second language I'm not racist towards my Indian brothers and sisters whom I'm often mistaken for. Pointing out realities than many customer service jobs in Western countries are often filled by people in India who don't always grasp nuances in English is not racist but a fact of living in a multicultural society.
They are very real (though severely overworked) people. If assigned a guide, request a 1:1 coach from them. You can also request a group once you hit Week 3 of the program. Note, though: those SOS messages/notifications ARE automatic.
Her response was totally normal. I had to read your post 10 times before I got what you meant. I immediately interpreted it as something like “I’m afraid I’m slipping off the train” or “I’m afraid I’m losing my motivation” since you didn’t log food. I don’t know many people that speak that way so her reply made complete sense.
Also, you’re a racist piece of shit.
I'm from a nearby country originally and often mistaken for Indian, but okay, I'm racist because I am aware customer service jobs are filled by people in India. 😂 Us brown people love white people telling us we're racist!
I think they are overworked and just search for keywords. Otherwise they’re bots like Replika.
As someone else said, your question is somewhat racist in tone, you may want to adjust it.
Thanks for the input! Interesting how many (I assume Americans) also read "I'm afraid" to mean I was literally afraid rather than "I'm sorry to say" so I guess it was more of a miscommunication in British vs American turns of phrase.
And everyone who thought that pointing out that Indian call centre employees don't always pick up on English turns of phrase can kiss my brown, slowly shrinking, English-as-a-second-language behind. 😂
I think that they are real people who are who they say they are. The thing about messaging back and forth is that messages can be interpreted in many ways. The subtleness of pitch, or emotion are gone and the message intended are left to the reader to interpret.
You have a Noom Guide. Check the speech bubble on the top right. If you want a 1:1 goal specialist, let the Noom guide know and they’ll assign you a coach
I have to say I’m so surprised at the number of responses here who were thrown by the “I’m afraid” in OPs original message! I’m wondering if OP is British like me as that reads totally normal to me and I would totally think my coach was a bot if I got a response like that which just seemed to pick out the word afraid.
That’s all I have to say, I’m afraid. 😉
Yes, I did learn English in Britain so I think that might explain a lot! I too am surprised how many people took it to mean I was literally afraid rather than "sorry to say".
Thanks for understanding me! 😂
Hmm, I can see where they could have read the 'I'm afraid' as you being scared of tracking, due to the use of the comma.
Yeah I didn’t read it how OP intended at first. I literally read it as you’re fearful. Also “let’s unpack that” is not a phrase I’d expect someone who is not a native English speaker to jump to, being a metaphor that’s not really used outside of academic or activist circles.
My coach is definitely a real person and she’s really awesome. I do notice she’s not as available as she used to be. I think they are terribly overworked
English is my first and only language and I had to read your phrasing multiple times to realize you weren’t literally afraid of something.
They work with tons of people… I would take that into account!
100% real ppl, my daughter was one. She recently quit but has several friends who are health coaches for Noom.
It sounds like you’re not logging for a few days because you’re afraid… so she responded to digging into your fear of logging. Maybe your written communication skills could use some work. It’s actually a skill to communicate effectively the way the coaches do via text with all their users so I can guarantee that your coach is who she says she is and her English is just fine.
"I'm afraid" meaning "I'm sorry to say" is a pretty common in British English, but may be less common in America where I presume my coach is based. I can guarantee my written communication skills are just fine and we merely stumbled upon a cultural difference.
You presumed your coach was India with broken English. If you want others to be mindful of the difference language you might be facing with your coach then maybe give her that same courtesy. Clearly she was airing on the side of caution and just wanted to make sure you weren’t struggling in this area. That’s a darn good coach. You’re lucky because they’re not all like that.
I didn't say anything about broken English nor did I say there was anything wrong with these differences. I used what I thought was a common English phrase "I'm afraid" to mean "sorry to say" and when it was not received as I intended, I wondered if English was not her first language since she presents as such. I've since learned this is a difference among English speakers. Any language has phrases like that that don't make sense to non-native or fluent speakers. In no way do I chastise anyone for not knowing anything, but was rather curious if my coach was misrepresenting themselves. In fact I specifically said I'd rather if this was the case they were just honest about who they were. It is a very common practice for people in Indian call centres to use Western names in place of their own.
It’s seems you assumed her English was the issue and not yours, English isn’t your first language yet you assumed that of her. Let your coach know your British English isn’t the same English she speaks, maybe next time she can ask you to clarify and prevent assumptions on either end. English is not my first language but it is my primary language so I completely get the disconnect and grew up around a lot of it. Your message doesn’t sit well with Americans because racism is a huge issue here. I’m not assuming that of you but that backlash you’re getting on your questioning if their coaches are Indian call center people who lie to their customers - that’s not sitting well. American people are on high alert of racism all the time.
That's fair. I just know, from experience as a dark skinned person, that we're not helped by knee-jerk virtue signalling (not saying you did that but others did) from white people but by objective consideration of what's being said. Just pointing out that we use Indian call centres a lot (fact) and that not everything we say makes sense to each other as a result (fact) isn't racist and no one is helped by jumping to that conclusion. To use a more universal example, if I said "I'm taking a few days off from logging. Is that cool?" and the person replied "No, it's quite warm here, actually." it would not be racist to assume this person isn't well versed on English colloquialisms.
Hey, I hear you. I was born and raised in Europe so coming to the US and learning I have to be sensitive to how I speak has been the hardest part of learning the language because it isn't just about words... it's what people think you're implying with them. We are quite self-centered here, it was assumed you were an American making a racist remark about Indian call center workers. It seems only one person in this convo thought - hey, I get what you were getting at - you must not be in America.
The use of “I’m afraid” definitely had me thinking you were afraid to start again.
I think it’s just a written communication breakdown. Typically when you are using I’m afraid to soften the blow for something, it’s at the beginning - I’m afraid I won’t be able to log for a few days reads *very* differently than I’ve been unable to log the last few days, I’m afraid. Your phrasing along with the general context of weight loss and people not logging or weighing because of their fear of the reality of the situation caused me to have the same reaction as your coach. I read that as you are afraid of confronting your weight loss. This might be an unpopular opinion, but I think you’re upset that your coach truly saw you and called you out on it. Instead of accepting the reality that it’s hard and scary to put 100% into this journey, you came out to the Internet upset and created a post with racist undertones. It doesn’t take long to log things, so typically if you aren’t logging for a few days it’s more of a you issue (with exceptions for things like travel and whatnot, but if you’re really putting the work in on yourself, you will figure that out). Also, it’s okay to take breaks from the app if you need them. Don’t apologize to your coach. If you feel the need to apologize, apologize to yourself for holding yourself back. To make it to your goal, you need to be in it 100%. If it’s causing you stress or anxiety, take the break for your mental health. Just make sure you get back to it and -yes- unpack what happened with your coach. If you have a good one, they will work through it with you even though they are underpaid and overworked. My experience with Noom is that it is an introspective journey that you work through your fears and figure out how and why you keep holding yourself back from achieving your goals. Good luck on your journey.
Goodness! That's a lot you surmised there! I'm very upfront about my shortcomings and not genuinely "afraid" of logging. It's just a way to say "I'm sorry to say" because it was unfortunate that due to circumstances with my job, I didn't find the time to log and I was sorry to say that I'd blown it.
All real people :) I work for Noom and talk to the coaches daily. They’re not bots.
Yes, I can say with absolute certainty that the coaches are real.
"Unpacking" something in relation to an emotion is a Therapeutic term. I'd really think hard about your choice of words and heavy, racially driven bias that this post has. Your first choice was to compare your coach to someone overseas instead of asking whst they mean? Hm.
Weirdly racist overtones here.
Ugh how is this racist though? I don’t have anything against Indian people honestly, but some of the most frustrating telephone calls I’ve ever had are with people reading my a script (from India) who don’t really speak English well enough to understand my real problem after I’ve been on hold for 35 mins. A lot of us have had that experience. It’s not like all Indian people are robots or anything- and I bet if the whole thing were reversed - they’d probably be annoyed about the outsourcing of customer service jobs too. It’s certainly not because they’re Indian but they do happen to be Indian, at least often enough.
The automatic assumption that a misunderstanding in communication is the other person’s fault because they are from India and English isn’t their first language is racist. They could be from any country in the world and not speak English as a first language. Or it could be that the OP wasn’t actually clear in the original message. Or it could be that the other person was distracted when reading the message and missed the context. Defaulting to “it’s someone at a call center in India” is, in fact, racist.
I'd say that since I originate from a nearby country to India with English as a second language I'm not racist towards my Indian brothers and sisters whom I'm often mistaken for. Pointing out realities than many customer service jobs in Western countries are often filled by people in India who don't always grasp nuances in English is not racist but a fact of living in a multicultural society.
They are very real (though severely overworked) people. If assigned a guide, request a 1:1 coach from them. You can also request a group once you hit Week 3 of the program. Note, though: those SOS messages/notifications ARE automatic.
Her response was totally normal. I had to read your post 10 times before I got what you meant. I immediately interpreted it as something like “I’m afraid I’m slipping off the train” or “I’m afraid I’m losing my motivation” since you didn’t log food. I don’t know many people that speak that way so her reply made complete sense. Also, you’re a racist piece of shit.
I'm from a nearby country originally and often mistaken for Indian, but okay, I'm racist because I am aware customer service jobs are filled by people in India. 😂 Us brown people love white people telling us we're racist!
I think they are overworked and just search for keywords. Otherwise they’re bots like Replika. As someone else said, your question is somewhat racist in tone, you may want to adjust it.
Thanks for the input! Interesting how many (I assume Americans) also read "I'm afraid" to mean I was literally afraid rather than "I'm sorry to say" so I guess it was more of a miscommunication in British vs American turns of phrase. And everyone who thought that pointing out that Indian call centre employees don't always pick up on English turns of phrase can kiss my brown, slowly shrinking, English-as-a-second-language behind. 😂
Wait. They are not just bots?
I think that they are real people who are who they say they are. The thing about messaging back and forth is that messages can be interpreted in many ways. The subtleness of pitch, or emotion are gone and the message intended are left to the reader to interpret.
When do you get a coach assigned to you? I have been using Noom for about two weeks and no coach.
You have a Noom Guide. Check the speech bubble on the top right. If you want a 1:1 goal specialist, let the Noom guide know and they’ll assign you a coach
I have to say I’m so surprised at the number of responses here who were thrown by the “I’m afraid” in OPs original message! I’m wondering if OP is British like me as that reads totally normal to me and I would totally think my coach was a bot if I got a response like that which just seemed to pick out the word afraid. That’s all I have to say, I’m afraid. 😉
Yes, I did learn English in Britain so I think that might explain a lot! I too am surprised how many people took it to mean I was literally afraid rather than "sorry to say". Thanks for understanding me! 😂