Critical intercultural impoliteness: “Where are you located? Can you please transfer me to someone who is American?”

With their increasing participation in globalised labour markets, users of English as a foreign language frequently face conflictive situations where their linguistic and work competence is severely called into question. This is the specific context of call centres in Guadalajara, Mexico, bilingual (Spanish-English) where agents often deal with United States callers. To interact within this globalised context, Mexican bilingual telephone operators need to accommodate to new discoursal patterns and access pragmatic resources to deal with perceived acts of impoliteness, disrespect and aggression. Triangulating self-reports from nine agents with three call centre supervisors, I examine key incidents involving rejection, racism and insults. I develop the concept of critical intercultural impoliteness as a way of understanding how operators actively try to overcome discrimination and a smothering sense of powerlessness.