In some other cultures it's not unusual for people to take an "English name." I am not certain how "official" this is, but it's something they seem to do but once -- names are very important there.
A few years ago I advised a young Chinese mainlander woman I'd met over there (she was my translator) on her proposed choice of name -- her given name was Shanshan and she wondered if "Shannon" would be a good English name. When I told her about the beautiful region in Ireland, she was delighted and took it -- I even recorded my speaking it and e-mailed it so she could pronounce it like an American.
(Somebody in her family was "good at names" and she suggested enlisting this person's help in finding a good Chinese name for me... but then she got married and disappeared. Oh well.)
The other of my translators took a name that sounds English but isn't. I'm guessing she'd been a bit of rebel, but was now in the position of explaining her "English" name.
A slightly older (~30) Chinese colleague took the name Cyrus sometime between my visit to China and his visit to America. When I remarked on the greatness associated with the name of Cyrus (the Persian king), well, let's just say he scored high points with his (presumed) girlfriend who was here with him. This was a Biblical name of power, wisdom and kindness -- he must have done a lot of research. (Both the Jews and the Persians honor Cyrus.)
The upshot? In his culture your tech support type might very well be "Bobby" (or "Robert"). I wouldn't mock him.
If I were interacting with a citizen of another country, *in* their own country, I'd be more inclined to look for your scenario playing out.
Except, here I was talking about tech support, where the "English" name is a pseudonym used in an attempt to fool me into thinking that I'm dealing with someone who
a) shares my culture
b) has a clue
c) gives a flying leap.
I have had tech support people tell me directly that I had called the wrong number for my question, but that they would (condescending, mock-gracious tone like John Kerry) would connect me to the right number. And that, after I read the instructions for dialing from the computer's own instruction sheet, fresh out of the packing box.
And the problem is, I didn't have any say in how my customer service was handled -- *all* the companies did this at the same time, lemming-like, so that the C-level execs could have more time and $$ to spend on their own Kristins.
Full Disclosure: Government workers suck, too. But at least there is no pretense in that case.
Cheers!
Every programmer that I have worked with from Russia, India or China has been a pleasure to work with. They know what they are doing.
However, there is something "spacial" about how U.S. software engineers think. Impossible to quantify, but there is a difference.
For a programmer from another country, they must do exactly as they are told.
People like me, give the boss the finger and make the software work!