"I don't speak English"

[Victoria J]

So I call the Sucky Customer into my room when it's her turn and I write down her name and try to get started :
Me : Have you been here before ? (To find out whether she'll already have a file)
SC : "I don't speak English" - said perfectly, looks at me with a look of sadness and disappointment
Me : (carrying on assuming she just means she doesn't speak good English) I just need to know if you've ever seen anyone here before ?
SC : "I don't speak English" - gazes at me sadly
Me : I can't really advise you if we can't understand each other...
SC : "I don't speak English"
Me : You'd need to bring someone in to help you talk to us
SC : "I don't speak English"

At this point the two great mysteries are (a) why the hell she's so sad and disappointed when it seems pretty inevitable she was going to get nowhere, and (b) that she hasn't at any point even mentioned her language or try to find out if anyone speaks her language.

Eventually she sadly mutters something about Portuguese. We have no Portuguese speakers, and it really wasn't reasonable to think we might. It's not a common language in the area we serve. I brightly suggest Spanish (which the last Portuguese speaker I ran into understood much better than English). She just looks sad and shakes her head.

Then she brightens up and makes a call on her mobile phone.
Me : (pointlessly) I cannot advise people using someone over the phone to interpret
SC - looks baffled

So I think she's going to make me speak to some friend of hers on the phone, and I think that at least I'll be able to try and explain to them why that isn't going to work. She doesn't (for a change) just stick the phone into my hand.

SC (putting phone away) 1o minutes
Me - You're friend will be here in 10 minutes ?
SC - looks hopeful, says nothing

I go and speak to my supervisor. I'm not happy to wait as this is the last person I have to see and otherwise I can go and have lunch. I don't believe 10 minutes will be 10 minutes. The general rule is that if you aren't here and ready to be seen by 12.30 when our doors close you're out of luck, it's already past that.

My supervisor suggests I see someone else as my last client, and the women can wait. If her friend arrives by the time the slowest of the people working calls their last client then she can still be seen. If they get here later we can at least tell them she needs to come back at the right time with someone...

I finish up seeing my last person, and half an hour has past. I walk out into our waiting room and find our receptionist is being made to talk to her friend over the phone. The friend isn't on her way (and seems to have no idea they were expected), but at least we make the friend tell her that she'll need to come back with someone.

*Sigh* I just can't imagine how she thought it would go.

I'm normally fairly sympathetic to people who struggle to speak English. If someone comes in and asks if we have someone who can speak X, I'll feel bad if we don't. I had another person who spoke a language that was very common in the community and asked if someone could talk to her in that language, no one was available so she tried her best (and understood basic questions) but then went and got a friend to help out - I'm fine with that. I'm fine with people who are trying.

Victoria J

[PuckishOne]

Sounds like you handled it the best you could, given the circumstances. Much better than the man who called us on behalf of his fiancee and yelled at us for not having anyone on staff who spoke her native language. Turned out that he didn't either.

[Snowbird]

Sounds like you handled it the best you could, given the circumstances. Much better than the man who called us on behalf of his fiancee and yelled at us for not having anyone on staff who spoke her native language. Turned out that he didn't either.

I guess they only spoke the language of love? How on earth did he pop the question? Is he a professional mime or something?

As to the OP, one of the most frustrating things in the world is dealing with a customer that doesn't speak the language. I don't think that language to language dictionaries are that expensive, and while they may not be the best thing ever to translate, they get the job done. I guess people just don't think of getting one or something.

[cinema guy]

I guess they only spoke the language of love? How on earth did he pop the question?

Maybe only he thinks they are engaged. He said 'Will you marry me?' and she thought he was saying, 'Would you like a gin and tonic?' She nodded entusiastically, now he's expecting wedded bliss and she's still waiting for her G&T.

[PuckishOne]

How on earth did he pop the question?

Beats me. I do kind of wish I'd asked, but he was enough of a jerk that I don't think I'd have been able to pass it off as innocent curiosity.

As to the idea of language dictionaries, I can only assume that some people must view these as more embarrassing than the alternative. I've used them myself to supplement my very limited Spanish, for example, and I don't recall anyone sniggering or acting like there was a big ol' neon "MORON" sign on my forehead for doing it.

Then again, maybe that woman is still waiting for that drink...

[ArcticChicken]

I guess they only spoke the language of love? How on earth did he pop the question? Is he a professional mime or something?

desperaterussianbrides.com?

[edible_hat]

Reminds me of a comedy sketch...

(the setting: a country road in France. English Tourist is trying to get directions.)

ET: "Excuse me, do you speak English?"
French Guy: "No I don't sorry."
ET: "Well I don't speak French, do you know anyone who can help me?"
FG: "There's a village just up the road, maybe there's someone there who speaks English."

[Bagga]

How to propose without speaking a foreign language.

Kneel down, look up at SO, point at SO, point at self, hum The Wedding March, smile, mime putting a ring on appropriate finger of both parties. (Be careful with the last part, because if the gesture is performed too quickly, or more than once, it may be interpreted as you asking for jig-a-jig.)

This actually works as a mime, as I am an EFL teacher, and have use it to illustrate the word "proposal". But it doesn't work in China - they just look at you with a puzzled expression, then giggle. Giggling, even by men, is the frequent response to anything they don't understand. They sometimes appear to be working on the basis of "I don't understand it, so it must be silly"

[iviles]

I really dont know how she expected to be helped. My moms english is fine she just has a heavy accent. So to make things easyer she would always bring my sister or I with her to help if they were having trouble understanding her. It made things a lot easyer! Thing is I run across it a lot now where I live. People come from all diffrent countries and have been here for years!!! But they refuse to learn English then get upset that no one can help them

[Dark-Star]

So apparently you're responsible for knowing her native language? Sheesh.

Perhaps next time you can tell her to call a phone number that just happens to be to to an ESL class?

[PuckishOne]

Let's keep this to the SC in question and not get into a general discussion of immigration. Thanks.

[Victoria J]

Let's keep this to the SC in question and not get into a general discussion of immigration. Thanks.

Absolutely.

Most people do learn at least some of the predominant language of the place they live.

A small minority don't - I feel it makes them vulnerable, but don't think they're hurting others. I believe people should learn the language because they tend to suffer if they don't (so much more likely to get ripped off and exploited. I don't think anyone is in any way bad or sucky for not doing so.

A very small minority of those have entitlement issues and believe you are evil because you can't provide for them. I roll my eyes - and then ignore them. nobody can possibly do everything.

The people who seem puzzled and surprised when it's a problem as if they haven't thought it through don't exactly impress me with their IQ.

I still wouldn't have posted about this woman - what took my breath away was the absolute stupidity of just repeating "I don't speak English" without even making any attempt to see if someone did speak her language.

Today I was sorting out an invoice for interpreting services. We have no interpreting budget, we're a small charity - we dredged up the money to get one.

Not for this loon - but for some poor woman who was brought to this country as a spouse, taken by her husband for a holiday in her country and abandoned there. She managed to scrape together the money to get back to the UK as she had nowhere else to go - he refused to let her in the house and assaulted her. She doesn't speak English sufficiently - but she really did try. She couldn't bring in anyone to help because the only people she knows also know her husband. They've been letting her stay and helping her with some other things but they outright refused to do anything to help her divorce or sort out her immigration status (and also sometimes won't let her leave the house !).

Money very well spent as it let us get her the help she needed.

Victoria J

[Simply Amazed]

Reminds me of a comedy sketch...

(the setting: a country road in France. English Tourist is trying to get directions.)

ET: "Excuse me, do you speak English?"
French Guy: "No I don't sorry."
ET: "Well I don't speak French, do you know anyone who can help me?"
FG: "There's a village just up the road, maybe there's someone there who speaks English."

From the movie "Hot Pursuit"

John Cusack has been thrown into a Mexican jail and as he tries to talk to them none of them speak english. He turns to the other mexicans in the cell.

"Does anyone here speak english?"

One raises his hand.

John starts "Tell them..." and rattles off what he's been trying to say.

The mexican just looks at him then says "I said I speak english, not spanish."