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... then there is stupid.
OK, I have no problem with people not understanding what I'm saying because of a language barrier, just say you don't understand and I'll try to figure out a different way of communicating the idea until we find something that works... the people I hate are the people who will under no circumstances admit that they don't understand and will do NOTHING to help.
case in point was last night
me- thank you for calling (hotel) this is smiley speaking, how may I help you
sc- (in decent english, but obviously not his first language) I need the bus from the airport.
me- ok, I can send out the shuttle van, how many will we be picking up?
sc- just me, one person.
me- and which airline did you come in on?
sc- I told you, I'm at the airport.
ok, maybe he didn't understand, fair enough.
me- I understand you're at the airport, but which airline carrier did you use? (we do have to ask this because difference airlines require we pick up from different places).
sc- yes, I'm at the airport
me- yes sir, but which terminal are you in (screw it, I don't care what the airline says anymore, if I know the terminal I can get him close)
sc- oh, I don't know the terminal number, but it's the terminal Delta uses.
fina-fucking-ly...why didn't you just tell me you were at Delta to begin with *does force choke through phone)
me- Ok, for Delta you want to go just outside of door 10, it's between the escalator and the baggage claim.
sc- ok, so I go outside door 10 and do I just wait for him there?
me- yes, he should be there in about 10 minutes. Can I get your name please?
sc- yes my name is (I could hardly understand... I made a good guess off of the guest list though)
me- thank you, and do you have a cell phone that the driver can reach you at if he has any difficulty finding you?
sc- I'll be outside door 10.
me- yes, but do you have a cell phone number?
sc- just 1 person.
me- yes sir, one person at door 10, and do you have a cell phone number in case the driver is unable to find you.
sc- ok, I'll wait for him... you said 10 to 15 minutes, thanks *click*
you know... that guy seriously crossed the line from having difficulty speaking english to just being plain stupid... if at ANY point in the conversation he had said the simple phrase "i didn't understand that" or some variation on that rather than just assuming what the question was and answering something completely irrelevant I'd say he wasn't in the least bit sucky, but he did refuse to say that one simple phrase and did instead decide to act like an idiot
these are the same people who complain that we don't have (insert language) speakers at the hotel to translate for them... umm, you're staying at a 2 star, 96 room hotel... you MAY get a spanish speaker if maintanence and housekeeping is still there, occassionally you'll get someone who can butcher german (which even after 5 years of classes I still don't have a very good mastery of) and if you're extremely lucky, you'll get me willing to call my friend who speaks korean and he'll be awake enough to translate on speaker phone... otherwise, you're out of luck because we don't have any linguists on staff... we aren't large enough to be able to afford it.
OK, I have no problem with people not understanding what I'm saying because of a language barrier, just say you don't understand and I'll try to figure out a different way of communicating the idea until we find something that works... the people I hate are the people who will under no circumstances admit that they don't understand and will do NOTHING to help.
case in point was last night
me- thank you for calling (hotel) this is smiley speaking, how may I help you
sc- (in decent english, but obviously not his first language) I need the bus from the airport.
me- ok, I can send out the shuttle van, how many will we be picking up?
sc- just me, one person.
me- and which airline did you come in on?
sc- I told you, I'm at the airport.
ok, maybe he didn't understand, fair enough.
me- I understand you're at the airport, but which airline carrier did you use? (we do have to ask this because difference airlines require we pick up from different places).
sc- yes, I'm at the airport
me- yes sir, but which terminal are you in (screw it, I don't care what the airline says anymore, if I know the terminal I can get him close)
sc- oh, I don't know the terminal number, but it's the terminal Delta uses.
fina-fucking-ly...why didn't you just tell me you were at Delta to begin with *does force choke through phone)
me- Ok, for Delta you want to go just outside of door 10, it's between the escalator and the baggage claim.
sc- ok, so I go outside door 10 and do I just wait for him there?
me- yes, he should be there in about 10 minutes. Can I get your name please?
sc- yes my name is (I could hardly understand... I made a good guess off of the guest list though)
me- thank you, and do you have a cell phone that the driver can reach you at if he has any difficulty finding you?
sc- I'll be outside door 10.
me- yes, but do you have a cell phone number?
sc- just 1 person.
me- yes sir, one person at door 10, and do you have a cell phone number in case the driver is unable to find you.
sc- ok, I'll wait for him... you said 10 to 15 minutes, thanks *click*
you know... that guy seriously crossed the line from having difficulty speaking english to just being plain stupid... if at ANY point in the conversation he had said the simple phrase "i didn't understand that" or some variation on that rather than just assuming what the question was and answering something completely irrelevant I'd say he wasn't in the least bit sucky, but he did refuse to say that one simple phrase and did instead decide to act like an idiot
these are the same people who complain that we don't have (insert language) speakers at the hotel to translate for them... umm, you're staying at a 2 star, 96 room hotel... you MAY get a spanish speaker if maintanence and housekeeping is still there, occassionally you'll get someone who can butcher german (which even after 5 years of classes I still don't have a very good mastery of) and if you're extremely lucky, you'll get me willing to call my friend who speaks korean and he'll be awake enough to translate on speaker phone... otherwise, you're out of luck because we don't have any linguists on staff... we aren't large enough to be able to afford it.
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