Rude is rude, no matter the language

[SeasonalSlave]

Today was overall actually awesome for me - best sales day I've had in a long time, perhaps ever since I started working in October. There were only two SCs of note today.

One was a man who wanted to buy two of the same Toshiba laptops - which we had plenty of. Problem is, we don't have any special deals for those laptops beyond the antivirus and support we include with ALL of our computers. I told him such, and he reconsidered. However, he came back slightly annoyed a half hour later, wondering if I was ever going to get his laptops... Even though he had never told me that he, for certain, wanted to buy them.

That, and he would not. Stop. Asking. About. Specials. "Are you sure you can't give me anything? I'm buying two." and about seven different variations thereof. The answer was, "no" an hour ago, and it's the same now. There. Is. NOTHING I can do to change that. I'm just a sales floor grunt. The only thing you're doing is making me try to figure out ways to somehow charge you MORE money just to spite you, but I don't want to get into trouble.


Then, later on, there was a couple in our overstock section, and I asked if they needed any help. Without looking at me, the woman looks over to her husband and talks in Spanish. Now, that by itself doesn't bother me. We get a lot of customers who have trouble speaking English and I am more than happy to find a translator (if we have one available) for them.

What I don't like are people being obnoxious and saying things in their language about ME because they think I won't understand anything. It's a pet peeve and something I've always found really, really rude - no matter your native tongue. I also get mad when people do it in English in front of those who aren't fluent in the language.

That aside: I'm far from fluent in Spanish, but I do understand enough to get that the gist of what the woman said to her husband was, "I don't want to talk to this white girl - she doesn't speak Spanish." - which she said without even asking me if I did speak it.

Resisting the urge to throttle her, I smiled sweetly and asked, "Would you like someone who speaks Spanish better than this white girl? We have bilingual associates and I'd be happy to get one for you."

The looks on their faces were priceless. The woman muttered (in perfect English) that they didn't need any help and sort of scurried away. Now I wonder what would've happened if I had given into temptation and said the first response that came to my mind, "Sí, yo hablo español, señora."

[thansal]

Assuming people don't speak your language is always a bad idea.

Assuming the person doesn't speak Spanish based on skin tone is just dumb.

Between the vast array of nationalities that speak Spanish and the fact that the majority of us have to take a language in school (with a good chance of it being Spanish), it's just foolhardy to assume that there isn't some one around you who speaks it at least well enough to get the gist of what you are saying.

I'm sure I'm a bit biased being a NYer, but still, that's one straight from the Bad Idea Bears.

"Don't worry about her! She's inferior to youuuuuuu!"

"Yah! Mouth off about her, there's no WAAAAAY she could understand yoouuuuuuu!"
</horribly high pitched 'cute' voices>

[Sapphire Silk]

It works in enough parts of the country, that it is almost ubiquitous. I've run into this in the hospitals . . . usually when I'm trying to tell a sucky patient something they don't want to hear, like "I don't know how the long wait will be," or, "You have to buy Tylenol on your own . . . the ER doesn't supply it."

[C. Cecil Ivanish]

Quoth SeasonalSlave

"Are you sure you can't give me anything? I'm buying two."

"Yes, we are giving you two laptops for the price of two."

Quoth SeasonalSlave

the gist of what the woman said to her husband was, "I don't want to talk to this white girl - she doesn't speak Spanish." - which she said without even asking me if I did speak it.
...
Now I wonder what would've happened if I had given into temptation and said the first response that came to my mind, "Sí, yo hablo español, señora."

Oh, but I'd say you should have, no doubt! Just to deliver the lesson that "assume makes an ASS out of U and ME."

[Frantic Freddie]

I've had it happen to me too.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

When we were in Rome, we got into the mindset that our conversations were always private.

We found out they weren't when on the bus one afternoon, a couple who turned out to be from Tucson turned around and started up a conversation, delighted to find English speakers.

I'm just glad we at least didn't talk about anything personal or embarassing.

[El Pollo Guerrera]

Re: languages... I had a co-irker who would sit on the phone and talk to his mother in German about the job, how much work he did (lie), how important he was (lie), how dumb everyone else was (lie), etc... while within earshot of the manager.

He lost that job a little later, but I don't think he ever found out that the manager spoke German fluently...

[TheRabbi]

I've had this happen a couple times with Japanese when I was in Japan. The worst one, though, was when my family and I were at an until-then favorite sushi place (here in the US) and they kept not seating us and seating Japanese families ahead of us. I caught them saying that they would give us a bad table once the people there (who sat down not too long ago) got up, and I marched up to them and told them (in Japanese) that it was not cool for them not to seat us before people who came in after us. The looks on their faces were wonderful, and even more so when we turned around and walked out. Haven't been back since, which is a shame, because the food was really good.

[Aethian]

Had this once, was over at a ex's and his Mom and Aunt were having a converstation. I was playing with his little sister when she suddenly stopped and looked at her Aunt. "I thought you said that calling people that was bad." the aunt turned a bit red in he face.

So I asked the little girl what was said and it turned out the Aunt was referring to me badly... I broke up with guy when he came back to the room and cited that I couldn't stay in a relationship where my first impression of potential inlaws was so bad.

He hasn't spoken to that Aunt since and from what I know... She's been blacklisted in the family.

[Stryker One]

Why not just say "Eh Puta".

And how about 2, for twice the price of 1.