Today I was standing in line at McDonald's (yeah, I know, that stuff is garbage, but I had forgotten my lunch and needed something fast and cheap - don't rag on me about it, OK?)
The guy in front of me ordered a burger, a couple drinks and a McChicken sandwich. He paid for it and then the girl at the register repeated his order to him. She didn't mention the burger, though, so he asked her if she "got" that part of his order. She started to argue with him about it, saying he hadn't asked for a burger. He explained that she had charged him for a burger and she gave him a dazed look.
Do you know that look? She was pretending not to understand him, but her English was plenty good enough for the situation. I've gotten that stupid look from Hispanic girls who worked for me. I would tell them how I wanted something done, then ask if they understood. They would smile and say yes, so I would go off and do something else. Later, I saw that they had not done what I asked. When I brought it to their attention, they would give me that look. It's something they must practice in front of the mirror. It's like "I don't know what the heck you are saying." Their English is excellent until someone criticizes their actions, then all of a sudden they lose their powers of comprehension. They figured they had the right to take money from me, without doing the job I was paying them for. Needless to say, none of them lasted long in my employment.
When this guy's meal came, he looked in the bag and the burger was there. But the McChicken wasn't. He tried to ask for it, and the girl wanted to charge him for it. He knew what he had paid for, and wasn't going to pay twice. He started to get really frustrated and a manager walked up, shrugging his shoulders and glaring at the guy. The manager was acting like he couldn't understand or speak English, either. He started rolling his eyes at everyone around, as if the customer was being unreasonable.
The guy started to tell both of them that if they couldn't speak English, they shouldn't be working in an English-speaking country. He assumed it was a language problem. I knew better. It was an attitude problem.
I stepped up and said "Can we have a do-over on this guy's order? Why don't you look at what his sales ticket says he paid for, and then make sure he gets it." The girl walked over to another register and asked me for my order. I asked her if I should wait until they sorted out the other guy's order. She gave me a condescending smile and asked again for my order.
I walked out.
The guy in front of me ordered a burger, a couple drinks and a McChicken sandwich. He paid for it and then the girl at the register repeated his order to him. She didn't mention the burger, though, so he asked her if she "got" that part of his order. She started to argue with him about it, saying he hadn't asked for a burger. He explained that she had charged him for a burger and she gave him a dazed look.
Do you know that look? She was pretending not to understand him, but her English was plenty good enough for the situation. I've gotten that stupid look from Hispanic girls who worked for me. I would tell them how I wanted something done, then ask if they understood. They would smile and say yes, so I would go off and do something else. Later, I saw that they had not done what I asked. When I brought it to their attention, they would give me that look. It's something they must practice in front of the mirror. It's like "I don't know what the heck you are saying." Their English is excellent until someone criticizes their actions, then all of a sudden they lose their powers of comprehension. They figured they had the right to take money from me, without doing the job I was paying them for. Needless to say, none of them lasted long in my employment.
When this guy's meal came, he looked in the bag and the burger was there. But the McChicken wasn't. He tried to ask for it, and the girl wanted to charge him for it. He knew what he had paid for, and wasn't going to pay twice. He started to get really frustrated and a manager walked up, shrugging his shoulders and glaring at the guy. The manager was acting like he couldn't understand or speak English, either. He started rolling his eyes at everyone around, as if the customer was being unreasonable.
The guy started to tell both of them that if they couldn't speak English, they shouldn't be working in an English-speaking country. He assumed it was a language problem. I knew better. It was an attitude problem.
I stepped up and said "Can we have a do-over on this guy's order? Why don't you look at what his sales ticket says he paid for, and then make sure he gets it." The girl walked over to another register and asked me for my order. I asked her if I should wait until they sorted out the other guy's order. She gave me a condescending smile and asked again for my order.
I walked out.
posted by Me | 4:01 PM
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