Camera Store - The Hell of Retail

Hablas Español?

Here's another "grrr, stupid customers" one: Customers who only speak Spanish. Now, I'm an immigrant myself, I had to learn English in a classroom, it took years of hard work. Why did I do it? Because if I'm going to live in a place and be a part of its society, I gotta learn the language! (Actually, to be perfectly honest, I started to learn English even before the thought had crossed my mind of living in the US. I started learning it because it is the international language, because I can meet someone from almost any country in the world and speak English with them). This may sidetrack a bit into my political views, but yeah, it makes me a little angry to see someone who lives in the US walk into a store and ask if anyone speaks a foreign language. A tourist, of course, would be a totally different thing.

Fortunately, though, my Spanish is good enough to help them out. I do it as cheerfully as I can manage, of course, cuz that's my job. I'm in a position to help them out, and to impress people at the store, and to make money, so of course I do it. Spanish is not my first language, either, but I speak it well. This was one reason I was hired. I do grudgingly admit that it makes good business sense to have a sales associate who speaks Spanish in a store, but of course that just means businesses will make it easier for immigrants to NOT learn English, if it means the businesses make more money. Sell-outs. So much for social causes and whatnot.

(Although I guess I'm selling out too, in not making my views on this topic known to my employer and to my customers. Oh well, who cares).

posted by Remus