Ordered Chinese food at a mall restaurant yesterday. Everything went smooth untill I questioned her on the price. It was higher than quoted on their menu. She turns to her co worker (also chinese) and starts talking their language which I don't speak. She then says (in english to me) the price is now magically $1.06 cheaper. Hey babe, you're in my country. Speak english when you're around customers.

Did you also argue that they should change the name "General Tso's Chicken" to "Spicy Freedom Chicken"? I mean, names like General Tso are far too Chinese for me and probably should be Americanized so I feel comfortable eating it.

^this lady was actually standing in line next to me. I think that's a lady or is that an overweight Billy Ray Cirus?

tic...that's a good point. I will if I ever return there. Thanks for the tip.

If you want real ethnic food it should be made by real ethnic people and those folks may not speak English.

Oh wait, you said you ordered Chinese at the mall food court? Fuck it. Learn the language or get the fuck out of my mall.

^thanks dad. oh and by the way...you know where to stick the 5th ring along with your finger.....

Your Mom?

Your buddy?

Don't order the Cream of sumyounguy.

DA obviously has a shitload of Chinese comedic material!

Restaurants are nothing but public service. It is incredibly rude to do that. I think it would be much easier to learn our language (considered a universal language now) than it would to move here and setup a business.

Yeah, let's strip them of all cultural identity. Maybe they should not only be forced to speak "our" language whenever they are around us, but they should only be allowed to make "our" food when around us to. Burgers and hot dogs for everyone!

krambman wrote: Yeah, let's strip them of all cultural identity. Maybe they should not only be forced to speak "our" language whenever they are around us, but they should only be allowed to make "our" food when around us to. Burgers and hot dogs for everyone!

Kram, do you not understand that customer service is the first business of a restaurant? I don't care how they talk when they go home. But to serve the public, don't you think it's a good freakin idea to be able to communicate with your public?

I'm calling BS on the "strip them of all cultural identity".

Come on man, you know that we can't have people coming to this country leaning English. That would make way to much sense, besides how dare you strip them of their right to use whatever language they want. We should all be required to learn 30 different languages in school so that we may better understand all the immigrants to this land. This is obviously a better plan than requiring someone to speak English before living in an English speaking country, especially if they want to open a business.

tk421 wrote: Come on WOman, you know that we can't have people coming to this country leaning English. That would make way to much sense, besides how dare you strip them of their right to use whatever language they want. We should all be required to learn 30 different languages in school so that we may better understand all the immigrants to this land. This is obviously a better plan than requiring someone to speak English before living in an English speaking country, especially if they want to open a business.

I know, right?

For instance, if I wanted to move to Pakistan and open up a restaurant, why would I even think to learn the language used there in order to communicate with my customers?

INSANITY!

CenterBHSFan wrote:

krambman wrote: Yeah, let's strip them of all cultural identity. Maybe they should not only be forced to speak "our" language whenever they are around us, but they should only be allowed to make "our" food when around us to. Burgers and hot dogs for everyone!

Kram, do you not understand that customer service is the first business of a restaurant? I don't care how they talk when they go home. But to serve the public, don't you think it's a good freakin idea to be able to communicate with your public?

I'm calling BS on the "strip them of all cultural identity".

If I understand him correctly, she only spoke to her coworker in Chinese, and to him in English. It is possible that the coworker doesn't speak English, which is why she wasn't dealing directly with customers. I understand that customer service is an important part of any restaurant (I worked as a server and certified trainer for several years in a restaurant that prides itself on having the top customer service in the industry), however, how was this any different than if she had gone to the back and spoken with the coworker privately in English? It wouldn't have changed the outcome any. He still wouldn't have been a part of the conversation. At one of the restaurants I worked at, almost our entire kitchen staff was Hispanic and only spoke English. We either had to speak with the head cook if we needed something or ask for it in Spanish. This wasn't an issue for customers because they didn't have to deal with the Spanish-speaking cook staff, only the English-speaking wait staff. Same here. He didn't have to deal with the person who spoke Chinese, he was only directly addressed in English.

Now maybe i'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure the United States has never declared an official language, so I'm not sure where you guys get off telling them which language they should, or shouldn't use. That's something our forefathers didn't want happening, as it interrupted the individual freedoms on the population.

What if they were speaking English but went to the back for a second and whispered?

People do this all the time in stores. If the workers don't want the customer to hear the conversation, they go away for a second. Or in this case, they speak another language.

We are one of, if not the only country in the world w/o an official language.

They are doing nothing wrong. Is it annoying at times? Absolutley, but not enough to be a bigot about.

Hmmm, she did speak English to him when she took his order though, right? Why would she speak English to her coworker when they both speak Chinese? I don't understand why anyone would get worked up about what language two other people used when they were talking to each other. If you were in a foreign country with another American would you speak to them in English or whatever language that country used?

HighRoller74 wrote: Now maybe i'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure the United States has never declared an official language, so technically they haven't done anything wrong.

Would you move to Germany or Spain or any other country and then not learn the language? Demand signs in your language, forms, etc, etc? English may not be our "official" language, but it really is. Business is done in English, most everyone except the immigrants speak English, etc. It's only common sense to learn the language if you move to a different country. I don't know why this is such a difficult concept.

krambman wrote:

CenterBHSFan wrote:

krambman wrote: Yeah, let's strip them of all cultural identity. Maybe they should not only be forced to speak "our" language whenever they are around us, but they should only be allowed to make "our" food when around us to. Burgers and hot dogs for everyone!

Kram, do you not understand that customer service is the first business of a restaurant? I don't care how they talk when they go home. But to serve the public, don't you think it's a good freakin idea to be able to communicate with your public?

I'm calling BS on the "strip them of all cultural identity".

If I understand him correctly, she only spoke to her coworker in Chinese, and to him in English. It is possible that the coworker doesn't speak English, which is why she wasn't dealing directly with customers. I understand that customer service is an important part of any restaurant (I worked as a server and certified trainer for several years in a restaurant that prides itself on having the top customer service in the industry), however, how was this any different than if she had gone to the back and spoken with the coworker privately in English? It wouldn't have changed the outcome any. He still wouldn't have been a part of the conversation. At one of the restaurants I worked at, almost our entire kitchen staff was Hispanic and only spoke English. We either had to speak with the head cook if we needed something or ask for it in Spanish. This wasn't an issue for customers because they didn't have to deal with the Spanish-speaking cook staff, only the English-speaking wait staff. Same here. He didn't have to deal with the person who spoke Chinese, he was only directly addressed in English.

You beat me to it, but I agree 100%

bigkahuna wrote:

krambman wrote:

CenterBHSFan wrote:

krambman wrote: Yeah, let's strip them of all cultural identity. Maybe they should not only be forced to speak "our" language whenever they are around us, but they should only be allowed to make "our" food when around us to. Burgers and hot dogs for everyone!

Kram, do you not understand that customer service is the first business of a restaurant? I don't care how they talk when they go home. But to serve the public, don't you think it's a good freakin idea to be able to communicate with your public?

I'm calling BS on the "strip them of all cultural identity".

If I understand him correctly, she only spoke to her coworker in Chinese, and to him in English. It is possible that the coworker doesn't speak English, which is why she wasn't dealing directly with customers. I understand that customer service is an important part of any restaurant (I worked as a server and certified trainer for several years in a restaurant that prides itself on having the top customer service in the industry), however, how was this any different than if she had gone to the back and spoken with the coworker privately in English? It wouldn't have changed the outcome any. He still wouldn't have been a part of the conversation. At one of the restaurants I worked at, almost our entire kitchen staff was Hispanic and only spoke English. We either had to speak with the head cook if we needed something or ask for it in Spanish. This wasn't an issue for customers because they didn't have to deal with the Spanish-speaking cook staff, only the English-speaking wait staff. Same here. He didn't have to deal with the person who spoke Chinese, he was only directly addressed in English.

You beat me to it, but I agree 100%

Me too.

Uhhhh... Them? ^^^^^^^^