Press 1 for English!

[kaytieeldr]

I feel sorry for the OP - everybody jumped on her over a vent! This is the reason why I don't usually start threads on the Dis because of comments like these.

Respectfully, "It annoys me when I call a business and get told to press 1 for English. This is the United States. English should be the default" or something similar is a vent;

accompanied by a thumbs-down is more of an aggravated rant.

 

[kaytieeldr]

ETA: Your boss shouldn't have hired people who don't speak English if she was going to have trouble communicating with them and if they were going to have to deal with the English speaking customers, so I can't really feel badly for her.

I was thinking this same thing. The boss had several options.

1) hire only English speakers
2) learn enough Spanish to manage his/her employees (many managers do this)
3) facilitate English lessons for the employees

Entirely possible MIGrandma's boss is a supervisor or low/midlevel manager with little to no say over who is hired: "Here are your new employees. Deal with it."

 

[kaytieeldr]

I hear ya OP! I flip off my bank's ATM every time that option comes up. For razzen, frazzen sakes, we don't even border a Spanish speakin country way up here. Now French I could see, since Montreal is closer.

A. Your state may not border a Spanish-speaking country, but your country does. Also, your country 'borders' the Caribbean nations (many Spanish-speaking) and has a Spanish-speaking territory, along with, in as far as I know all states, Spanish-speaking residents. Plus, many businesses, especially those with toll-free numbers, serve entire regions or the whole country.

B. I forget what "B" was supposed to be. It's late, I'm old, and I might have included it in "A".

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

It doesn't bother me at all. I assume we are talking about a private enterprise here. If you can serve more customers and as a result do more business by offering Spanish language options why wouldn't you? There is a cost associated most of the time with offering the option, so the ROI must be positive in order to justify it.

There are certain things you probably should have to at least understand basic English for in our country, such as obtaining a license since street signs are in English, but a private business can do what they feel is best to maximize their revenue.

Most of the places I call don't say press 1 for English, they say in Spanish press some number for Spanish and then continue in English as the default.

MTE!

What do some people think, that these businesses should simply give up on a sizable percentage of business revenue simply because the customer speaks a foreign language? Makes no sense...

 

[kaytieeldr]

I just had to call the credit union, twice. Both times, I found myself wishing the first words from the automated recording would be "For English, press 1". Instead, I had to listen to an introduction, the Spanish option, a pause, a bunch of other junk... until finally I could proceed with my choices.

 

[stashbin]

The level of political correctness on this thread makes me want to puke.
Some of these folks should read the "What I really want to say to people but can't" thread.

 

[crashbb]

I just had to call the credit union, twice. Both times, I found myself wishing the first words from the automated recording would be "For English, press 1". Instead, I had to listen to an introduction, the Spanish option, a pause, a bunch of other junk... until finally I could proceed with my choices.

Just hit "1" the when the Spanish message starts. You don't usually have to wait until it says "press 1". Since you know that "1" will get you English, just hit it right away.

 

[Amy8888]

The level of political correctness on this thread makes me want to puke.
Some of these folks should read the "What I really want to say to people but can't" thread.

I have been a contributor to that thread as have others here of the PC ilk.

Why is common human decency always construed as political correctness? Some people actually believe some of this "politically correct" stuff we're saying. Sorry if that makes you sick. Maybe you should go to bed.

I hate automated phone messages too OP.

I agree with you on this! I know very few people who like automated messages. But they exist independent of language preference. If the original post had just been "I hate automated messages" I would not have even batted an eye. I probably would not have even said anything and just figured the OP was another sadly ignorant person even with the OP being what it was, a poorly disguised rant against the fact that America is becoming more and more multicultural. But then I saw that quote in the signature line and I just could not let it go.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Just hit "1" the when the Spanish message starts. You don't usually have to wait until it says "press 1". Since you know that "1" will get you English, just hit it right away.

Whaddya know - you're right about this, too! Thanks!

 

[NMAmy]

I lived in 2 different countries recently. The Air Force was nice enough to send us.

I in NO WAY could have learned enough Arabic to speak to someone. Not in person, not on the phone, nothing. There were no classes for me to take. I did some Rosetta Stone, but other than about 100 words, I spoke no Arabic.

When we moved to Belgium, I was lucky because I'd already taken a few years of French. I can tell you that it did not prepare me to speak on the phone. I can get by in person, but on the phone it is very very difficult.

Thank goodness I met such *nice* people there who were kind to me since I was such a piece of crap for moving there and not learning an entire language ASAP.

I had a similar experience. After 6 years of Spanish and 2 years of French, the U.S. Army in all it's wisdom, sent my husband and I to Germany with just a couple months notice. Luckily, the German people I met were very kind to me. I babysat a friend's 5 yo dd and in exchange for teaching her English, I had a 5 yo translator to take around town with me. I could read signs and find the bathroom and order a meal but talking to someone on the phone in German was way beyond my capabilities. It made a huge impact on the way I felt about people in the U.S. who don't speak English. I've become much more sympathetic.

Of course, I also live in a state that had signs at the border that said, "Bienvenidos a Nuevo Mexico." So that Spanish did come in handy!

 

[bettymae1121]

I know my mother's side of the family only spoke Italian when they landed on our shores in the early 20th century. I am pretty sure my father's family only spoke Polish when they did the same. They all learned the language after arriving here but historically many communities were insular at first and still spoke their mother tongue.

Now, it is true that they didn't work in communication fields but that was because back then life was like that. What is going on the Hispanic communities now is pretty much the same that was going on in many immigrant communities in the past. Communication is just more prevalent now in all facets of life so it is more noticeable.

If I were going to another country to live and work I would at least start to learn the language ahead of time but based on how I was in high school Spanish it would take me a while to really pick it up.

Ditto. If you had said "German" rather than "Italian" or "Polish" then I could have writen this post. Oh, and I took French rather than Spanish. I don't remember any French, but it does help me pronounce menu items when ordering at a fancy restaurant, I don't sound like an idiot!

 

[stashbin]

I have been a contributor to that thread as have others here of the PC ilk.

Why is common human decency always construed as political correctness? Some people actually believe some of this "politically correct" stuff we're saying. Sorry if that makes you sick. Maybe you should go to bed.

Because what the OP is talking about has nothing to do with her common human decency. OP is talking about an issue that irks her. Suddenly it's an excuse for some folks to flame her for having the audacity to say she hates to have to push a button to speak English.

 

[crashbb]

Ditto. If you had said "German" rather than "Italian" or "Polish" then I could have writen this post. Oh, and I took French rather than Spanish. I don't remember any French, but it does help me pronounce menu items when ordering at a fancy restaurant, I don't sound like an idiot!

Okay, this may not come across in type, but your last line reminded me a of a recent trip through EWR.

A youngish man came up to be and asked if I knew where the "Au Bon Pain" was located as his flight had just arrived and he was to meet his New York friends there. Only, he pronounced it "Ahh" "Bon" (as in the first bit on bongo) "Pain" (as in what you feel if someone kick you).

I stared at him for a while and asked him to repeat himself. Still had no idea. He finally said "It's where they sell pastries and stuff". And the penny finally dropped. And I managed to direct him without laughing at him. If you don't know French, his pronunciation made sense.

 

[kaytieeldr]

OMG - I can't even pronounce it the "American" way, even though you've described it as phonetically as possible!

 

[MIGrandma]

I lived in 2 different countries recently. The Air Force was nice enough to send us.

I in NO WAY could have learned enough Arabic to speak to someone. Not in person, not on the phone, nothing. There were no classes for me to take. I did some Rosetta Stone, but other than about 100 words, I spoke no Arabic.

When we moved to Belgium, I was lucky because I'd already taken a few years of French. I can tell you that it did not prepare me to speak on the phone. I can get by in person, but on the phone it is very very difficult.

Thank goodness I met such *nice* people there who were kind to me since I was such a piece of crap for moving there and not learning an entire language ASAP.

I'm sure in all of your travels around the world and away from Michigan, you've known all the languages of the countries you've lived in, though.

ETA: Your boss shouldn't have hired people who don't speak English if she was going to have trouble communicating with them and if they were going to have to deal with the English speaking customers, so I can't really feel badly for her.

I don't recall calling anyone a "piece of crap" so I don't know why the eye roll. And while I am probably not as much of a worldly travel as you seem to be, I would still not vacation in or move to another country that didn't speak any English without learning at least SOME of their language. In this day and age with computers and internet, how difficult is it to learn at least some of the more common phrases of any certain country?

I didn't feel bad for my boss either, for hiring a couple of Mexican girls who couldn't speak English. I just can't imagine moving to a country, expecting to get a job, and NOT knowing ANY English.

If it presented such a problem for your boss, then he/she shouldn't have hired that person. Let me guess, your boss probably couldn't find cheaper labor or simply wasn't willing to pay the appropriate wages for an English speaking worker. Which was it?

It's easy to say what one "would do" in a given situation without actually having to do it.

I seriously doubt my boss paid the two Mexican girls any less than she paid anyone else in their position. Kind of a generalization for assuming so I think. The position was for dishwashing in a restaurant. A small family diner in a very tiny town. Not a lot of applicants for the position, no matter if they were American or Mexican. She hired a lot of high school kids for the position, as does probably most every other restaurant in the country.

 

[Micca]

I called a Mexican restaurant one time for a delivery order and pressed uno.
They delivered a card game.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Gasp! You DARE to detract from the gravity and seriousness of this thread with a JOKE?

Can I play? I'm really bad at Uno. You'll like playing against me!

 

[Briarmom]

I would still not vacation in or move to another country that didn't speak any English without learning at least SOME of their language. In this day and age with computers and internet, how difficult is it to learn at least some of the more common phrases of any certain country?

So every country you've been to, you've spoken lots of the language? I am impressed. I certainly haven't. I can't imagine knowing all the languages of Europe well enough to get by in all of them.


As for you asking how difficult it is, there were other military (I think they were all military) posters who said the same thing I did. So I am going to say again that it is difficult. When you first move to another country, you have to set up internet, cable, electricity, gas, firewood delivery....setting up a house takes a lot of work. You don't learn those words in class. Try calling to set up any appointment and having the person on the other end of the line speak rapidly in a language you are not comfortable in. There's no way to 'pointy-talky' like you do when you're not speaking your native language.

 

[kaytieeldr]

So every country you've been to, you've spoken lots of the language? I am impressed. I certainly haven't. I can't imagine knowing all the languages of Europe well enough to get by in all of them.

Well, I've only ever gone to tourism-driven countries (and Canada), so the residents with whom I've come in contact do speak English - MUCH better than any little bits of Spanish or French I might pretend to bluff my way through (especially after, um, a total of seven years of French (anybody else remember learning it from puppets on PBS)?

 

[ZuZugal]

Just press 0 dammit!! That is my answer EVERY time. I press 0 as often as possible, sometimes I press it so many times that it takes me directly out of the dreaded "loop" I am in and directly to a person. Yeah me!