Problem complaining to Housekeeping

[Simba's Mom]

It's not so much a problem as a dilema-often the Housekeeper's English is limited, making communication difficult. This morning I noticed the slats in my wicker chairs were VERY dusty, looked like years of neglect. Well, like a good DVCer, I called housekeeping and asked for someone to come and see the situation. It's not a big deal for me at this point (I'm leving tomorrow), but it looks terrible and should be cleaned periodically. I had this room two years ago, and it's probably the same dust! But she insisted "I clean" and asked when I leave today. By then I figured her limited English, so I tried my limited Spanish. "Once". I hope that means 11,since that's when I'll leave. Otherwise, who knows when she'll arrive!

 

[dallastxcpa]

Thank you for calling in the request. Yes, Once is the spanish word for eleven.

I hope it gets cleaned. I am a bit of a clean freak and it's the little things like dust or scuff marks that really give me a twitch. Of course I am one of those that comes in with the clorox wipes and wipes everything down prior to unpacking.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Don't come to my house and look at my wicker chairs. You are going to disturb my fine patina of dust.

 

[JimMIA]

I have two problems substituting my limited Spanish to remedy the other person's limited English.

The first problem is not only using the right word, but pronouncing it correctly. If you say "own-say"...si, that means 11. But if you say "wunce," you'll likely hear in the background, "Ai! Gringa loca!"

It gets much worse than that. If you say "cuchilla" (coo-chee-ya) to most Spanish speakers, they think you are mispronouncing the word for knife (correctly pronounced coo-chee-yo). However, if you say coo-chee-ya to someone from Puerto Rico, that pronounciation means "mistress" to them. So be careful what you request your waiter provide...

The other problem occurs when you pronounce words correctly. I'm an Army Brat, and having lived all over, accents come pretty naturally to me. I know they're important, I pay attention to accents, and I usually do a pretty good job of saying the words correctly.

Problem is, if you pronounce words correctly, you get a very predictable response. The first sound you hear is an audible sigh of relief that the other person has finally found a person they can talk to. The second sound you hear is an incomprehensible blur of meaningless syllables as the person throws Spanish at you at 400-800 MPH, depending on where they are from.

Buena suerte with your dust problem!

 

[disneynutz]

My problem is that I only know one sentence in Spanish. I don't remember where I learned it, but I say it all of the time.

Translated into English it means, "please stay clear of the doors".

Bill

 

[WalterYensid]

My problem is that I only know one sentence in Spanish. I don't remember where I learned it, but I say it all of the time.

Translated into English it means, "please stay clear of the doors".

Bill

Splitting hairs time:
The monorail spiels are too important to screw up!
It's Please stand clear of the doors. Por favor.....

The "Stay clear of the doors" is used in the spiel "For those of you standing, please hold onto the handrails throughout our journey and stay clear of the doors".

I've have excellent quality .wav files of both if anyone wants them. They make great Windows "Startup" sounds

 

[Simba's Mom]

IProblem is, if you pronounce words correctly, you get a very predictable response. The first sound you hear is an audible sigh of relief that the other person has finally found a person they can talk to. The second sound you hear is an incomprehensible blur of meaningless syllables as the person throws Spanish at you at 400-800 MPH, depending on where they are from.

That's so true! As a tax preparer with many Spanish speaking clients, I learned a few key phrases. But then they'd figure "Oh, we found someone who speaks our language", then proceed exactly as you just described. I guess I did too good a job speaking what little I knew during tax season.

 

[FindTheMickeys]

Splitting hairs time:
The monorail spiels are too important to screw up!
It's Please stand clear of the doors. Por favor.....

The "Stay clear of the doors" is used in the spiel "For those of you standing, please hold onto the handrails throughout our journey and stay clear of the doors".

I've have excellent quality .wav files of both if anyone wants them. They make great Windows "Startup" sounds

WalterYensid,
I'd LOVE to have a copy of those .wav files. My co-workers already think I'm Disney loco (I'm counting down to my next trip to the "World" on the white board in my office and it's 11 months away ) that those .wav files would just send them over the edge. How can I get a copy?

Thanks!

 

[YourEveryDayAdam]

"por favor, manténgase alejado de las puertas"