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racist customers

mokafoka

Nov 3, 2008, 10:29 PM
so every once in a while i get those customers that call in saying "why do you give an option of spanish in your menu? this is america!" and maybe even escalate or refuse to get off the phone after you've told them there's nothing you can do. some people just don't have a life and call just for that. i usually tell them that many customers speak spanish so we need to offer our customers options or else how would we help them. now they go on and on about this is america and i shouldn't have to waste 2 seconds of my life to listen to that option and etc. so my question is, what do YOU say to those customers? i just need something real good, something that will just shut them up. thanks.
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the_eraser

Nov 3, 2008, 11:12 PM
There's other customers who don't like speaking to a woman and demand to be transferred to a man! WTF? I had a few internal transfers with a frustrated female co-worker trying to get rid of the a$$ho13
What kind of culture this day and age belittles women like that? I wish there was something that could be done to these customers....
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Menno

Nov 4, 2008, 12:50 PM
People are stupid and will believe anything if it makes them feel superior.
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dalily21

Nov 4, 2008, 1:05 PM
I actually took an esc call and the guy refused to yell or curse at me because I was a woman. That was kinda nice
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sangyup81

Nov 4, 2008, 1:15 AM
giving Spanish options is more profitable, therefore, the American thing to do is to offer Spanish speaking reps
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IAMONE

Nov 4, 2008, 6:15 AM
VZW does have spanish speaking reps. So they are doing the american thing.
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mokafoka

Nov 4, 2008, 10:15 AM
what if that gets to like "this is america! there shouldn't be legal immigration bec they're stealing our jobs blah blah blah!" i hate that one. should i be like "well then maybe you should vote for proposition so and so." haha.
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Cellenator

Nov 4, 2008, 10:15 AM
mokafoka said:
so every once in a while i get those customers that call in saying "why do you give an option of spanish in your menu? .



Well why do you? This is America! Learn are language or find you way back across the border! Ha Ha Walked into a sprint store lately? You'll be hard pressed to find someone who speaks English!
😁
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mokafoka

Nov 4, 2008, 10:58 AM
haha. i should be like, "you know what mam? we should ALSO remove those foreign language classes in college! what good are THOSE for huh?" haha.
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the_eraser

Nov 4, 2008, 12:59 PM
learn are language? do you know your language? LOL
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Cellenator

Nov 4, 2008, 1:00 PM
Is that the best you got there were a lot more errors than our 🤣
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michael_herc

Nov 8, 2008, 12:28 AM
I don't understand why so many Americans get up in arms over this. If you go to basically any other nation on Earth, they don't seem to have problems with people who speak a different language than them. Look at Canada. There is a significant population that speaks French. Do you see the English speaking Canadians up in arms over that? Or how about Europe. They are surrounded by different nations and each one of those nations speaks a different language. Even within those nations, they have more than one "official language". People are so much more tolerant of differences than here in America. I think it all begins with people who tend to be on the racist side and think "Mexicans are taking our jobs, therefore we shouldn't allow them to spea...
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evilhomer

Nov 4, 2008, 12:09 PM
Well, it would seem that the USA is the only country who is EXPECTED to cater to all languages. Why stop at Spanish? Why aren't there Italian options? French? Japanese? Chinese? What makes Spanish so different over the others? Because there are more Spanish speaking people than the others? Well, guess what? There are more English speaking people in the country than Spanish so if majority rules....

But it doesn't. Majority means d1ck in this country. We must cater to every special interest faction no matter how small.

And something else to consider... Asking someone who lives and works in this country to at least learn a working knowledge of it's language is not racists. Not offering service to a certain race of people would be. Peopl...
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the_eraser

Nov 4, 2008, 12:50 PM
In europe most people speak at least two languages. Some without even trying. They just happen to grow around it. I had a friend in high school (exchange student) from germany who spoke perfect spanish, french. She always seemed surprised at our laziness, or lack of motivation for learning other languages.
Now, the latinos do speak english, they just happen to feel more comfortable speaking with someone who speaks their native language. They want to ensure that they understand everything very well probably because some shady rep has gotten them in the past
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evilhomer

Nov 4, 2008, 12:54 PM
That may be true, but lazy or unmotivated isn't racist. I guess that makes all of those Spanish speaking folks living in this country who can't speak English lazy and unmotivated too. Fair is fair.
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Cellenator

Nov 4, 2008, 1:02 PM
Damn straight it do and they need not be wasting my time as an American! 🤣
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the_eraser

Nov 4, 2008, 1:03 PM
Picture this. Let's say that you moved to Russia. You speak russian very well. Your phone breaks. You call customer service. They have the option for speaking to a rep who speaks english. What would you do?
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Cellenator

Nov 4, 2008, 1:07 PM
I want to to talk to an American and it best not be no women! 🤣
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the_eraser

Nov 4, 2008, 1:30 PM
LOL they're not allowed to work in russia anyway.
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evilhomer

Nov 4, 2008, 1:32 PM
the_eraser said:
Picture this. Let's say that you moved to Russia. You speak russian very well. Your phone breaks. You call customer service. They have the option for speaking to a rep who speaks english. What would you do?


I'm not sure what your point is, but if I moved to Russia, did the right thing and learned to speak Russian, I would select English only if the English speaking reps spoke it well. The point of the post I believe was that some of us are racists for expecting people who want to live and work in this country to be able to speak the language. Then you don't have to worry about what language option you choose.

What if I moved to Russia and didn't speak Russian? Would Russia be racists i...
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MrGoofball

Nov 4, 2008, 5:37 PM
Prob with your argument is Russia has a national language. The United States of America DOES NOT. So they have the right legally to only speak spanish in the US as you do to only speak english.
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evilhomer

Nov 4, 2008, 5:53 PM
What was legal or not was not really my point. My point is that if I move to a country where I don't speak the language of the majority of the people around me, then I can't expect everyone around me to cater to my needs and the people around me aren't racists because they expect me to speak their language if I decided to live and work among them.

Racism is not language based is RACE based and I was simply trying to point out that racists don't care what language you speak as long as you are the same color as them.
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minicoop69

Nov 4, 2008, 8:40 PM
Think about this. When our relatives arrived on Ellis Island or any other port in this country, they took pride in speaking English. They were proud to be an American and I think that nowadays these immigrants aren't proud to be Americans. They take this land for granted. They think of America as a way out of their messed up situation down in Mexico. Yeah America is better with respect to Mexico, but that doesn't mean they can't learn to speak English. I bet if you handed a Spanish speaking person money and short changed them 5 bucks, who do think would be the first one to complain in ENGLISH.
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greggmh123

Nov 4, 2008, 11:19 PM
My relatives on my mother's side did arrive at Ellis Island. Number one, they did it LEGALLY, and they learned to speak the language upon which this country was founded...English. My grandfather worked in coal mines and on the railroads to get enough money to feed his family. He NEVER took handouts or welfare...something that is virtually demanded by physically-able-but-too-lazy people today.

My mother became a US citizen, and she refused to teach us Italian, stating "We are Americans. We speak English." Her generation was PROUD of the fact that they were now Americans.

That is in stark contrast to a Mexican I saw working at a gas station whose shirt read "We are not Hispanic. We are not Mexican-Americans. We are MEXICAN."

Well, the...
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mellowlen62

Nov 6, 2008, 6:06 PM
thank you. you are spot on. and i hate the media, it's just unfortunate that so many people watch and read the crap they spew and take it as gospel because they're too stupid or ignorant to know otherwise.
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willv

Nov 8, 2008, 10:49 AM
agreed. that was very good
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evilhomer

Nov 9, 2008, 12:36 AM
Excellent post and points. Don't let anyone tell you there is anything wrong with being a true American, regardless of your roots. I'm of Irish decent sport a bumper sticker that reads:

IRELAND: MY HERITAGE
AMERICA: MY COUNTRY

I also live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and I have to say, I get very irritated when I see groups of hispanics driving around with Mexican flags on their cars/trucks back glass with Viva la Mexico captioned on it. I don't get it. If Mexico was so damned great, why bother coming here? I have no problem with ANY nationality wanting to come to America. Legally, course. But if you want to call America your home, then call yourself an American.

Until you are willing to do that, as far as I am concerned, you will...
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jrfdsf

Nov 6, 2008, 4:58 PM
evilhomer said:
the_eraser said:
Picture this. Let's say that you moved to Russia. You speak russian very well. Your phone breaks. You call customer service. They have the option for speaking to a rep who speaks english. What would you do?


I'm not sure what your point is, but if I moved to Russia, did the right thing and learned to speak Russian, I would select English only if the English speaking reps spoke it well. The point of the post I believe was that some of us are racists for expecting people who want to live and work in this country to be able to speak the language. Then you don't have to worry about what language option you choose.

What if I moved to Russia and didn't spea
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mitchell1

Nov 7, 2008, 12:31 PM
the_eraser said:
Picture this. Let's say that you moved to Russia. You speak russian very well. Your phone breaks. You call customer service. They have the option for speaking to a rep who speaks english. What would you do?

do it in russian or else have secret visitors visiting.
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bizkitsngravy

Nov 7, 2008, 12:59 PM
mitchell1 said:
the_eraser said:
Picture this. Let's say that you moved to Russia. You speak russian very well. Your phone breaks. You call customer service. They have the option for speaking to a rep who speaks english. What would you do?

do it in russian or else have secret visitors visiting.


поÑ”¡ÃÂµÃÂ¼Ã Æ’ все мÑ”¹ Ñ”šÃÂ¾ÃÂ»Ã‘ŒÐº Â¾ не нкÑ”¡ÃÂ¸ÃÂ½Ã ем говор Â¸Ã‘”šÃ‘Å’ нк руссÐ ºÃÂ¾ÃÂ¼ язÑ”¹ÃÂºÃÂµ, Ñ”šÃÂ¾ÃÂ³ÃÂ´Ãº?...
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kevinski

Nov 4, 2008, 10:57 PM
I was expecting this entire topic to be related to reps being treated poorly because of their races, not so much due to the choice of language at the beginning of the IVR. I'd hafta agree that having to choose English should be completely unnecessary. I felt that it was far less obtrusive whenever we just had the prompt (spoken in Spanish, mind you) that requested that you press 2 for Spanish.

Here's the thing, though: Whether anyone here likes it or not, anyone who can't speak proper English (especially those who make very little effort to) negatively impact certain aspects of social interaction. I'm sorry, but I really do find it irritating for a language barrier to complicate a very simple situation. Really, that shouldn't happen. If y...
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jrfdsf

Nov 6, 2008, 4:54 PM
You might be a cell forum troll, but at least you're in touch with how real life operates.

My hat's off to you on this one, sir! 😁
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evilhomer

Nov 7, 2008, 4:37 PM
jrfdsf said:
You might be a cell forum troll, but at least you're in touch with how real life operates.

My hat's off to you on this one, sir! 😁


Thanks but I swear I'm not a Troll. I have a VZW air card and plan on getting the Storm when it comes out. I like VZW's network. My only real complaint with them is their handsets. They just don't do it for me. I'm hoping the Storm changes all that.
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Azeron

Nov 9, 2008, 12:19 AM
It's very touching to see you two getting along so well. You have discovered that you share a special bond.
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evilhomer

Nov 9, 2008, 12:24 AM
Azeron said:
It's very touching to see you two getting along so well. You have discovered that you share a special bond.


Yup. I believe they call it "patriotism". Many try to make it out a dirty word nowadays, but personally I am still proud to be an American.
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Nadesico81

Nov 7, 2008, 2:50 AM
Ah yes EvilHomer your 100000% right and I agree.

I live and work in the UK but I am American. In order for some one to get a visa to the UK they have to have a working understanding of the English language. If the visa officer thinks they dont speak english well they will be refused a working visa.

At my mobile phone shop we NEVER have any one who does not speak english. Vodafone CS only speaks English and welsh. Most people here speak two sometimes three languages.

Some of my German and French friends speak better english then I do!
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greggmh123

Nov 7, 2008, 3:57 AM
Did you mean, "Some of my German and French friends speak better English than I do!"?

Sorry...I couldn't resist!
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rjsumthin

Nov 7, 2008, 7:00 PM
Someone ranting and raving about a company offering spanish as an option as if the demographic isn't deserving in any form or fashion because is relatively racist.

Not all spanish people are just "No habla english" A lot of them try to understand a rep and have a basic knowledge of the english language, that doesn't mean they speak it fluently enough to listen to a rep talk about billing, prorations, price plan changed, megabytes, etc.

I agree they should have a basic knowledge, but to not cater because they can't understand something that half the literate english speaking americans can't understand, is just a little close minded, especially considering a lot of the people are using english as a second language.

Point being, I dea...
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willv

Nov 8, 2008, 10:40 AM
i understand and agree, but why do i have to press one for english? shouldnt you have to press 2 for spanish? if you do not press 1, if defaults to someone speaking spanish. thankfully, the spanish speaking reps i talked to spoke english as well.
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rjsumthin

Nov 8, 2008, 6:35 PM
No idea, when I don't press anything it defaulted to english, so may be different by area. And I really hope pressing 1 for english doesn't ruin your day enough for you to give it a second thought, because if it does... then you might want to take a step back and practice meditation or something, 😁
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SEM

Nov 4, 2008, 3:16 PM
Just inform them that English in not even our official national language.
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mokafoka

Nov 5, 2008, 5:05 PM
so i can understand that people are frustrated bec some immigrants don't learn english and may be lazy, yes. i agree that some of the population is that way. now, you can't say this is the case with all of them. you don't know what they are struggling through, or what their priorities are.

for example, some may not really need to learn english bec maybe they never come across many situations where it was completely necessary; they just need to learn a bit just enough to get by. think of how many construction workers getting paid under the table that pretty much just have to talk to each other. i've worked construction before and noticed this, as well as the forman knowing spanish, so there's no need for everyone to know english fluently....
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bizkitsngravy

Nov 6, 2008, 10:10 AM
Wow...some very good points brought up on both sides.

My brother married into a family from Peru...and I mean straight from there, not just descended. Our families did not mix well for the longest time due to cultural differences. My sister-in-law, spanish speaking, learned english over the course of several months watching movies and with the help of her little niece who was already here. So, it is not entirely impossible for someone to learn english in a relitively short period of time if they have the desire.

All but one of her family members is now legal. The one who isn't they tried...and tried and tried and tried. She had married and divorced and so her father could no longer sponser her. I can respect what that family has done...
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mokafoka

Nov 6, 2008, 10:21 AM
ha, good closing. bravo.
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greggmh123

Nov 7, 2008, 3:52 AM
"So why didn't she, you ask? because she's white! One of the black students in class commented that wouldn't go over well in the black community...precisely."

Precisely indeed! That woman has EVERY RIGHT to call herself an "African American" and if anyone has a problem with that, that person is a RACIST.

It really tweaks me to see a newspaper article mention in the same sentence that "...a white man and an African-American man..." were seen leaving the scene of the crime. Really? Why not "...a European-American and an African-American were seen..."? Or a "white man" and a "black man" were seen leaving...?

Hmm. Why do we refer to Mexicans in the USA as "Mexican-American" to indicate their COUNTRY of origin, yet we refer to blacks as ...
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greggmh123

Nov 7, 2008, 3:56 AM
I don't know how that smiley jumped in there. I meant to say that my Dad's side came here in 1548.
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mokafoka

Nov 7, 2008, 9:04 PM
i think this thread has gotten out of hand. let's just all agree it's a never-ending argument although i believe both sides have strong arguments and boom/bam/bing, IT'S DONE! 🤣
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Azeron

Nov 9, 2008, 12:04 AM
I don't address it. It is common sense that we want those customers to spend money with us...that's why we have spanish prompts. The rest of the world learns English for much the same reason. That is the funniest thing. These same people will vacation abroad and expect the French or Germans or Japanese to cater to them and they do. Why? Because they want the dollars those American tourists are spending. The fact is that there is a huge Hispanic population here and no matter why they are here the fact remains that they are and we absolutely want them to spend money with us. That's the bottom line. Long live capitalism!
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