English please

you could learn chinese lol

If you were in China and knew how to speak Chinese, chances are you
would still speak English to the other English-speakers. It's what
you're most comfortable with. This should not offend you so.
I do agree with your wish for employees to speak sufficent English,
however.

There is a McDonald's 5 miles from me, and the ONLY employee who EVER
gets my order right is the one Mexican man they have working there.
If I go in and see he's not there, I leave. None of the "red blooded
Americans" that work there have the sense to get my orders right. And
I don't special order things.

in a few years, my bet is that the majority will vote to change the
official language of that territory to spanish. That will sit well
with the rest of the people! When I become a minority in 15 years or
so in good old New Jersey, maybe I'll move to Canada to escape the
infidels. There is going to be a lot of awakening in this country,
sooner than we know it. I'm buying my 'learn a foreign language' CD's
tomorrow...

One thing besides voting we can all do is not support companies that
outsource their labor and those who hire illegal aliens as well as
illiterate (please, call it what it is) persons.

The most powerful voice is voting with our wallets and not doing
business with those who support alien labor. Dell computer lost my
business, not just for poor quality hardware but outsourced support
with broken English. I replaced all my Dells with HP's who I learned
is actually OPENING NEW SUPPORT CENTERS IN THE USA and consolodating
those around the world to our home!

It is going to take the Federal government getting serious about
stopping illegal immigration. Right now that isn't on Oilman's agenda.
We have to make sure Iraq is rebuilt after we blew it up and their
children have plenty of food to eat. Meanwhile Americans are losing
jobs and going hungry because illegal aliens are taking their jobs and
their employers are exporting even more to slave labor in foriegn
countries. Nice. Thanks GW and the GOP. You all are doing such a great
job "dedending freedom" while our borders are wide open and illegals,
terrorists and Osama and friends come and go as they please. Nice to
know the Iraqi people have more "Homeland Security" than we do while
you're out playing at Camp David with Cheney shooting rounds at each
other. Next time tell Dick to use a paintball gun.

I have a bit of background on this subject. Many companies have
chosen to push their technical support over seas because it is
cheaper, and for those that stay in the US they are having to pay less
for employees...
I can say one Company I know has kept their call center in the states!
Canon. It seems that all the competition has shifted theirs to
India. If you haven't experienced it yet, make sure you have had a
drink first...
I agree, we live in the USA, it is and should always be, that ENGLISH
(the US version) is our language.
It was an honor for my greatgrand parents to learn the language when
they came to the USA.
I think those that refuse to learn good english are hear for a fast
buck and an easy ride. It is also very disrespectful to Americans.
When I travel to other countries, I also apologize when I try to speak
their language just out of respect.
I agree, it should be required to learn to speak and write english
before someone can become a citizen of this country.
It also points out Companies that refuse to hire legal citizens.
Another government concern that isn't geting addressed by this
administration.
Vote people!

I've gotten ordered completely messed up by blonde haired blue eyed
100% american workers before. In fact, I've had more orders messed up
by emglish speaking fast food workers than I've ever had with spanish
speaking workers.

"Unless I am wrong, the last time that I checked, this is still
America" - Ron W.

It is, however what ever happened to America being proud of being a
melting pot? America was formed from people leaving almost every
country in the world to begin anew, worship freely and be part of
something bigger an greater. There is no offical language for America.
If there was going to be, I would vote for it to be whatever the
majority of Native Americans spoke before the country was taken from
them?

Not meaning to start trouble here, just passing out food for thought
and hoping for some tolerance and patience. We are ALL technically
foreigners in America. ;O)

I do not believe you should be allowed to complain about others' poor
English when you have the grammar of a 5th grader. I agree that people
should learn the local language ASAP when they immigrate to another
country, but it sounds like the woman who was helping you is trying to
learn. She has probably spoken English for less than 10 years. Ron W.
has probably know English for 20-40 years and still hasn't mastered
the comma. Stop whining about your lemon juice and go back to middle
school.

Pamonde dans le Canada ou USA parle l'anglais. Dsol j'ai t juste tent
pour poster le sujet en franais parce que les sujets ont dit
l'anglais Plat s tout le

I agree that it's frustrating to have to try to deal with people who
don't speak English very well. However, I have to take exception to
those who think that America's language is English. While it may be
the most widely spoken language in this country, it has never been the
"official" language, nor do I believe it should be.

Just about all of us had relatives who came to this country from all
parts of the world, and in many cases, English was not their first
language. Of course, they eventually learned it, and subsequently it
became the first language of their descendants.

People need to be more tolerant of those who don't speak English well.
After all, they are most likely to be first generation immigrants who
are still trying to learn the language, just like our ancestors did
ages ago.

FWIW, my employer has an official policy that when you are in the
presence of customers (in our case patients) you may only speak
English unless you are translating for a person speaking a different
language. It is a matter of respect, for your co-workers, customers
and even for the country that you are working in.

My mother is an immigrant and her English is FAR from perfect. When
she passed her citizenship test when learning English was a
requirement. I still don't understand why this test is now given in
any other language.

I can certainly understand tourists to this country not speaking
English. But if you are working here, it is a different story.

when people are speaking around you and you don't know what they are
saying.. (The Seinfeld episode with Elane and the nail place is coming
to mind...)

But, if a person's native language is something that other co-workers
are familiar with, it is very easy to carry on a conversation in that
manner. Can you imaging not being able to talk to the people around
you at work because your conversational English skills aren't good?

Nonetheless, I still feel that same uncomfortableness when people are
talking all around me and I don't konw what they are saying.
In addition, rather than speaking their native tongue, I think they
should be woking on their English, so that they will become more
proficient. So speaking in English with peppered spanish (or what
ever language) would be OK with me.

As for the inaccuracy with the order, that happens whether they are
ESL people or not. There are just dumb people out there.. This is
something worthy of complaint, if you were very inconvenienced by
having to have someone else help correct your problem. The lemon
mistake, next time try accenting it differently...lay mone...I don't
know if that is how you say lemon in spanish, but it sounds more
spanish...maybe it would help! :)

Think of Dora the Exlporer...she has lots of words that come in handy
and it's fun to watch too. I can count, say stars, grandma, mommy &
daddy, various colors...good stuff.

Several people have commented that Canada speaks two predominate
languages. This isn't exactly true. The province of Quebec is
predominately French speaking. That's it. The rest of Canada is
predominately English speaking, with pockets of other languages,
ranging from the Asian languages to Gaelic! And yes, they did pitch a
fit-Quebec was so upset at one point they tried to succede from Canada
and be an independent country. They are not fans of English speakers.
I think things have softened now, but when I went to Montreal in the
late 70's, they were extremely rude to anyone who didn't speak
English.

As an American with strong Canadian roots I had to pitch my 2 cents
in.

Okay, I grew up with a lot of bilingual kids and each and every one
was taught that it's rude to speak a language in front of someone that
they do not understand. If they were speaking another language when
we walked up they'd imeadiatly switch to English. Besides that having
personal conservations behind the counter at work is rude AND
unprofessional. It does not matter what language you speak.

If am employee does not speak English well enough to do hir/her job
than the problem is with the employer. If you can't perform your job
you should not be hired, period.

I don't know about others, but I'm kind of tired of this whole
"English" issue. This letter could be good but it starts with "Red
Neck" and plunges down to "Does Popeye have a policy of hiring only
Legal employees?
I'm guessing the writer must think they must be talking about him and
that's what's upsetting him.

Other than that.. everything else I wanted to say has been covered.
It's just sad to see these feeble attempts at promoting hate or
intolerance when these people deserve our respect. There's dignity in
all work. We all deserve a chance at the American Dream, and if some
fail, they shouldn't blame it on a group of people just because they
are working hard at making it happen for them and their families.

i will take some flack for this, i'm sure, but i agree with you.
Living in this country and not learning the language CORRECTLY is
rude, arrogant and shouldn't be allowed. This is our country and
foreigners should adapt to us, not the other way around. If i move to
another country, you can bet the rent that i will not only learn the
language i will learn it CORRECTLY. They call Americans rude, but i
believe refusing to play by the rules of the country you reside in is
the height of rude.

While I understand how frustrating it must be to want to order
something or even be able to ask a question fo someone who may not
speak english well. try putting your self in their shoes. Many people
come to this country, struggle to make a living, and on top of that,
deal with persons who have no tolerance or patience to deal with them,
because they are foreigners, and/or they cannot speak the language
well. I hope you never visit a foreign country, unless you have
already learned the language well. America is a melting pot, built by
immigrants. English may be the rpimary spoken language, but it is not
the only one. Next time,call a manager for some help. But have some
patience, and that will help you too, as your blood pressure will so
be so high.

Amen to this! I live in Florida and being a speaker of English, and
not Spanish has made me a minority in my own country! Many businesses
will no longer hire someone if they do not speak Spanish, no mention
of English. The speaking Spanish to each other in front of an English
speaking customer that is done by more than 75% of the store clerks,
is just plain bad manners. Their body language makes it obvious that
they are complaining about the customer, making fun, or whatever... If
you want to live in the U.S. and take advantage of all our country has
to offer, and that is why people say they moved here, then take down
your flags from that other country and at least TRY to learn some
English, even if the person is not fluent.

This just occured to me, and I'm sure it's merely a coincedence, but
it seemed a little too "perfect" to not mention.

I don't know how many of you have ever seen "Blue Collar Comedy Tour"
with Jeff "You might be a redneck" Foxworthy. There are 3 other guys
on that show with Jeff, all with a similar schtick and one of them is
named, Ron White.

While I am sure it's just a fluke, am I the ONLY one who thinks it
strange that our OP is also named Ron W. and just happened to make
what even the OP deemed as "redneck" statements like this?

Kinda makes me think either someone watches WAY too much Comedy
Central or this MAY be shenanigans...

I used to think very similar to you. In recent years however, my
position has begun to change. My husband and I have thought about
moving to Italy. I wouldn't dream of moving there without knowing at
least the basics of the language. This doesn't mean that I am going
to be fluent though. Far from it. You need to actually speak the
language to become familiar with it. I suspect as well that my family
will speak English when speaking with eachother even out at a market
place etc. It's easier for us to understand eachother quickly,
without having to take time to "process" what is being said. English
is second nature to us, while Italian will be something we elected to
learn later in life and that does not come nearly as easy.

Step outside the box, look at these people that you encountered as
individuals. How do you know they aren't citizens too? How do you
know that some of them aren't purposely speaking in Spanish because
they know that one or more of their fellow employees is having a hard
time learning all there is to know about the English language?

"[W]hat I am is an American, who is tired of companies hiring
employees as customer contact employees, that do not speak english. "

"When they dealt with a customer, they spoke english, but behind the
counter, all of the conversation was in spanish."

"Please do not put anyone in a position talking to customers, that
cannot speak english."

Make up your mind. Either they can speak English or they can't. If
they can, and they choose to speak Spanish in private, this letter is
a complete waste of time. If they speak English to you when they're
taking your order, that's really all you have the right to ask for.

"Excuse me, but I am the citizen here. Does Popeye's have a policy of
hiring only Legal employees?"

This statement doesn't even warrant a response.

"I know that I may sound like a Red-Neck,"

That's the only thing in your letter I can agree with.

.

This is a very sensitive subject right now and I felt compelled to
comment on it. I have always been for the creation of a national
language. We need to have a standard and right now in time English is
the "unspoken" standard, so to speak. I believe everyone should have
to learn enough english to be functional in the workplace. You can
speak spanish, polish, "Asian", whatever, in private. I agree with the
"Spirit" of this letter, not the wording however. I can't tell you how
riled up I get when I hear the line about "Illegals do the work
Americanm Citizens won't do.". This particular statement always makes
me say "Finish the statement" which would be "Illegals do the work
American Citizens won't do for the low wages that companies offer.".
Corporate Greed is the primary reason for the current plight we find
ourselves in.

Ron,

I would never had had the "cajones" to write this letter. However,
please don't think that means I am praising you for exhibiting such
intolerance and selfishness. Far from it.

First of all, while the MAJORITY of American citizens do speak
English, it is not "officially" the national language. If that was
the case, why does virtually EVERY federal agency post their
information in MULTIPLE languages, not just English.

How dare you suggest that because YOU speak English that it somehow
indicates that everyone else around you needs to as well. Or worse
that they should not be permitted to speak in their native tongue at
all in your presence, even if they CAN speak English!

Excuse you, indeed!

The Declaration of Independence states that, "We hold these truths to
be self-evident, that all men are created EQUAL, that they are endowed
by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are
Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

& yes, that says, ALL MEN, not just Ron. That means that just as you
have the right to preach your intolerant beliefs to whomever you
choose, the employees at Popeye's have the right to speak in Spanish
if they so choose.

The entire premise of this country is based on the emigration of
people from ALL OVER THE WORLD, cultures, language, religions and all,
who sought a better life of FREEDOM for them and their families. It
was not so they could learn to speak English so that they could serve
you your red beans & rice and buttermilk biscuits with your spicy
chicken.

(and just FYI, I've had ENGLISH speaking employees screw up & give me
the wrong condiments and they didn't require a translator - it happens
sometimes!)

You can't expect to have the freedom to say and do what you like and
then turn around in the same breath and tell others that they aren't
permitted to do the same.

prese con sus galimatas e intolerantes!

I always find it ironic that, in many cases, people who distain others
for their lack of knowledge of the English language, are quite often
the most poorly written in their NATIVE language of English.

Si usted puede leer esto, usted puede conseguir un buen trabajo.

I can't understand why you were bothered that the workers were
speaking Spanish to each other, behind the counter. As long as they
speak and understand English when they are speaking with you, what
does it matter. Heck, it's better this way, since non-customer facing
employees can get instructions in their more comfortable language.

Yes, if you ask a cashier for "lemon juice" and she doesn't know what
that means, there is a problem.

By the way, it's "jugo del limn" Honey is "miel." If someone asked
me for "jugo del limn," I'd think "hmmm... sounds like 'lemon' to me"
and try that. Something makes me think the communication issue was
deeper than language.

I don't know about these particular employees, but I think there a lot
of citizens that aren't fluent in English. You may not like that, but
it's a fact. Don't accuse non-English speakers of being citizens.

Also, I checked the Constitution and it doesn't say anything about
citizens having the right to buy greasy chicken from only English
speakers. Y'know?

How do you know that that person wasnt a egal citizen who was still in
the prcess of learning the language? I agree its frustrating...but
ease up. Ask for a manager next time if you are having trouble :)

Side note...When i call 800 numbers for customer service and get a
foreign person,. i TRY talking to them first. If it gets to be too
hard, I'll say never mind, sorry for wasting your time, and call back.
You don't get foreign people everytime you call for most customer
service numbers

Unofrtunately in many areas the only people who are willing to take
minimum wage jobs in fast food restaurants are immigrants.

You've used your limit for the entire rest of the year.

No commas for you!

For someone who complains so much about people who have not mastered
the English language, your written English and grammer leaves a lot to
be desired.