Burger King Mexicans.

While I agree that they should hire cashiers who speak English, you
should also realize that English is a hard language to learn. I know a
woman who has been taking English classes for 8 years now and still
can't speak it very well. I've tried helping in every way I can, it's
just hard for many adults to grasp. The company should only put people
who speak English in jobs that deal with speaking to the public so
it's a mistake on their part.

People here are saying that they might not have been Mexican is a moot
point. I don't care if they're Hexagon or Wiccan speak the language
for goodness sake !
I've experienced your same issue and it's annoying.
They have no idea what you're saying so instead of an ice cream cone
you get a salad and fries. It's aggravating. Well, I should say it
WAS
I stopped eating fast food because it's garbage anyway.

Pretty much the same at Whataburger. ABSURD!!!

I have an idea why don't you go work there. Lets face it people who
don't speak very good english or have problems getting jobs work at
these kinds of places. You should be respectful or do it your self.

It's not just Burger King. I went through the drive-thru at McDonalds
in the Houston area and tried to order their new coffee drink. The
person taking my order could not understand me and I had to pull
through to the window to explain. I asked her if she spoke English
and she couldn't even understand that question. I gave her a phone
number of a local church that gives free English lessons and told her
it was important for her to be able to speak English. But, she
probably didn't even understand that. Hopefully, she'll call the
church and get help. I was going to write to McDonalds and complain
but it slipped my mind until I saw this Burger King forum.

I totally agree. I went to a KFC a few months ago. I had to repeat my
order 5 times. She coud barely speak English. I wa so frustrated. I
get to the window and pay, she tries repeating the order, it is wrong.
I just said forget it and drove off. If you live here, learn to speak
Enlish. Very annoying when trying to order food.

I know everyone says that this is racist and whatnot, but I kinda
agree..

I am not racist whatsoever, but my husband and I are stationed at a
military base right on the border of Mexico, and I'm talking 3 miles
away. We have lived here for a little over 2 years and I have yet to
find a job...Why, you ask?

Well, because I dont speak spanish. This upsets me for so many
reasons.

1. They come across the border on a daily basis to work, then drive
back home to Mexico to their homes.

2. I am qualified for every job that I apply for but I can't speak
spanish, so I dont get hired.

3. They will hire someone here that speaks only spanish and absolutely
no english, but not someone that speaks english and no spanish.

4. Any job that is available is so low paying its not even working
because it wouldnt cover my daycare and gas costs, I may as well stay
home with my baby, because they come across the border, they pay rate
here is ridiculously low..

5. Even though I know some spanish and am learning they still dont
hire me because I am not fluent.

Its not my choice that we live here, the government tells us where to
live, but every single family on this base is so broke because none of
the spouses can find work, and I wish that the town would try to help
us out a little since the people from town have all the jobs on
base.......

Don't understand...I know you remove letters...why not racist ones????

Worst. Letter. Ever.

It seems that the mexicans are taking over all the jobs that american
english speaking high schoolers would work. A real shame.

People do make mistakes you know. And how do you know that they are
Mexican? The title of your letter is rude and ignorant.

Ok, everyone whining about me saying "Frost Float"
and everyone saying "Frosty Float is a Wendys item"

I ment to say Icee Float or how ever you spell it.

Happy?

no kidding, the one in our neighborhood, mexicans work at b.k., and
everyone else works at taco bell...lol... these jobs suck, plus Im
thinking too that its a wendys item

my husband is desperatley looking for work and I mean any type of job,
dish washing, mowing lawns, whatever....and he always gets beat out by
a spanish speaking person...they tell my husband he is over qualified
and that the spanish immigrants works for less(they tell him this off
the record, meaning like they can't get in trouble for discrimination)

like a slurpee thing with milkshake mixed in....don't know if he meant
that.

As Dawnie Dawn mentioned, the OP has the wrong restaurant. Wendy's
offers a Frosty Float:

http://www.wendys.com/food/Family.jsp?family=10

Burger King offers nothing with a similar name at all

http://www.bk.com/#menu=2,-1,-1

So, shouldn't your letter be about the Burger Reyes, or something?

Well...maybe when you start writing in English then you can force them
to hire something other than Mexicans.

Did you ever think that they hire them because thats all that applies
for the job?

Maybe you didnt speak clearly enough and they didnt understand you.

Maybe its because you were ordering something that they dont carry?

Who knows......

Am I the only one who noticed that the OP is writing a letter to
Burger King, telling them of his/her attempt to order a Frosty Float,
which is a Wendy's item???

I think good help is just getting really hard to find. Especially at
minimum wage levels. I have no issues with race. As a matter of fact,
I know many people of Hispanic descent whom I respect, are very
intelligent and also hard-working. I do however, have significant
issues with people not caring enough, not thinking about what they're
doing, or not paying enough attention when they've agreed to do so and
are accepting a paycheck as part of the bargain.

I would like a lot of places to hire decent staff but we do not always
get what we want.
It makes no difference who they were they got your order wrong, give
it back and have them give you the right one. Case closed...no
problem.

That is what I would do. It would take all of two minutes, most
likely. It is flippin McDonald's. In my mind this was a chance to
cast aspersions upon a nationality.

I am sure they are still decent people that are working at Burger King
regardless of if they speak English or not.

I just had a Spanish Newspaper call me yesterday to do an interview.
We spent 45 minutes on the phone trying to understand each other. I
spoke to fast and her English was very hard to understand.

We made it through the interview. She called me back 5 more times for
other information later in the day.

At one point I asked if the article would be available in English.
The reported stated "NO You need to Learn Spanish."

Needless to say I will probably transfer the entire article next week
to babblefish.com so I can see what she printed. I hope it was at
least partially what I was saying!

I agree people need to speak English in the US. If it is fast food
business they need to be able to at least communicate what is on the
menu.

I personally don't even like signs in businesses in English and
Spanish. I think it is only encouraging people not to learn English.

I'm wondering... were the Mexican? Or were they from some other
country?

Remember, Spanish is the first language of more countries than any
other.

Where I live, we have many Spanish speakers. But relatively few are
from Mexico. I've personally employed a couple of Spanish speakers.
Not a one that I interviewed was from Mexico. And every single one
was legal.

Of course, you live in Florida.

Do you know the reason the order was filled wrong, or are you
assuming? Did someone say "Gee, sawry Meester, we don't have no
steenking iced cream."

Just a thought....here in central Ohio, most of the fast food places
have a lot of employees who speak spanish as a primary language.

Big huge signs are at the drive thru saying "picture menus avaialablel
at window"

To me, this sort of tolerance and accommadation speaks volumes, not
just for the employees, but the customers.

i agree, it can be frustarting beyond words to encounter a language
barrier, whether in person, or over the phone. However, we should
never, ever, assume these folks are illegals.

I agree with you, Cory. I understand immigrants in this country need
jobs too, and I fully support that. However, if you are working with a
primarily English-speaking American public, I think it stands to
reason that you have at least a basic grasp of the English language.

I did read your responses, and I don't think it's fair to say they are
making no attempt to learn our language. English is one of the hardest
languages to learn and it takes a long time to learn the language
(from what I've heard) and especially to speak it well enough to be
understood by a native speaker.

Having said that, if they are in the process of learning English, they
still shouldn't be put in a position where they have to deal with an
English-speaking public. Employers should ensure an employee can speak
and understand English well enough to communicate with a customer.

In theory, I agree. But I have to assume that they hire people with
little or no English skills because native English speakers aren't
applying for those jobs.

When I worked at Wendy's, all of our Hispanic employees worked back of
the house positions, all of our cashiers and coordinators were native
speakers. I think that if you are not fluent enough to understand
orders and interpret them to make a consistent, quality product, you
should not hold your position.

This not only applies to speakers of Spanish and Mexicans, but anybody
who does not speak English fluently.

I would call the manager of this specific store and let them know your
problem personally. And please refrain from making comments about the
employees being illegal, as this will invalidate your complaint. It
may be a problem in your area, but if you are critical of their
nationality, and not professional, it will make you sound a lot less
credible.

Half decent?.. I guess that leaves ME out. I'm nothing if not
completely decent.

Cory M.,

The staff may already be decent people.

I think you meant to say BK needs some people that speak English on
staff to assist those that might not have full command of the English
language.

Now, if these folks are not legally in the U.S.A. and are working that
is a very different issue.

BillR.