February 20, 2004
Eaofanuw Quteonh Poauabnuo
That's not spam. That's what I'm hearing when I visit the local fast food drive-thru.
I appreciate the fact that many San Diegans hail from other climes. I do. Really, I do. And, I admire their initiative to get out and get to work. As long as they're paying taxes and chasing the American Dream....we're fine.
Unless they happen to be working the drive-thru window.
My order is never correct. They can't understand me. I can't understand them. Those little speaker systems mangle even the most perfectly spoken English. Add thick accents and background noise and it's akin to a new parent trying to understand what a baby's cry means. Sure, you learn over time....but I don't have time! That's why I'm ordering fast food. Okay, so maybe we could make that hamburger faster at home - that's not the point of my rant today.
Recently, I ordered a #2 combo. They tried handing me a #3. I didn't want the triple cheesy, bacon-laden piece of rubbery beef. I wanted the extra greasy, nutritionally-void fish, thank you very much. They were shocked when I told them they were wrong.
Miss Rapid-Fire Tagalog* complained to her coworker about my demand for the right order. She wasn't kind. She also didn't know that I understood what she was saying. Now, my Tagalog isn't strong enough for me to have responded in kind, but I did cast her a withering glance. She didn't know what to think. I could almost see the wheels turning - "does she think I'm talking about her? Sure, I am. But, she's too white. She couldn't have understood." Yes, honey. I did think you were talking about me. You were! Yes, I did understand. And, one of these days, I'll be fluent enough to fling a rejoinder back at you. That's not the point.
The point is, there are people from all around the world making this wonderful place their home. I'm glad they're actively participating in the work force. But, please....if you're the manager of one of the 12,849 fast food restaurants, banks, grocery stores, or any other establishment, think about who you have speaking to the public on your behalf. Let them be at least proficient enough with the English language to understand what the average white girl is saying, let them be proficient enough to be understood by her, encourage your employees to not speak in their native tongue in a disparaging manner about your customers, and please, please, please....tell them to get my fucking order right - the first time.
*It could have just as easily been Spanish, Croatian, Russian, or Esperanto.....
Posted by DaGoddess at February 20, 2004 05:28 PMThere are a lot of those speaker voice manglers in drive thrus here too. Now they seem to be moving towards a system where you drive to the first window, speak to an actual person and pay, then go to the next window to pick up the food.
It's less often that an order gets screwed up with this system!
Posted by: Rae at February 20, 2004 06:36 PMYou go!
Posted by: Orchid at February 20, 2004 06:42 PMI've learned to NEVER leave the drive-thru window without checking my bag for the correct order. After all, do I look like someone who would order the yogurt parfait thing or the patty with no bun??
Posted by: She at February 21, 2004 06:31 AMhrm we're pretty damn white bread up here. Anyone who isn't white usually works at stuff like construction or in the timber/fishing sector.
But that really just makes it all the more depresssing at the drive thru. These folks speak the same language... after all. With no accent or anything.
"I'd like 2 junior bacon cheeseburgers and a small Dr. Pepper"
"The cheeseburgers are small, yes"
"no, i want a small Dr. Pepper. AND two junior bacon cheeseburgers"
"oh. Ok do you want fries?"
"no."
"Will that be all"?
"*sigh*"
At the window, i get two chicken caeasar monstrosities and a diet coke, the big ol' fucking gulp size.
Posted by: pril at February 21, 2004 10:34 AMYou understand Spanish, Croat, Russian, Esperanto AND Tagalog?
Posted by: Mutinousdoug at February 21, 2004 10:35 AMTry ordering "catsup" with your fries and see how far you get. I was raised using this word. Yet everyone not in my immediate family (which basically includes everyone but my brother and sister-in-law), looks at me like I just beamed down from another planet -- far, far away.
Plus, when I order a "side of fries," the morons always thing I want "rice" when they don't even HAVE rice! Yeesh!
Posted by: Joni at February 21, 2004 11:52 AMI was riding a train in Japan with a friend of mine. We were traveling through the countryside and enjoying the scenery when a group of school kids boarded the train. They sat directly across from us and started to comment (in Japanese) about how big my friends feet are. They talked about him being able to walk on water and a host of other unflattering comments. My Japanese was not the greatest, but like you, I was able to follow the conversation. When the kids were getting off the train after about an hour ride, my friend leaned forward and hollered down the train car (in Japanese) size 33. The kids faces turned bright red and the entire train car erupted in laughter. There was little conversation after the rest of the people realized we had a grasp of the language.
Posted by: Azygos at February 21, 2004 01:07 PMI'm impressed, 5 years of visiting Manila and I still couldn't manage more than a smattering of Tagalog, the drive through should be a breeze! Now, if I could just get enough Urdu or Hindi, I might be able to understand the ladies the Civil Service here is hiring apparently to the exclusion of everyone else.
Mind you, a visit to the North East, reminded me again that there are parts of England where the native language is a barely intelligible mix of ancient Anglo-Saxon, Danish and possibly Gaelic! English it isn't!
Posted by: The Gray Monk at February 21, 2004 01:59 PMHELL, yess!I've been on a few continents and have tried my best to speak their tongue.To live in a foreign nation forfeits your birth language.PERIOD.
Common courtesy-enough said.
I like the way you think.I like what you blog.
HELL, yess!I've been on a few continents and have tried my best to speak their tongue.To live in a foreign nation forfeits your birth language.PERIOD.
Common courtesy-enough said.
I like the way you think.I like what you blog.
Those speakers are awful things. There's been a trend here to put real people *gasp* in little glass booths instead to replace said faulty bits of wiring, however I'm not sure that would have helped you in this case Joanie ;)
Posted by: helen-goldie at February 22, 2004 01:22 PMpive pive, pive pive pive. Navy disbursing clerk lingo (55,555) My fast food ploy is to drive to the window and give 'em 7 bucks and tell 'em to just throw something in the bag - I don't care what 'cuz they're gonna dick it up anyway.
Posted by: Squid at February 23, 2004 09:40 AMI once went through a drive-thru with a frustrated buddy.When the speaker said "May I take your order", he turnned his radio up FULL BLAST and proceeded to yell his order over the din.This lasted for minutes.When he turnned it off his order couldn't be heard over my laughter.
We did'nt eat lunch that day.
i speak arabic., and this very night i shocked some lebanese in annapolis by ordering in arabic. got free baklava too.
it is so very sweet when you get to bust someone talking smack about you.....
Posted by: mlah at February 26, 2004 09:02 PMReminds me of why I still have yet to get a regular housekeeper... I hired Merry Maids (or Not-So-Merry Maids) once. The two women who came to clean spoke Spanish to each other, and I swear they were talking about me! Si, yo hablo Espanol tambien! It didn't occur to me to speak some Spanish back to them and see what their reaction was. Damn.
Posted by: Carolyn at March 1, 2004 04:34 PM