Coming soon ...

[Hawkmoon]

... to a fast food restaurant near you:

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/hialeah/article218395910.html

Si no habla español, no se dan servicio.

It's already happening around here. I haven't been outright refused service, but I have dealt with counter persons whose English was so bad that I had to complete the transaction in Spanish to ensure that my order was correct.

P.S.: The fact the Taco Bell belle used the term "papi" is about a 99% certain indication that she's from Puerto Rico. One of the shift supervisors at the McDonald's three miles from my house used that term all the time when talking to his crew. I know he was from Puerto Rico (because he told me), and he mentioned a couple of times that they use "papi" all the time in informal conversation.

[dogmush]

Interesting. That there was probably something prior to that video starting that made the employee decide she was done with those customers.  Not justifying it, and the employee was fired, but I don't believe for a second she didn't speak English.  She just didn't want to serve those two.

FWIW, I occasionally go into restaurants in FL where I know they don't really speak English, and generally they are pretty good about deciphering my broken Spanish and giving me my cafe con leche or guava turnovers (Si, con queso.)  There are some 'hoods all over the US where English isn't really spoken.  One can complain about how "This is 'Merica!" or one can do one's best to get along and/or leave.

Last note, Let's say at the end of that whole thing "Lucia" had deigned to take their order and make their food.  What dumbass would eat the food after that confrontation?

[Perd Hapley]

I guess they have every right to do that. We'll see if corporate fixes the problem. If not, will Americans still give Taco Bell their business?

[dogmush]

I guess they have every right to do that. We'll see if corporate fixes the problem. If not, will Americans still give Taco Bell their business?

From the article:

In a later statement, Taco Bell confirmed: “This individual no longer works for the brand.”

  Not sure what else they corporate should do.  Maybe shut all the stores down for a day for linguistics training?

[Perd Hapley]

From the article:
  Not sure what else they corporate should do.  Maybe shut all the stores down for a day for linguistics training?

 

[HankB]

Interesting. That there was probably something prior to that video starting that made the employee decide she was done with those customers.  Not justifying it, and the employee was fired, but I don't believe for a second she didn't speak English.  She just didn't want to serve those two.

Back in high school, I worked part time in a manufacturing plant with a lot of Mexican workers.

THEY SPOKE PASSABLE ENGLISH, but one day they decided to speak ONLY Spanish to dramatize the plight of the non-English speaking people in America.

When they did so to me, I replied in Lithuanian. Then Russian. 

They were dumbfounded. And when the OTHER ladies in the department heard what I did - THEY started speaking to the Mexicans in every other language they knew OTHER than Spanish or English. So the department was filled with the sounds of Lithuanian, Russian, Polish, Norwegian, Swedish, Welsh, German, and I don't know what else.

What lovely diversity!

[freakazoid]

In an update Montgomery made hours later, she added that “Luisa,” as the Taco Bell employee identified herself, had been fired and that it was not even her real name.

In a later statement, Taco Bell confirmed: “This individual no longer works for the brand.”

Sounds like more should of happened than a simple "She no longer works for us."

[Ben]

If it was a hole in the wall Mexican place, I wouldn't be bothered about it and I'd just point to what I wanted on the menu. But a national chain in the US? Speak English.

I still have to deal with Bank of America because my dad has been with them since he came to this country and he won't switch. Anytime I go into the local branch, almost all the indoor advertising is in Spanish and 80% of the conversations with bank employees are in Spanish. And they also all take forever.

Bank of AMERICA. Ironic. My sister quit it years ago and goes to the local Chase, where she says almost everything is in English and the lines are short.

[Hawkmoon]

In my corner of the Yoo Ess of Ay, we have a modest population of Greeks, and a LOT of Greek diners. All of the kitchen staff and most of the waitpersons in the Greek diners now are Hispanics, and many of them can barely speak English. (I suspect in the kitchen almost none speak English.)

[230RN]

[amused speculation]

"Luisa" will probably hit up the unemployment office because she lost her job "through no fault of her own."

[/amused speculation]

[zxcvbob]

[amused speculation]

"Luisa" will probably hit up the unemployment office because she lost her job "through no fault of her own."

[/amused speculation]

What makes you think she lost her job?  In a later statement, Taco Bell confirmed: “This individual no longer works for the brand.”  Kind of an odd way to phrase it, doncha think?  They just transferred her to the Pizza Hut across the street.

[Firethorn]

Sounds like more should of happened than a simple "She no longer works for us."

What though?  She got a $100 gift certificate and the employee who dissed her was fired.

Presumably everybody at that restaurant and nearby ones got briefed on not doing that.

[MechAg94]

In my corner of the Yoo Ess of Ay, we have a modest population of Greeks, and a LOT of Greek diners. All of the kitchen staff and most of the waitpersons in the Greek diners now are Hispanics, and many of them can barely speak English. (I suspect in the kitchen almost none speak English.)

A guy I used to work with whose parents came from Mexico used to joke about what type of food was made in different restaurants.  He said it was all Mexican food.  Look in the kitchen and see who making the food.  In the Houston area, most of the kitchen staff are Hispanic.   Sounds like that is common all over.

[MechAg94]

Sounds like more should of happened than a simple "She no longer works for us."

When I first saw the story, I figured they should have fired the manage(s) also.  I don't know how much control the corporate Taco Bell has over individually owned stores. 

That assumes there wasn't more to the whole confrontation.

[freakazoid]

What though?  She got a $100 gift certificate and the employee who dissed her was fired.

Presumably everybody at that restaurant and nearby ones got briefed on not doing that.

The article kind of makes it sound like she might of been working there illegally with how it mentions that she wasn't even working under her real name.

[K Frame]

"THEY SPOKE PASSABLE ENGLISH, but one day they decided to speak ONLY Spanish to dramatize the plight of the non-English speaking people in America."

Had I been the manager there, the "plight" of those particular non-English speaking people would have been unemployment.

[dogmush]

The article kind of makes it sound like she might of been working there illegally with how it mentions that she wasn't even working under her real name.

How exactly does  a Puerto Rican work at Taco Bell illegally?

[Scout26]

When I first saw the story, I figured they should have fired the manage(s) also.  I don't know how much control the corporate Taco Bell has over individually owned stores. 

That assumes there wasn't more to the whole confrontation.

For personnel/HR issues, not much as they stores are owned by franchisee's.  However, I bet that corporate can apply a great deal of pressure to the franchisee in instances like this, if the franchisee wasn't already moving to termination.

[Firethorn]

How exactly does  a Puerto Rican work at Taco Bell illegally?

Under the table, IE "untaxed"?  She may not have been formally hired, may have been unofficially "subbing" for another worker really of that name, etc...

That said, after a point, do they really need to air all their dirty laundry, like saying that the manager is getting fired as well?

The article kind of makes it sound like she might of been working there illegally with how it mentions that she wasn't even working under her real name.

I took it that, knowing she was being an ahole, gave a false name to try to deflect any complaints.  That failed because, well, there were probably only 3 people on shift, the other 2 dudes. 

My picture of what happened is that the manager, having previously believed that the workers met the minimum competency requirements, scheduled the crew and went about their day.  Not knowing that in a snit or whatever, one of the employees decided to only speak Spanish.  The customer reports this to corporate, corporate investigates and finds it credible, the Manager gets roasted and responds by firing the responsible employee.  Corporate or the local store reimburses the customer with a $100 gift card and lets her know that the employee was fired.  It makes it onto the news, so we can figure that all the other restaurants in the area have been warned. 

Now, I consider a $100 gift card to be a generous compensation for her difficulty and as a thank you for reporting a problem that was likely costing them money.  Beyond that, firing the employee makes sense, especially if this isn't the first time she's pulled crap.  Firing the manager, who might have honestly not known, would be going a bit far.  Getting a reprimand is generally a private thing.

[HankB]

If it was a hole in the wall Mexican place, I wouldn't be bothered about it and I'd just point to what I wanted on the menu. But a national chain in the US? Speak English.

I still have to deal with Bank of America because my dad has been with them since he came to this country and he won't switch. Anytime I go into the local branch, almost all the indoor advertising is in Spanish and 80% of the conversations with bank employees are in Spanish. And they also all take forever.

Bank of AMERICA. Ironic. My sister quit it years ago and goes to the local Chase, where she says almost everything is in English and the lines are short.

Wasn't it originally Bank of Italy?