Grocery Store Blues

[Peppergirl]

My ex husband was an army brat and spent his teen years in Germany. He picked up the language pretty well.

Flash forward to years later. He worked (still does) at a big car dealership in the parts department. A German customer was giving him a hard time about a price on some parts. Basically trying to negotiate like it was a yard sale. The manager came out, who is balding, and had my ex's back and held firm on the price.

They proceeded to make fun of his boss, talking about him being short and bald, etc. My ex understood every word.

As they were leaving, he spoke to them in their native language. And defended his boss, in German. He also cursed at them. He said the looks on their faces were priceless. As well as his co-workers and boss who hadn't realized he spoke German.

[Jay 2K Winger]

I've told this story many times on this board, but it's still a great one.

I was at the wholesale club, and this little Hispanic boy runs up to me, and with this big shit-eating, you-don't-speak-Spanish-stupid-gringo grin, says, "Tu eres gordo!" ("You're fat!")

So I glared at him and said, "Y tu eres feo!" ("And you're ugly!")

He gaped at me, then ran off.

[wolfie]

I was at the wholesale club, and this little Hispanic boy runs up to me, and with this big shit-eating, you-don't-speak-Spanish-stupid-gringo grin, says, "Tu eres gordo!" ("You're fat!")

So I glared at him and said, "Y tu eres feo!" ("And you're ugly!")

Why didn't you tell him that he was the Lone Ranger's sidekick? For those who don't know Spanish, "tonto" means "stupid".

[Jay 2K Winger]

Why didn't you tell him that he was the Lone Ranger's sidekick? For those who don't know Spanish, "tonto" means "stupid".

Well aware of that one, but "feo" came to mind first.

[Hitokiri Akins]

Sunday couple

Over the last two Sundays, there has been this elderly couple that comes in and picks up a few things. They walk around and say "It's shameful that they make them work on Sunday."

Now, I'm a Christian, and to an extent, I agree. I don't want to work Sunday, period, even if I'm not as church going as others. But like all of us here, I go to work when I'm scheduled.

So they walk past me today and say that, I stand up from stocking shelves and say, "While I agree with you, ma'am, the store wouldn't schedule us if there wasn't profit to be made. And there wouldn't be profit to be made if people didn't do their shopping on Sunday."

And I go back to stocking.

This happened again, with an elderly man, with one of the managers around. He said "They've got you working on Sunday, huh?"

Main difference this time was that the old dude said it to the manager, so it wasn't my place to make my statement again. Which is too bad, since the manager seemed to know the guy, and could have gotten away with what I said.

[Pagan]

Now CSG is blonde haired and blue eyed..so I guess they figured she wouldn't understand them (?) What they didn't figure was she majored in Spanish in college, and as they were leaving she said to them in flawless Spanish "Thank you everyone, and have a wonderful day!!!"

Not to mention that there's a lot of blonde, blue-eyed, full-blooded Spaniards out there, too.

I lived 30ish years in Los Angeles. Almost everyone knows, at the very least, "Spanglish." But there's a lot of native Spanish speakers who are shocked when a gringa actually understands them. It's practically like Quebec only not official! Nearly everything has a Spanish translation! Everybody knows you're insulting them when you say "puta"!

Tell me about it. I run into some people, locals and recent transplants alike, that can't wrap their minds around the fact that I'm Anglo and a native born New Mexican. Well, until I start talking. I've got a very obvious southern NM accent.

[Estil]

I always hope people who respond to rude 'other language' speakers as you guys did have management who will back them up ... because there is no excuse at all for customers to be mocking employees literally to their faces like that.

As for the woman who was yelling at her teenage daughter ... can you wonder if the daughter shows her no respect?

It's because of my own parents' blatant and long time verbal/emotional abuse/threats/sexual harassment/emotional blackmail that I not only will not speak or go near them but I cannot even go to any family functions because just having to see them makes me very uncomfortable. If that woman keeps that up she's in danger of losing her teen daughter like that also. And I wonder what will happen if that woman ever has to go into a nursing home or otherwise needs elderly/disabled sorts of helps someday?

[wagegoth]

I lived 30ish years in Los Angeles. Almost everyone knows, at the very least, "Spanglish." But there's a lot of native Spanish speakers who are shocked when a gringa actually understands them. It's practically like Quebec only not official! Nearly everything has a Spanish translation! Everybody knows you're insulting them when you say "puta"!

And "sucia."

I never studied Spanish, but I've gotten to the point that I can get the gist of Spanish when I read something because I've picked up enough vocabularly.