Tweet
Today was overall actually awesome for me - best sales day I've had in a long time, perhaps ever since I started working in October. There were only two SCs of note today.
One was a man who wanted to buy two of the same Toshiba laptops - which we had plenty of. Problem is, we don't have any special deals for those laptops beyond the antivirus and support we include with ALL of our computers. I told him such, and he reconsidered. However, he came back slightly annoyed a half hour later, wondering if I was ever going to get his laptops... Even though he had never told me that he, for certain, wanted to buy them.
That, and he would not. Stop. Asking. About. Specials. "Are you sure you can't give me anything? I'm buying two." and about seven different variations thereof. The answer was, "no" an hour ago, and it's the same now. There. Is. NOTHING I can do to change that. I'm just a sales floor grunt. The only thing you're doing is making me try to figure out ways to somehow charge you MORE money just to spite you, but I don't want to get into trouble.
Then, later on, there was a couple in our overstock section, and I asked if they needed any help. Without looking at me, the woman looks over to her husband and talks in Spanish. Now, that by itself doesn't bother me. We get a lot of customers who have trouble speaking English and I am more than happy to find a translator (if we have one available) for them.
What I don't like are people being obnoxious and saying things in their language about ME because they think I won't understand anything. It's a pet peeve and something I've always found really, really rude - no matter your native tongue. I also get mad when people do it in English in front of those who aren't fluent in the language.
That aside: I'm far from fluent in Spanish, but I do understand enough to get that the gist of what the woman said to her husband was, "I don't want to talk to this white girl - she doesn't speak Spanish." - which she said without even asking me if I did speak it.
Resisting the urge to throttle her, I smiled sweetly and asked, "Would you like someone who speaks Spanish better than this white girl? We have bilingual associates and I'd be happy to get one for you."
The looks on their faces were priceless.
The woman muttered (in perfect English) that they didn't need any help and sort of scurried away. Now I wonder what would've happened if I had given into temptation and said the first response that came to my mind, "Sí, yo hablo español, señora."
One was a man who wanted to buy two of the same Toshiba laptops - which we had plenty of. Problem is, we don't have any special deals for those laptops beyond the antivirus and support we include with ALL of our computers. I told him such, and he reconsidered. However, he came back slightly annoyed a half hour later, wondering if I was ever going to get his laptops... Even though he had never told me that he, for certain, wanted to buy them.
That, and he would not. Stop. Asking. About. Specials. "Are you sure you can't give me anything? I'm buying two." and about seven different variations thereof. The answer was, "no" an hour ago, and it's the same now. There. Is. NOTHING I can do to change that. I'm just a sales floor grunt. The only thing you're doing is making me try to figure out ways to somehow charge you MORE money just to spite you, but I don't want to get into trouble.
Then, later on, there was a couple in our overstock section, and I asked if they needed any help. Without looking at me, the woman looks over to her husband and talks in Spanish. Now, that by itself doesn't bother me. We get a lot of customers who have trouble speaking English and I am more than happy to find a translator (if we have one available) for them.
What I don't like are people being obnoxious and saying things in their language about ME because they think I won't understand anything. It's a pet peeve and something I've always found really, really rude - no matter your native tongue. I also get mad when people do it in English in front of those who aren't fluent in the language.
That aside: I'm far from fluent in Spanish, but I do understand enough to get that the gist of what the woman said to her husband was, "I don't want to talk to this white girl - she doesn't speak Spanish." - which she said without even asking me if I did speak it.
Resisting the urge to throttle her, I smiled sweetly and asked, "Would you like someone who speaks Spanish better than this white girl? We have bilingual associates and I'd be happy to get one for you."
The looks on their faces were priceless.
The woman muttered (in perfect English) that they didn't need any help and sort of scurried away. Now I wonder what would've happened if I had given into temptation and said the first response that came to my mind, "Sí, yo hablo español, señora."
Comment