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I had a guy last night who came in and didn't speak a word of English, though he seemed to understand some. SCs are universal, though.
He came in talking a mile a minute. I had to repeat several times. I eventually am able to pull out the word "Español".
Me: "Sorry, we don't have anyone who speaks Spanish."
Cue the classic catbutt face. He says something and points in the back. I shake my head and reiterate I don't have anyone to translate here.
He then starts talking. I am not picking up any of it, and not for lack of listening. I can't speak it but I know enough Spanish I can usually pull the gist, however this guy's dialect I just wasn't getting. (I think it was Old World Spanish?) He stood there talking, and talking fast, and all I could do was shrug and say "Sorry, I don't understand".
Finally, he puts his hands up in a sort of pillow gesture. Okay. I understand that. You need a room. See? Body language. We can do this.
I start the process, but before I get very far, he asks a question. I got the word "Canada", and saw his wallet was filled with Canadian dollars.
Me: "I'm sorry, but we don't take Canadian dollars. I can only take American dollars, or we can accept any major credit card." *points to sign with credit card logos*
SC: *says something in Spanish*
Me: "I can not take any Canadian dollars."
SC: *getting more exasperated*
Me: "No Canadian dollars. You might try seeing if the bank is still open across the street. In the store." *points*
SC: *almost shouting in Spanish now*
Lather, rinse, and repeat the above, until I *think* I get it through his head that he should try across the street. He leaves, and I figure that's sorted.
Oh no. It's not. He comes back later, and is pissed off. He shoves a $100 bill in my face, and starts ripping into me. Of course, I haven't the slightest clue what he's saying.
Me: "I can not take Canadian dollars."
SC: *ranting and shoving bill at me*
Me: "I can't take that. No Canadian dollars." *shakes head no* "American only."
SC: *still going on a tirade*
Me: "I'm sorry, I can't understand you. But I can't take that money."
I *think* he either wanted me to go ahead and take it, or was trying to get me to personally exchange it. Too bad the motel doesn't take Canadian currency, and I don't carry cash. He did have a few English phrases in there, namely "worth money" as he waved the bill in my face.
After almost five minutes of him berating me, he finally calms down and manages to say he wants a cab to the bus station. It took a few tries. He was talking so fast, I kept missing the word "bus" (pronounced "boos" in Spanish), so he started getting frustrated again before I finally caught the word, repeated it, and calmed him down again. I call the cab company. They say the buses are very busy this time of year, and they don't want to pick him up unless he has a bus reserved. They want to know which bus he wants.
Me: "Which direction are you headed?"
SC: "Bus! BUS!"
Me: "But where are you going? Are you going south towards Seattle?" *points* "or are you going north towards Vancouver?" *points*
SC: "BUS!"
Me: Oh for fucks sake... "Yes, but which direction will you be going? Seattle? Vancouver?" *points respective directions*
SC: *points in the Seattle direction*
I explain to the cab driver. She says the last Seattle bus has already left. I explain this guy is insistent on getting down to the station. She says she'll send a cab anyway.
Then, SC gets someone on his cell phone to translate. Great! Why didn't you do this 30 minutes ago?
SC says something to the person on the other end and hands me the phone.
Me: "Hello?"
Translator: "Hi."
Me: "So, where is he going?"
Translator: "He needs to get across the border."
Me: "Okay. I'll call the cab company back and give them an update. They need to know which bus he's getting on."
So, towards Vancouver then, after all.
The whole while, this guy is still talking to me while I'm on the phone with the person trying to translate. I hand the phone back.
I call the cab company back and give them the update. They're still not sure how he'll get a bus without a reservation, but they agree to pick him up.
Dispatch: "And do we have a name?"
Me: "Sir, what's your name? Sir? Name? Nombre?"
SC: *starts yelling at me in Spanish again*
Dispatch: "...how about we just put 'male passenger' down, then."
Finally, I get him assured that a cab is coming to take him to the bus station. He leaves and waits outside. (I'm still not sure how he ever arrived. I never saw a cab drop him off.)
I mean, I get that language barriers can be frustrating. But I've checked in dozens of non-English speaking customers over my years at the front desk. Just talk slow, and use lots of body language (and smile!), and you can get through it fairly smoothly. This guy had none of that. He just stood still and kept talking at me a mile a minute, and he got pissed off I couldn't understand him. He also refused to take "no" for an answer on the Canadian currency. That's easy to get across language barriers, and he insisted on arguing it and yelling at me for it. I sure didn't need a translator for that part.
He came in talking a mile a minute. I had to repeat several times. I eventually am able to pull out the word "Español".
Me: "Sorry, we don't have anyone who speaks Spanish."
Cue the classic catbutt face. He says something and points in the back. I shake my head and reiterate I don't have anyone to translate here.
He then starts talking. I am not picking up any of it, and not for lack of listening. I can't speak it but I know enough Spanish I can usually pull the gist, however this guy's dialect I just wasn't getting. (I think it was Old World Spanish?) He stood there talking, and talking fast, and all I could do was shrug and say "Sorry, I don't understand".
Finally, he puts his hands up in a sort of pillow gesture. Okay. I understand that. You need a room. See? Body language. We can do this.
I start the process, but before I get very far, he asks a question. I got the word "Canada", and saw his wallet was filled with Canadian dollars.
Me: "I'm sorry, but we don't take Canadian dollars. I can only take American dollars, or we can accept any major credit card." *points to sign with credit card logos*
SC: *says something in Spanish*
Me: "I can not take any Canadian dollars."
SC: *getting more exasperated*
Me: "No Canadian dollars. You might try seeing if the bank is still open across the street. In the store." *points*
SC: *almost shouting in Spanish now*
Lather, rinse, and repeat the above, until I *think* I get it through his head that he should try across the street. He leaves, and I figure that's sorted.
Oh no. It's not. He comes back later, and is pissed off. He shoves a $100 bill in my face, and starts ripping into me. Of course, I haven't the slightest clue what he's saying.
Me: "I can not take Canadian dollars."
SC: *ranting and shoving bill at me*
Me: "I can't take that. No Canadian dollars." *shakes head no* "American only."
SC: *still going on a tirade*
Me: "I'm sorry, I can't understand you. But I can't take that money."
I *think* he either wanted me to go ahead and take it, or was trying to get me to personally exchange it. Too bad the motel doesn't take Canadian currency, and I don't carry cash. He did have a few English phrases in there, namely "worth money" as he waved the bill in my face.
After almost five minutes of him berating me, he finally calms down and manages to say he wants a cab to the bus station. It took a few tries. He was talking so fast, I kept missing the word "bus" (pronounced "boos" in Spanish), so he started getting frustrated again before I finally caught the word, repeated it, and calmed him down again. I call the cab company. They say the buses are very busy this time of year, and they don't want to pick him up unless he has a bus reserved. They want to know which bus he wants.
Me: "Which direction are you headed?"
SC: "Bus! BUS!"
Me: "But where are you going? Are you going south towards Seattle?" *points* "or are you going north towards Vancouver?" *points*
SC: "BUS!"
Me: Oh for fucks sake... "Yes, but which direction will you be going? Seattle? Vancouver?" *points respective directions*
SC: *points in the Seattle direction*
I explain to the cab driver. She says the last Seattle bus has already left. I explain this guy is insistent on getting down to the station. She says she'll send a cab anyway.
Then, SC gets someone on his cell phone to translate. Great! Why didn't you do this 30 minutes ago?
SC says something to the person on the other end and hands me the phone.
Me: "Hello?"
Translator: "Hi."
Me: "So, where is he going?"
Translator: "He needs to get across the border."
Me: "Okay. I'll call the cab company back and give them an update. They need to know which bus he's getting on."
So, towards Vancouver then, after all.
The whole while, this guy is still talking to me while I'm on the phone with the person trying to translate. I hand the phone back.I call the cab company back and give them the update. They're still not sure how he'll get a bus without a reservation, but they agree to pick him up.
Dispatch: "And do we have a name?"
Me: "Sir, what's your name? Sir? Name? Nombre?"
SC: *starts yelling at me in Spanish again*
Dispatch: "...how about we just put 'male passenger' down, then."
Finally, I get him assured that a cab is coming to take him to the bus station. He leaves and waits outside. (I'm still not sure how he ever arrived. I never saw a cab drop him off.)
I mean, I get that language barriers can be frustrating. But I've checked in dozens of non-English speaking customers over my years at the front desk. Just talk slow, and use lots of body language (and smile!), and you can get through it fairly smoothly. This guy had none of that. He just stood still and kept talking at me a mile a minute, and he got pissed off I couldn't understand him. He also refused to take "no" for an answer on the Canadian currency. That's easy to get across language barriers, and he insisted on arguing it and yelling at me for it. I sure didn't need a translator for that part.
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