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#15 by nomad on 19 Oct, 2007 17:14
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P and Stew I'm with ya.
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#16 by warhawk on 19 Oct, 2007 17:43
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awesome discussion & viewpoints.... this topic did not ,by any means, bash the customer service dept. it's just that i wish that there would b a quicker/swifter way 2 get my questions/concerns answered. i most definitely give respect 2 the workers there and by anyone i meet. i just posted this topic 2 vent on my experiences with calling customer service. that's what i luv about this place....we can give our viewpoints & not get crucified 4 it.
when I hear, 'Press 1 for Spanish, and 2 for English.' Please don't persecute me for that last comment.
stew.... i totally agree. as a very PROUD FILIPINO-AMERICAN who has lived here since i was 2 years old...i feel that i shouldn't hear this sentence: "press 1 for English or press 2 for Spanish" if i am calling in the usa. if i was in mexico or cuba.... u will not hear "press 1 for English or press 2 for Spanish" because i am expected 2 know spanish. if i was a resident of china....u will not hear "press 1 for English or press 2 for chinese/mandarin" because i am expected 2 know chinese. in other words.... the united states should just make English the main language spoken. we should NEVER hear "press 1 for english or press 2 for spanish" because we r americans. if that were the case then we should also hear "press 3 for tagalog (filipino), press 4 for german, press 5 for french, press 6 for latin, and so forth and so forth. i mean....that is the beauty of being an american we have many backgrounds and heritages but we should just have one main language and that is ENGLISH. anyways..... i hope that i didn't offend anyone. it is my 2cents. so.... please don't "bash" me 4 my comments. thank u and i'm off the soap box right about now.
take care & have a good day or night,
WARHAWK
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#17 by nomad on 19 Oct, 2007 17:46
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awesome discussion & viewpoints.... this topic did not ,by any means, bash the customer service dept. it's just that i wish that there would b a quicker/swifter way 2 get my questions/concerns answered. i most definitely give respect 2 the workers there and by anyone i meet. i just posted this topic 2 vent on my experiences with calling customer service. that's what i luv about this place....we can give our viewpoints & not get crucified 4 it.
when I hear, 'Press 1 for Spanish, and 2 for English.' Please don't persecute me for that last comment.
stew.... i totally agree. as a very PROUD FILIPINO-AMERICAN who has lived here since i was 2 years old...i feel that i shouldn't hear this sentence: "press 1 for English or press 2 for Spanish" if i am calling in the usa. if i was in mexico or cuba.... u will not hear "press 1 for English or press 2 for Spanish" because i am expected 2 know spanish. if i was a resident of china....u will not hear "press 1 for English or press 2 for chinese/mandarin" because i am expected 2 know chinese. in other words.... the united states should just make English the main language spoken. we should NEVER hear "press 1 for english or press 2 for spanish" because we r americans. if that were the case then we should also hear "press 3 for tagalog (filipino), press 4 for german, press 5 for french, press 6 for latin, and so forth and so forth. i mean....that is the beauty of being an american we have many backgrounds and heritages but we should just have one main language and that is ENGLISH. anyways..... i hope that i didn't offend anyone. it is my 2cents. so.... please don't "bash" me 4 my comments. thank u and i'm off the soap box right about now.
take care & have a good day or night,
WARHAWK
AMEN Brother!!!
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#18 by wpruitt on 19 Oct, 2007 20:58
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...... the united states should just make English the main language spoken. we should NEVER hear "press 1 for english or press 2 for spanish" because we r americans. if that were the case then we should also hear "press 3 for tagalog (filipino), press 4 for german, press 5 for french, press 6 for latin, and so forth and so forth. i mean....that is the beauty of being an american we have many backgrounds and heritages but we should just have one main language and that is ENGLISH. anyways.....
Hawk ... Gotta agree with you on that one.
Should you be allowed to immigrate to the US if you don't speak English? Yes
Should you be free to speak the language(s) of choice in your home? Yes
Should we be forced to absorb the cost of the government, businesses (and even churches) printing ALL publications in other languages? HELL NO
Part of immigrating to this country - and becoming American - is assimilating into the existing culture , while at the same time, preserving bits of your own. This occurred with the new immigration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It made our culture for the better. Now, however, foreign cultures coming into the US expect the existing citizens to assimilate to theirs, and not vice - versa. -
#19 by Tyler on 20 Oct, 2007 02:22
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Ok, I'm going to chime in a bit more on this topic.
I used to work as a call center rep. I know it doesn't make sense to be able to press 0 to go to a person when there's multiple departments that you may want to talk to - sales, tech support, etc. But, once I hit the button to go to my department, I should have the ability to hit 0 or another button to skip the remaining automated menu to get to a person. Once I get there, I should have a confident person waiting on the other line. One of the biggest problem many companies face is that they don't consider customer service as an extension of their product. So instead they try to get the cheapest people possible to do that job and it tends to show. This is why companies like American Express are the leaders in their area. They go out of their way to provide great service.
On the topic of English and Spanish menus, you can't blame the immigrants for the button, blame the companies. In the US and many other capitalist countries, things aren't done unless there is a FINANCIAL reason to do them. If you live in California or any other farming state you know that the Hispanic population is the largest growing population. Well, companies want to get their money. And in order for them to get their money, they need to cater to them, such as speak their native language. If you don't think this happens in other countries, then you haven't traveled much. Japan for example has English all over the place because they know it will help cater to the US, British, Canadian, and Australian visitors. Look at China, they are going through a whole program to better the English signs in preparation for the Olympics. Even Mexico has English all over the place.
Just around my neighborhood I could take you to one bank that has signs in English and Chinese. Down the street there's store that all tags are in English and Korean. Next to that is a deli that has their sign in English and Hindi. These are all within a mile of each other. Why? Because they know it will help attract customers.
Heck, if I could find a way to have Sly Bald Guys translated into Spanish, German, Chinese, and other languages, I would! Luckily there's sites out there that do that for the person coming to Sly Bald Guys. I know, because my stats show that there are several people per day from around the world that use them. -
#20 by Stu on 20 Oct, 2007 08:27
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Interesting information, Tyler. My big concern is when it starts to interfere with a person's ability to get a job... e.g. when it comes down to a very qualified person who speaks only English, and a less qualified person who also speaks Spanish (or another language depending on where you are) and having the Spanish speaking person hired. There is something wrong with that scenario, but I'm sure it happens all the time but never broadcast because it wouldn't be PC. I can go into my kids' school during the day and not hear a lick of English for the first 5 minutes. I don't have a problem with ESL (English as a second language), but when the parents don't learn it also, the kids never advance and are simply strung along year after year. Tyler, I have heard that in Cali, your state has a one-year immersion program. Is that true, and if so, does it work? I'm not trying to stir anything up, just expressing some of my observation/concerns. As Warhawk alluded to, we are not really a melting pot anymore. People used to come here for the opportunities to better themselves and were just glad to have the chance and adjusted to learning the language. Now we seem to be separating into little enclaves which leads to distrust and hatred... not the American way and not what made this country great.
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#21 by wpruitt on 20 Oct, 2007 11:50
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...I can go into my kids' school during the day and not hear a lick of English for the first 5 minutes. I don't have a problem with ESL (English as a second language), but when the parents don't learn it also, the kids never advance and are simply strung along year after year.... As Warhawk alluded to, we are not really a melting pot anymore. People used to come here for the opportunities to better themselves and were just glad to have the chance and adjusted to learning the language. Now we seem to be separating into little enclaves which leads to distrust and hatred...
In education, this has become quite a problem. We had kids last year who spoke English only in class. When they hung with their friends at school, or family, they spoke ONLY the native tongue, which in this case was Spanish. They did not practice English skills. Even when talking with friends in class, they spoke Spanish. This presents a double whammy: The teacher does NOT know what they are saying nor are they getting practice with English. The long and short is that they will never have good communication skills, which will hinder their educational opportunities. In the long run, employment will be limited since communication is a must. -
#22 by nomad on 20 Oct, 2007 14:50
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I do agree that its the big companies going for financial gain go with whats easy, but I do not agree completely with the notion that we can't blame the imigrants. I have worked around alot of imigrants and they don't want or care to learn our lanuage or to become part of this country other than to have things a bit better than they had it where ever they may have come from. I think there is a need to fix some of our imigration policies.
I also understand that in other countries they have adopted a bit of our lanuage, but that again is for their financial gain, they want to be in business with us, so they do what they can do. I don't think this is the same thing we are talking about with the imigrants coming into this country though. -
#23 by Tyler on 20 Oct, 2007 16:29
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First off, this topic was about the menu buttons when calling customer service, not about English as a second language. And I do think that it is 100% the companies' fault for this button. They saw a market and filled it. Plain and simple.
I don't think you should lump everyone in when you say "They don't practice English skills" or "They don't want to learn English" because that's absolutely false in 100% of the people that I know that have immigrated to the US, both Spanish speaking and other language speaking immigrants. I'm not saying there aren't people out there that are ignorant enough to think they can have a prosperous life without learning English living in America, but I think it's very few.
Language is the root of communication and people are going to communicate in the way that it's easiest to communicate a message. I didn't always think this way, but after spending time with my wife's family, I've realized that it's often easier for people to get a point across in their native language than it is to say it in English. One of the reasons is that English is a very inefficient language, especially compared to Spanish and other Latin based languages. This doesn't mean that they don't want to learn English or want to speak it when they feel right. And it does NOT mean that they will have bad communication skills. Now, if they don't practice on their own with other kids that speak English, then that's a different story. Oh, and that kid that knows both Spanish and English is going to get your teaching job in the future because they will be able to communicate more effectively to both groups of students and help those Spanish speaking kids learn English much better while still being able to do a great job at teaching English. How do I know this? Because I have 3 friends who all are teachers now that are fluent in both English and Spanish and whose first language was Spanish and I'm sure they beat out 3 candidates that only spoke English.
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#24 by nomad on 20 Oct, 2007 17:42
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I knew where this topic could go in a hurry and it did. With this topic there is alot of things tied into our call centers that bring alot of feelings out of most people. I think this topic needs to be locked out because it has become a battle that I don't want to be a part of anymore on this site. This could go way to far if it continues, I would much rather agree to disagree, than for this to get ugly, this subject goes way deep for some people and this a political battle for the CNN site not here. I'm here for fun, I know I added to the argument and for that I'm sorry. I do love a good debate but this is not the place. When its done in type people can read more into whats being written than is needed.
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#25 by -Doug- on 20 Oct, 2007 17:55
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Since I was the first one to reply on this thread AND posted in the comment about someone not having a good grasp on the English language, I feel somewhat responsible for the direction this thread went in. For that, I am truly sorry. I know that companies are in business to make money and do that in cost effective ways. I also know that the staff in the call centers are just trying to make a living to support their family. I did not mean to knock on either.
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#26 by warhawk on 20 Oct, 2007 18:18
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I feel somewhat responsible for the direction this thread went in. For that, I am truly sorry.
baldoug....hey brah....no need 2 apologize...that's the beauty of this site. we learn 2 respect one anothers viewpoints/opinions. i wouldn't sweat it at all. this is a sly fraternity. like a fraternity...we r like "family" in that we will disagree on many viewpoints. the main thing is that we have respect & brotherly love 4 one another.
WARHAWK
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#27 by JDog on 20 Oct, 2007 18:57
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I dont believe this thread needs to be closed or locked.
Everyone has posted valid opinions/viewpoints.
We cant agree 100% on everything! Makes for good conversation. -
#28 by nomad on 20 Oct, 2007 19:02
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Doug, I'm not blaming anybody, hell I'm just as much if not more to blame if thats the case. I just don't want things to get ugly. Like Warhawk said this is a Fraternity like site and we're not allways gonna agree on everything. I just thought before this got any of us mad at each other we needed to end it. Some people take a good debate to heart and I do it some times myself. Like I said no one is blaming anyone
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#29 by nomad on 20 Oct, 2007 19:05
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Maybe locking it down is a bit harsh, Just don't want anybody getting mad at anybody else.
Can't we just all get along