Telemarketing--En Espanol, por favor

Published on June 17, 2006 By Gideon MacLeish In Current Events

I hate telemarketers. But yesterday marked a new era in telamarketing for me. Fortunately, my remedial abilities in conversational Spanish pulled me through.

I answered the phone and there was a bunch of shit I didn't understand. But I got the last part: "para informaccion, (something) nueve". OK. For information, press 9. We're good so far.

A live operator comes on the line, says something I don't understand. I answer: "No Comprende. No Hablo Espanol. Habla Ingles?"

After a pause: "No".

My next comment: "No telefono mas. Comprende?"

"Si!"

So, I add one more thing to the list of things I can do in Spanish. I can order a burrito, start a fight (most of the conversational Spanish I know I know from the mines), ask where the bathroom is, and tell of a telemarketer. I think I'm ready to move to Guadalajara.

Comments

Dr Guy

on Jun 17, 2006

We are definitely losing the battle to keep English as the main langauge when the Telemarketers are calling in Spanish!

Moderateman

on Jun 17, 2006

at this pace soon all signs will be in spanish with the attchement on the bottom say.

we speak english too.

bakerstreet

on Jun 17, 2006

"at this pace soon all signs will be in spanish with the attchement on the bottom say. we speak english too."

Lol, you and Dr. Guy crack me up. Thye're here for your women, too, you know. Circle the wagons and dress your daughters like boys. Making you speak Spanish is just the first step in their master plan to take over the world. What they really want is breeding rights.

...not.

Gid: could it be that your number was accidently picked up through some Spanish language something or other? I get telemarketers calling me every other day, and so far I've never had one in Spanish.

I have found that I was targetted through using my number, once, in online software registration, and therefore my offers seem to be connected usually with the same sort of stuff. I was also a smart alek and listed my job as CEO and my pay at the top amount, so I get TONS of offers in the mail for stuff they'd never waste their time with otherwise. I delight that they waste the postage on me.

Do your neighbors get the same there in Texas, or do you think they picked your number for some other reason?

Gideon MacLeish

on Jun 17, 2006

Do you neighbors get the same there in Texas, or do you think they picked your number for some other reason?

Hard to say. Mine's a cell phone, so they wouldn't find it through the standard directory, and the call came from the Miani-Dade County area based on the area code, so it isn't likely directly related to the campaign. I just got a good chuckle out of it, and hoped others would, too.

And I was quite proud of myself for dispatching the call without being terribly awkward, and without resorting to the ghetto slang I picked up in the mine.

Gideon MacLeish

on Jun 17, 2006

Maybe the phrase "la guerra para los Estados Unidos" should have tipped me off (just kidding...I'm sure that sentence is badly mangled anyway).

Moderateman

on Jun 17, 2006

#3 by BakerStreet
Sat, June 17, 2006 3:11 PM

at this pace soon all signs will be in Spanish with the attachment on the bottom say. we speak English too."

Lol, you and Dr. Guy crack me up. There here for your women, too, you know. Circle the wagons and dress your daughters like boys. Making you speak Spanish is just the first step in their master plan to take over the world. What they really want is breeding rights.

what have you been smoking recently? you are so off base you are starting to become a parody of "the self righteous man"

Again for the billionth time, My mom and dad came to America and learned English not for any other reason but to be able to communicate with the large majority. simple huh? I was brought up to believe as they did, you know the old when in Rome thing. There is NO REASON why an English speaking nation SHOULD BE FORCED TO learn another language.

Now if you want to learn all; the languages spoken In America, feel free to cater and learn away. I choose not to and it has nothing to do with me feeling superior.

And most importantly I am getting real tired of you riding my ass. Now would you stop it, before it escalates into something ugly? You seem to want to champion whatever suits your fancy and that is your right, but lay off me will you? You are starting to grate on my last nerve.

bakerstreet

on Jun 17, 2006

lol... should that really be so easy for me to do, Modman?

...sorry for the OT, Gid.

Gideon MacLeish

on Jun 18, 2006

No prob, Baker. I'm not saying a lot about my personal opinion because: 1) I've already stated it, and 2) This IS a very "hot button" issue, and if any event in this country could spark a civil war, this could well be the issue. I see validity to both points. And frankly, this incident was far too funny to actually piss me off!

But there's an interesting double standard here, Baker, that you have to recognize (and I'm sure you do). If I spoke only Spanish and the telemarketer failed to provide an interpreter, I probably wouldn't have to look hard to find a lawyer to sue the pants off the company for "discrimination", assuming the company was based in the USA. But when a telemarketer calls and is unable to provide an interpreter to speak the prevailing language of the country in which they were operating, even if it is not the official language, I'm just supposed to treat it as business as usual. Next time I deal with these Spanish telemarketers, I think I'll be less than cordial and dismiss them with another Spanish phrase I know:

"Chinga Te".

I'll leave it to y'all to get your own damn translators for that one.

Moderateman

on Jun 18, 2006

"Chinga Te".
Where I grew up, that was a common thing to hear, usually with tu madre, added.

Moderateman

on Jun 18, 2006

7 by BakerStreet
Sat, June 17, 2006 4:51 PM

should that really be so easy for me to do, Modman?

should it matter if it's easy or not? One would think for an evolved human being, just that fact you are hurting someone that has never disrespected you in any manner should be enough to WANT to stop.

bakerstreet

on Jun 19, 2006

One would think an evolved human being could be beyond being hurt by such. If I didn't think you were being disrespectful, I wouldn't chime in. When I see someone turn a trivial reality like language into some huge threat to America, it bothers me, partially because I am part of that threat, whether you openly state it or not.

The company that called Gid did so because they thought he was of value to their business, just like companies that put up billboards in Spanish. It isn't because they are forced by the law to advertise in a particular language, an idea that I find abhorant. That, in the end, is what people like yourself find most threatening. Suddenly people who come to America don't have to turn themselves into what you consider to be "American" to be of value.

"But when a telemarketer calls and is unable to provide an interpreter to speak the prevailing language of the country in which they were operating, even if it is not the official language, I'm just supposed to treat it as business as usual."

Ah, but that isn't how it works. I don't think there is any equal access laws regarding language in advertising, but if you were fired from your job because you couldn't understand your co-workers, it wouldn't matter what language was what. If you worked in a roofing company that hired 20 non-english speakers and yourself, you could sue the crap out of them if they fired you for that reason.

The fact is people just don't take advantage of the situation when it is the other way around. Kudos for them not doint it, in my opinion. We have far too many frivolous lawsuits as it is.

SanChonino

on Jun 19, 2006

"Chinga Te".
Where I grew up, that was a common thing to hear, usually with tu madre, added.

Shame on you both, and the same right back!

Gringos feos . . . ¡jodeos! (Try to translate that one, it's Spain spanish, kids, not that Mexican funstuff . . .)

AvantiTexan

on Jun 19, 2006

We've recently gotten telemarketing calls in Italian!

What is this world coming to...

Dr Guy

on Jun 19, 2006

Baker, try to read comments in context. Note the wink at the end. It was a humerous statement, and not meant to be taken literally. Sorry you did not catch the nuance.

Dr Guy

on Jun 19, 2006

"Chinga Te".
Where I grew up, that was a common thing to hear, usually with tu madre, added.

We hear it often as well. You know, Chincoteague Island (Misty of Chincoteague).

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