Ya' Know What Torques Me Off?

[Diggin It]

OK, lots of things do but .....


Pulling up to an ATM in my local small town and having to select "English" to use it. No one here speaks anything else that I know of. We don't even get many migrant workers here. Why not default to English with a menu to select other languages?

 

[mddorange]

Since you do not list in your profile where you are located, it is just a guess as to why they would do that.

All ATM's are programmed for the bank that owns them with what they want. It could be that more places where they have ATM's need another language first so that is how they set it up.

I know what you mean though as I have called some businesses and they ask you to select 1 or 2 to get English.

Probably won't be too much longer and Spanish will be the first language.

 

[Industrial Toys]

You should live in a country where everything by law has to have English and French writing. I have lived here for more then half a century and never met anyone that speaks french!

 

[Fuddy1952]

Everything here is in Spanish and English. Mexico...nada.
I had a year of Spanish in high school 50 years ago...we go to stores, anywhere in Mexico...I ask "?yo habla ingles?"..."muy poquito" is what they say.
The US makes concessions to foreigners, but not so when you cross the border.

 

[thepumpguysc]

WHY do they have BRAILLE at the "drive thru" ATM???

 

[Mendonsy]

WHY do they have BRAILLE at the "drive thru" ATM???

Probably because there are a lot of drivers on the road who drive like they were blind??

 

[4get gto]

WHY do they have BRAILLE at the "drive thru" ATM???

Always thought they were ice pick marks from trying to break open the machine...

 

[Jstpssng]

My grandmother got on a ship in Germany at the age of 14 to avoid a planned marriage. When she got here she learned the language. What really used to tick her off was when people wouldn't use the language of her adopted country. It must be a German thing... I was in a bar someplace in NY which was owned and operated by an older German couple who had immigrated from the Black Forest. Prominently displayed on the barroom wall was a plaque which read "Explain to me why I should press "1" for English."
I can understand why people want to remember their old culture; but if they move here they also need to either become part of this country, or go back where they came from.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

I can understand why people want to remember their old culture; but if they move here they also need to either become part of this country, or go back where they came from.

Exactly... and around here that would be New York and New Jersey...

 

[ruffdog]

After having some major hardships in life, having to press "english" is not something that comes close to getting me excited.

 

[Jstpssng]

Exactly... and around here that would be New York and New Jersey...

^^^^
That comment makes more sense than it may seem. I worked (briefly) with a woman years ago who had recently moved to the Maine town of Machias... she was always b@@@@ing that she wasn't accepted there, but her favorite joke was "We like to say that the natives have gone feral."

 

[Citydude]

After having some major hardships in life, having to press "english" is not something that comes close to getting me excited.

That puts things into perspective

 

[Industrial Toys]

Was on HOLD for half an hour with Honeywell Tech support for security products. Repeated messages of how there would be a survey at the end. Just for starters, how about FAST service? My God, these corporations must be run by morons!

 

[Jstpssng]

That puts things into perspective ��

Good point, a German immigrant wouldn't know what it's like to learn English.

 

[ultrarunner]

My grandmother got on a ship in Germany at the age of 14 to avoid a planned marriage. When she got here she learned the language. What really used to tick her off was when people wouldn't use the language of her adopted country. It must be a German thing... I was in a bar someplace in NY which was owned and operated by an older German couple who had immigrated from the Black Forest. Prominently displayed on the barroom wall was a plaque which read "Explain to me why I should press "1" for English."
I can understand why people want to remember their old culture; but if they move here they also need to either become part of this country, or go back where they came from.

I took High School German and was actually quite good at it.

When I applied to be an Oakland Police Officer there were score enhancements for conversational foreign language skill and being an Oakland Resident... fair enough.

When I tested... there were maybe 15 different languages one could select to boost your test score... NO GERMAN, NO FRENCH, NO DUTCH etc...

When I went in for my oral interview I was asked if I had any questions... and I said only two.

1. I need to make sure my application shows German as a second language... the panel looked amongst themselves and said German does not count for a second a language... I said you are kidding right??? the job announcement states preference for candidates with second language skills... I guess German speakers are law abiding or speak English well enough.

The Captain said in 30 years in the Department has there even been an occasion for German... so no step up...

Also, learned the residence bonus applies to ALL city jobs except Law Enforcement... they actually prefer Officers NOT live in the city... go figure.

 

[bunyip]

Prominently displayed on the barroom wall was a plaque which read "Explain to me why I should press "1" for English."
I can understand why people want to remember their old culture; but if they move here they also need to either become part of this country, or go back where they came from.

Many many years ago we took my grandmother on a day trip to France from England, on the way back she was stopped by customs asking her if she had anything to declare, she said no but they wanted to check her bag, she asked why and was told that all foreigners had to have their bags checked, she went right off and proudly pointed out that she was not a foreigner, they were.

 

[thepumpguysc]

My internet went out awhile back.. Luckily I still have a land line.. I called, "expected wait time> 23 MINUTES!!!"
I& during that 23 minute wait, they kept playing .. "You can also reach us by sending us an email at *******"..
Well u assclowns.. that's why I'm calling.. IF I COULD send u an email, I wouldn't be CALLING..
How stupid is THAT..??

 

[k0ua]

My internet went out awhile back.. Luckily I still have a land line.. I called, "expected wait time> 23 MINUTES!!!"
I& during that 23 minute wait, they kept playing .. "You can also reach us by sending us an email at *******"..
Well u assclowns.. that's why I'm calling.. IF I COULD send u an email, I wouldn't be CALLING..
How stupid is THAT..??

Well, you could have sent them an email from your smart phone. It it on a different network feed for internet than your home service.

 

[thepumpguysc]

Land line is sep. from internet.. cell service runs off a "booster" connected to internet.. no internet=no cell..
ya don't think I thought of that? {common sense}

 

[Jstpssng]

My internet went out awhile back.. Luckily I still have a land line.. I called, "expected wait time> 23 MINUTES!!!"
I& during that 23 minute wait, they kept playing .. "You can also reach us by sending us an email at *******"..
Well u assclowns.. that's why I'm calling.. IF I COULD send u an email, I wouldn't be CALLING..
How stupid is THAT..??

I get that from my landline/ISP provider... the last time that I called them I waited 1 1/2 hours before talking to somebody who told me to call back later. More recently they apparently changed the password for my email account through them... luckily nothing important goes through it because they still haven't answered the message I sent to them from my regular account. I sent that message sometime in May.
Come to think of it I have tried to contact them since both times noted above; I had a question about a credit for a $100 payment which I did not make.
After pressing 1 for English I was asked for my password... did I mention that they changed it and haven't bothered to notify me?
I just said to myself "thank you for the $100" and banked the money.