Don’t you think it’s rude?

hi bounce58 I also think its very rude to speak in a foreign language to someone when they should have been waiting on you. it is normal to think they might have been laughing at you. I feel the same way here when two of the caretakers do something for me then start chatting away in Spanish and laughing as I wonder whats so damned funny and why not speak in English if you have nothing to hide. Speaking in another language that you cannot understand really does make you think the others are t alkin about you otherwise why not use English?

So you suddenly feel conscious and check on your face and how you look like huh... Yeah that is rude bounce58. A bad customer service... I mean she cannot speak and understand emglish then she has the guts of not paying attention on you. And why would she talk to somebody else while taking your orders in the first place... It is not only that she cant talk english... she doesn't know anything about "good customer service" too... I would feel the same bounce58! I hope you still enjoy your food despite of that...

yes, i definitely think so... i will feel offended as well if somebody is talking in another language with another person while serving me... plus laughing... totally unacceptable... i will definitely tell the manager to make sure that he/she knows about their behaviours and i might not want to go back to that restaurant again... take care and have a nice day...

I would definitely think and feel the same way. I agree that it's really unprofessional or just outright rude to be doing something personal while on a job, like talking to a fellow Chinese waitress while taking a customer's order, and to top it, they had to talk in a language which obviously the customer didn't understand and laughed out. I would have looked at her in a way she would noticed that I was offended, but I think it's not safe to be doing that in a restaurant to your waiter or waitress as I have seen things on T.V. that could happen when a waiter/waitress dislikes the customer. Well, I just hope this wouldn't happen frequently and any situation.

I find it rude as well. I also had a similar experience I was working at a bank and I am a teller. This man came in the line and starting speaking to me in spanish. I said to him sorry I don't speak spanish. He was mad at me and said he didn't speak a lot english and why don't I learn to speak spanish. I reponded to him why doesn't he learn how to speak English? Why do I have to learn to speak another language when I was born in this English speaking country. I have also had people speak in spanish, & chinese and I wanted to say that is very rude since I am sitting right here. I don't know if they were saying something about me or not but people coming to this country need to learn to speak English. It should be a requirement when they are coming here. Like I tell people if I was planning to move to France I would learn French so I could communicate and it is also respectful to the people living there. One more funny story for you about this subject. A long time ago one of my mom's co-workers had this to share. Her brother is a police officer and his wife is a Hispanic woman. He is a white blond hair blue-eyed man. He told her when they would arrest people they would be talking in spanish and saying to their friend act like you can't speak english. Her brother would wait until they got done talking and then start talking to them in spanish letting them know he understood everything they had just said. LOL! Very rude and sorry this happened to you. You are not alone.

This has occurred in our local Chinese restaruant also. I chalk it up to they are laughing at me becuase I have tried to ask for something that sounds nothing like what should of and I probably said a bad word or something. The other part of it may be that she does speak English but acts as if she doesn't so she was telling her co-worker not to slip up and speak in English becuase she was having fun with the pointing out pictures. Either way, I don't let those type things bother me, life is too short and as long as they are not hurting anyone I have broad shoulders and am glad I can amuse them for a while. LOL

If I am a non Chinese, I might find it rude too. But it is also possible that they have a non-chinese but mandarin speaking customer earlier, so they probably have a guessing game to guess whether you would be able to speak mandarin and one of them lost so they laugh? Or maybe you are very concentrate on what you are ordering that you didn't noticed that the other waitress has been teasing her. Maybe they were gossiping about the type of guys they like and you walked in? So far, i understand that the Chinese from China are usually loud in the way they talked, especially if they are from Beijing and they are with friends from the same home town. I used to see lots of them in back in school.

I hate it when people speak in a foreign language and you can not understand. I suppose if they are having a conversation and do not look suspicious it isnt too bad because they have every right to talk in their own language but when they are laughing, it is natural to feel a little umcomfortable and paranoid because they may be laughing at you.

I think it's rude in any language!

Hi, bounce58. Yes, I think that it was rude in a silly way. When I am around Mexicans they talk a lot and they are always laughing. I am wondering what are they laughing at. And, what are they actually saying. I don't like when others are communicating and I can't understand what they are saying. It does make me feel strange and out of place. The Chinese woman should have at least found a waitress that is fluent at speaking the English language. Your order should have been finished without being interrupted.

I do find this rude. If that was to happen to me I would feel uncomfortable at the location and it would make my experience their awkward. A lot of times I over hear business folks speaking different languages. I am in Canada so there is a lot of french spoken along with every other language's. I find it awkward because you never know who they are talking about, or what it is. It drives me insane especially when they are right near you or dealing with you. If it is in the distant background I don't mind so much as they maybe speaking to another costumer that does not speak English. But if it is in 3 feet range, then it seems awkward. I used to try and catch a word or to and research it later, or kind of ask anyone if they over heard what that was and see if I can figure out what they were talking about. I know I only speak fluent English. I know about 50-100 words in french, but all other words are insane non understood on my behalf. It makes it hard to want to go back to a place after a incident like this.

Yes, I would feel the same. Ive meet alot of people who speak other languages that I do not. And I always wondered if they were talking about me. That was rude, since you were the customer. Dont feel bad though you shouldnt let them get to you, people can be such meanines though. I was at the grocery store the other day and the cashier was yelling at another employee , she didn't even finish my check out or hand me a reciept to tell me she was leaving. She just left to go get the other Employee. And I had to stand there and wait.

I'm not Chinese but I frequently go back and forth in public in Spanish....and YES I did it at work to. It usually has nothing to do with the person in the room, at least where I'm concerned. It's no different than an American waitress laughing and talking in English with one of her friends.

"When in Rome, be a Roman." People who don't speak English have no right doing business there. What she did was so 'unbusinesslike.' Be it at a party, at work or anywhere, speaking a foregin language in front of people who don't understand it, is awfully rude. It's a sign of poor breeding. In a restaurant, the waitress is supposed to focus on filling your order and providing excellent service. She can gab away with her friend when they get off work. I've been in your shoes countless times. I'd say, your experience was frustrating to the nth degree. In my case, I was around Hispanic people at work. I did my best to learn the language. Lo and behold, one day they were talking about me without mentioning my name. They had the shock of their lives when I told them off in an almost perfect Spanish. I bet you are resilient and can easily bounce back to your old merry self. Have a great day, bounce!