Speaking polish to polish customers

LilElvis

Murphybear wrote: »

I went to Zermatt a few years ago. I went into a shop and addressed them in my very best (but oh so rusty) schoolgirl German:D. They responded in excellent English :rotfl:

My sister's BIL came back to the UK last year after a decade living and working in Switzerland and still isn't even at schoolboy level German. Some countries you really can get away with never learning a word of the language, though that doesn't mean that you shouldn't make the effort, particularly if it's going to be your long term home.

Les79

MacMickster wrote: »

If there are a large number of Polish expats who use this shop then, with the owners attitude, there is a clear opportunity for the OP's friend to set up their own salon in competition with the current business.

Assuming the "If" statement is true.

The shop could also have a large number of customers who don't speak a lick of Polish. In that situation, promoting the use of Polish could cause the non Polish customers to be a bit uncomfortable. They may feel like they are being neglected, or they may feel out of place.

JReacher1

Les79 wrote: »

Assuming the "If" statement is true.

The shop could also have a large number of customers who don't speak a lick of Polish. In that situation, promoting the use of Polish could cause the non Polish customers to be a bit uncomfortable. They may feel like they are being neglected, or they may feel out of place.

Exactly.

At the end of the day people can post as many fake scenarios they like but the business owner has requested that only English is spoken in front of the customers. It is perfectly legal for the owner to insist on this.

xapprenticex

elsien wrote: »

How do you know they were blatantly taking the !!!! if you couldn't understand what they were saying?

Various reasons but the only reason worth sharing is being told later.

Tabbytabitha

Les79 wrote: »

Assuming the "If" statement is true.

The shop could also have a large number of customers who don't speak a lick of Polish. In that situation, promoting the use of Polish could cause the non Polish customers to be a bit uncomfortable. They may feel like they are being neglected, or they may feel out of place.

Why would you feel uncomfortable about a different language being spoken around you?

I think the owner's missing a trick if s/he has lots of Polish customers and a Polish speaking stylist - sounds like good business,

Les79

Tabbytabitha wrote: »

Why would you feel uncomfortable about a different language being spoken around you?

I think the owner's missing a trick if s/he has lots of Polish customers and a Polish speaking stylist - sounds like good business,

*sigh*

I'll simply copy and paste my previous comment to address yours:

"Assuming the "If" statement is true."

GothicStirling

I think you're Boss is nuts. If you have a large Polish community living nearby, and an employee who can attract custom because she speaks the language, he should see it as a business opprtunity.

If Brits are so insecure about other people displaying their own cultural identity in earshot, then that's their problem, not the Poles. Because I'm sure when these people go on holiday abroad, they always converse with the locals in the local language don't they?

When I worked in hotels, we employed a number of Polish waitresses. It didn't bother me in the slightest that they talked to each other in Polish. I have fond memories of working with them.

trailingspouse

How different from a small town in the Republic of Ireland that, for reasons that are too complex to go into here, ended up with a large influx of Brazilian people. Did they object to people speaking their mother tongue? No. In fact the lady who ran the Post Office bought a large English/Portuguese dictionary, so that she could communicate with all her new customers.

The annual St Patrick's Day parade got a Brazilian twist, which drew in visitors from all around the area, which boosted trade within the town... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gort

This is what inclusivity looks like.

So I think your friend's boss is an idiot. And racist. And short-sighted. How does he cope when he goes abroad on holiday? Does he really think everyone has nothing better to do than talk about him??

Funny how English people are so quick to bleat 'They should learn English', yet can't even be !!!!!d to learn please and thank you in someone else's language.

xapprenticex

trailingspouse wrote: »

So I think your friend's boss is an idiot. And racist. ...

I think you dont know what a racist is.

Savvy_Sue

Murphybear wrote: »

Am I the only one that thinks it is very sad that she should have been told to stop speaking Polish

Nope. And I think the owner is potentially missing a trick, although I can see that some other customers might be uncomfortable.

JReacher1 wrote: »

It is basic commercial common sense. If you run a business in a country and the staff and some customers are speaking a different language it puts other customers off from visiting the establishment. People don’t like to be in places where other people are speaking a different language, they accept it in other countries but nobody likes to feel an outsider in their own country.

It MIGHT put other people off. As long as someone will speak to me in English, I don't mind visiting establishments where the staff / other customers may be speaking in other languages. There's an excellent Greek restaurant nearby where I believe all the staff are native Greek speakers. I imagine any Greeks now resident here would probably want to frequent there. Same with Italian, Indian and Chinese restaurants.

The boss has ruled. Best bet is to politely explain to customers that boss has requested this. Maybe ask the boss if he'd like a piece of paper prepared in different languages to explain that the staff have been instructed to speak English only. See how many people stop coming ...