Dumbest waiter on earth

Dumbest waiter on earth (Full Version)

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Daddysredhead -> Dumbest waiter on earth (6/10/2008 5:26:35 PM)
Okay, so a co-worker and I went to lunch at a chinese food buffet. We sat down and the waiter came over to ask what we wanted to drink. Here's a play-by-play... Me: "I'll take a diet Coke." [sm=chug.gif] My friend: "I'll have the same thing." Waiter: (blank stare) [sm=dunno.gif] My friend: "I'll have the same thing." [sm=ugh.gif] Waiter: "Huh?" [sm=dunno.gif] Me: "She'll have the same as me." [sm=rant.gif] Waiter: "Sorry, we no hab dat." [sm=shame.gif] My friend: "Huh?" [sm=confused.gif] Waiter: "We no hab dat." [sm=shame.gif] Friend gives me dumb look [sm=wtf.gif] Me: "Yanno, forget the same thing, just give us two diet Cokes." [sm=rant.gif] Waiter: "Okay, I bring two diet Cokes." (walks away) [sm=buddies.gif] Friend: "What the hell?!" [sm=rantint.gif] Me: "Same Ting - is new brand, Joe. We no hab dat." [sm=help.gif] Friend and me: (hysterical laughter) [sm=oddballs.gif] For goodness sake..... how stupid can one person be? [sm=banghead.gif] [sm=blasted.gif] [sm=hair.gif] [sm=sm.gif] [sm=spanking.gif] [sm=stickineye.gif] [sm=anger.gif]

xxblushesxx -> RE: Dumbest waiter on earth (6/10/2008 5:32:27 PM)
I went to BurgerKing many years ago, and asked for a double hamburger with just pickles and onions. Guy said: We don't have double hamburgers. Me: You have double cheeseburgers. Guy: Yes. Me: Ok; [8\|] erm, give me a double cheeseburger with no cheese with just pickles and onions....

xxblushesxx -> RE: Dumbest waiter on earth (6/10/2008 5:39:27 PM)
HM wants me to tell the story of when one of His cats was scheduled to be euthenized. The cat died of natural causes a day before. He called the vet, and asked if He could bring the cat in to be creamated. The vet's assistant said "oh, you have an appointment to have him euthenized tomorrow. Do you still need that appointment?" He declined. (the cat was of course, already dead.) He told her "I'm a pathologist (among other things) the can't probably won't get any deader"

GreedyTop -> RE: Dumbest waiter on earth (6/10/2008 5:42:40 PM)
lol Christina

PrincessLil -> RE: Dumbest waiter on earth (6/10/2008 5:44:24 PM)
I know that this was supposed to be funny.. But it just comes across as kinda sad to me. This person is probably getting by at work on minimal english which is no small thing, really. I know that if I were expected to do my job surrounded by people speaking only cantonese I'd probably last about 5 minutes. But yeah, stupidity was demonstrated in this post..

servantheart -> RE: Dumbest waiter on earth (6/10/2008 5:49:16 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: xxblushesxx HM wants me to tell the story of when one of His cats was scheduled to be euthenized. The cat died of natural causes a day before. He called the vet, and asked if He could bring the cat in to be creamated. The vet's assistant said "oh, you have an appointment to have him euthenized tomorrow. Do you still need that appointment?" He declined. (the cat was of course, already dead.) He told her "I'm a pathologist (among other things) the can't probably won't get any deader" [sm=biggrin.gif]

Daddysredhead -> RE: Dumbest waiter on earth (6/10/2008 5:49:59 PM)
LOL, Christina!!!

MasterKalif -> RE: Dumbest waiter on earth (6/10/2008 5:50:13 PM)
I will say this about the dumb waiter...I am astounded that people work in the US and still don't even speak a word of English, yet I think of so many other foreigners who speak it and are dying to work in the US and they are not given the chance...makes me a little mad actually. In any case being a foreigner myself (and my English is not an issue) when I didn't speak the language, hand gestures and simple words went a long way...and "coke" and "diet coke" are one of those few universal words along with McDonald's and SONY that everyone knows, so no excuse for him not "getting it"..lol...sometimes people just want to do the bare minimum - perhaps its not too extravagant an idea to do like Sweden used to do back in the day, to fully educate new comers in the ways, culture, language and even get them a job.

Daddysredhead -> RE: Dumbest waiter on earth (6/10/2008 5:54:27 PM)
[sm=yeahright.gif] eta: this was directed at the "stupidity on this post" author above, not MK

faerytattoodgirl -> RE: Dumbest waiter on earth (6/10/2008 6:11:01 PM)
we no hab that.... hab=nhl hockey team... hmm.....

MasterKalif -> RE: Dumbest waiter on earth (6/10/2008 6:13:39 PM)
we no haaaab daaaaaaat heeeere, lol...[:D]

xxblushesxx -> RE: Dumbest waiter on earth (6/10/2008 6:18:27 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: PrincessLil I know that this was supposed to be funny.. But it just comes across as kinda sad to me. This person is probably getting by at work on minimal english which is no small thing, really. I know that if I were expected to do my job surrounded by people speaking only cantonese I'd probably last about 5 minutes. But yeah, stupidity was demonstrated in this post.. Nice. I got your insinuation btw... And to make it quite clear, this was someone whose first language was English.

sunshinemiss -> RE: Dumbest waiter on earth (6/10/2008 6:44:34 PM)
Hey everybody, Language... difficult.. I've lived in 2 countries where I didn't speak the language and visited many others. Thank goodness for picture menus. I'd starve otherwise. Please be nice to people who are learning English. It is hands down the MOST difficult language to learn because of all the exceptions and the accents (particularly difficult for Asian languages users)... And spoken English is, like all languages, very different from the written. I have been the "dumb" person in DRH's story many many times. And you know what? People are usually very kind to me. Only in the USA have I experienced snide remarks, rolling of eyes, and downright rudeness to people who are TRYING. It's intimidating trying to speak another language to a native speaker. Just the attempt can be nerve wracking. Every time you are nice to a non-native speaker, you are putting good karma in for people to be nice to me *blows kisses, besos, and bobo to you all... sunshine

sunshinemiss -> RE: Dumbest waiter on earth (6/10/2008 6:54:18 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Daddysredhead My friend: "I'll have the same thing." Waiter: (blank stare) [sm=dunno.gif] My friend: "I'll have the same thing." [sm=ugh.gif] ... Me: "Same Ting - is new brand, Joe. We no hab dat." [sm=help.gif] Friend and me: (hysterical laughter) [sm=oddballs.gif] For goodness sake..... how stupid can one person be? "same thing" That very thing has been said to me in other languages and I gave a blank stare too. Your waiter wasn't stupid. Your waiter didn't understand the concept of same = diet coke....in that instance And Masterkalif is right... coke, mcdonalds, LG, Sony, even KFC are well known throughout the world.... I have often gone into restaurants and looked at what others were eating and pointed to their food (very rudely) and tehn pointed to me... and gotten that thing... plus you'd be amazed what acting like a chicken does for you. cluck cluck

MrSpectacular -> RE: Dumbest waiter on earth (6/10/2008 7:11:07 PM)
I actually find it a little sad also - it judges someone - it does not attempt to seek any understanding of the waiter. One of the great sadnesses we have in this world is that we very quickly dismiss something that does not conform with 'our' understanding of what is 'normal' N

dcnovice -> RE: Dumbest waiter on earth (6/10/2008 7:19:04 PM)
I find myself remembering a time when a friend and I were lost in Rome. There was no one around to ask directions, and we could not find the street we were on (clearly labeled on a wall sign as they do in Rome) on our map. He looked. I looked. He looked again. I looked again. Still no luck. Finally, my friend (a French major) stared hard at the street sign. Then he looked at me sheepishly and said, "You know: I'm pretty sure it says "No Parking.'" Explains why we couldn't find it on the map!

dcnovice -> RE: Dumbest waiter on earth (6/10/2008 7:23:44 PM)
Another memory flash. Attempting to find the Via No Parking was not actually the worst linguistic snafu I've ever heard of. That honor goes to a high school friend who was visiting Paris armed with only a smattering of phrases. Unfortunately, he plucked the wrong phrase when attempting to ask a Parisian lady the time. Instead of saying "What time is it?" he wound up asking "How much?" Not a high point in Franco-American relations.

Daddysredhead -> RE: Dumbest waiter on earth (6/10/2008 7:26:58 PM)
~ FAST REPLY ~ Oh dear... please folks, let me explain for those of you who don't seem to understand me. le sigh [sm=ofcourse.gif] I am not being mean... I have lived overseas as well. I have been the "token white girl" more times than not. I have had natives giggle at my struggles and have not taken it as mean. I have giggled right along with them. Communication is difficult for some of us who speak the very same language, as is evidenced by many threads on this site. Misunderstandings happen. It was humorous because it just was... (at least to me, and I only speak for myself). My co-worker who went with me is also oriental, and she has "been there" too. It's just part of the language barrier. Language is funny. I also happen to think it was hysterical when a boy who went to France (during a high school trip) told the waiter that he was "full" but actually told him that he was pregnant. That waiter was in stitches, and once the boy realized his error, he thought it was funny (and embarassing), too. My ex-husband is from overseas and English is his second language, albeit, learned in tandem with his first. His pronunciation of things when he first moved here was very different than it is now, 18 years later. He's almost void of his native accent. It's part of the learning curve. I take things with a grain of salt. I've had a lot of salt, it's part of of life. For those of you who were insulted to your very soul... sorry. To MK, I completely agree with your post, and thank you for understanding the silliness in my original post. [sm=sigh.gif]

mcbride -> RE: Dumbest waiter on earth (6/10/2008 7:30:05 PM)
I'm not so astounded. Maybe the waiter has lived in the US for decades....but it's far, far more likely that he's brand new. In a few weeks, that waiter will know enough English to get by, if hostility from a few of the locals doesn't make him rethink the whole thing. Immigrants are risk-takers, for the most part. They jump on the chance to build a new life, even if they don't have a word of English, and they start at the bottom. That hasn't changed since all those millions of people landed at Ellis Island (or Partridge Island and Grosse-Ile in Canada) without a word of English. They learned the language, in time, and worked their asses off, and it turned out pretty well, for them and for the country. The owner who hired the waiter knows perfectly well that he has little English, and risked it because he can't find enough English speakers to work. Then again, maybe the waiter is just a bit thick.

sunshinemiss -> RE: Dumbest waiter on earth (6/10/2008 7:37:07 PM)
HEY DRH - I'm not mad at you or anything... really... i just teach this very issue in my English as a Foreign Language class. Sadly, I always warn my students about the USA... and they are shocked... but after travel they come back and say it happens. I know you are a kind and loveing soul... now look: lifts my skirt.. no panties twisted. ooops no panties at all.. sorry bout that covers up my hoo hoo fast fast *winks sunshine

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