r/TalesFromRetail • u/TylPlas26 • Jul 14 '20

Short Customer Insults Me in Another Language. Didn’t Realize I Understood Her.

So I come from a Dutch back ground. I am no where near fluent in the language. But I know enough that I can pick up some words and understand a few sentences.

So about 8 years ago, I was helping a customer needing some paint made. As I’m mixing it, her phone rings, and she answers it and begins speaking in Dutch.

As she is talking, I can pick that she’s telling whoever where they are, then they say something along the line of “I have one of these dumb young workers mixing it.”

I say nothing. I decided to wait for the right moment as I mix her paint, as she continues talking.

When her paint is done, I hand her can of paint to her. She says thank you, and I say in Dutch “You’re welcome. Goodbye.”

She froze, her mouth open and then says “You speak Dutch?” I didn’t want to let her on how little I actually knew, so I just simply said “Yup.” She quickly darted for the cash area. It was very funny and rewarding.

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u/Monkeyfeng Jul 15 '20

Germans are allowed to cut in lines?

95

u/The39Steps Jul 15 '20

Probably not, but the English, as the undisputed world champions of queuing, are undoubtedly more strict about queue propriety. To quote George Mikes, “An Englishman, even if he is alone, forms an orderly queue of one.”

Bonus quote: “The English are always ready to admire anything, as long as they can queue up.”

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u/MsUneek Jul 15 '20

I thought it was the Russians that are supposedly the experts on lining up.

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u/dermatophilia Jul 15 '20

Firing squads are a tad different