Autopilot Transcends Language

I work in a popular drive-in-type fast food joint where people bring the food to the car. There is also a drive-thru. The manager answers on the headset to take an order from a stall.

Manager: “Thanks for choosing [Store] in [Location]. What can I get for you?”

She listens for a bit.

Manager: “No habla Spanish. English. Hang on.”

There aren’t any Spanish-speaking employees up front and there are two coworkers in the kitchen. [Coworker #1] is white while [Coworker #2] is Mexican and speaks Spanish.

Manager: *To [Coworker #1]* “Hey, do you speak Spanish?”

Coworker #1: “Uh, no.”

Coworker #2: “Obviously, I do. Want me to help?”

Manager: “Oh! Duh. Yes, please.”

[Coworker #2] takes the order and translates for the manager. Once the food is done, one of the front coworkers goes outside to the stall and comes back with the food, claiming the stall is empty. Not long after that, the customer appears at the drive-thru window asking about their order. Everyone questions why they’d back out of the stall and go through the drive-thru but no one has an explanation.

Hours later, [Coworker #2] speaks up.

Coworker #2: “Oh! I know why they went to the drive-thru! I told them to pull forward to the first window.”

It just goes to show that miscommunication comes in all languages.