Taiwannical Behavior, Part 3
Me: “What do you call the Thailand nationality?”
Brother: “Taiwanese?”
Me: “That’s Taiwan.”
Brother: *cocky* “Where’s Taiwan, [My Name]?”
Me: “Not in Thailand, I can tell you that much.”
Cultural Stereotypes Are On The Menu
My family and I are visiting Europe and Armenia over summer, and while in Vienna, we stop for dinner at a tavern. The waiter brings us the German menu, which is about the size of a ruler, but folds out. The German shouldn’t be a problem since my sister and I both speak German, but since we both learned high German, the menu in Austrian German makes less sense.
We ask the waiter for an English menu, and he goes off to get one. He comes back a few seconds later with a huge menu, complete with pictures and descriptions. We all burst out laughing as the waiter walks off.
I guess they do think Americans are stupid.
Blame Canada! Part 7
(I work at a clothing store in Canada that’s fairly popular in the USA, too. We get a fair amount of American customers, as well. Each country has a different version of the website and different sales. One afternoon, two women approach me at the cash with their shopping and I quickly begin ringing them up.)
Customer #1: “Oh! Those jeans aren’t the right price.”
Me: “Oh, that’s no good. Did the sale sign in the section say something different?” *thinking it’s a signing error*
Customer #2: “No, no, it’s the website price that’s different.”
(She then pulls out her phone to show me the website. I can see from the web address that she’s looking at the American website.)
Me: “Miss, that’s the wrong website; also, we don’t price match to our web prices.”
Customer #1: “What do you mean? We’re at the [Store] website!”
Me: “Miss, you’re in Canada, and even if you were using the Canadian website, I still can’t price match the jeans to that price. If you want the jeans at that price, you’ll have to buy them in the States.”
Customer #2: “But we’re American! I want to pay the American prices with American money!”
Me: “Then, please, go back to the States and purchase the jeans there. While you’re in Canada, you have to pay the Canadian prices. I’m sorry.”
(They left in a huff and I thankfully didn’t see them for the rest of my shift.)
Germaniac, Part 7
At The Checkout, Cashier, Convenience Store, Geography, Ohio, USA, Wordplay |
Working
| March 4, 2018
(I am buying a bottle of a well-known brand of carbonated water, among other things. The cashier is probably in her 40s or 50s.)
Cashier: *as she’s ringing me up* “How is this different from regular water?”
Me: “It’s just carbonated water.”
Cashier: “Oh, okay. What flavor?”
Me: “No flavor, just water.”
Cashier: “So, it’s just water?”
Me: “Carbonated water. It was served a lot when I lived in Germany, and I really liked it.”
Cashier: “You lived in Germany? Wasn’t that hard?”
Me: “It was pretty fun, actually.”
Cashier: “But they didn’t speak English, did they?”
Me: “A lot of them did, but I also learned a lot of German over there.”
Cashier: “Oh, that sounds so hard. Whenever I hear those languages on TV, it just sounds like noise. I don’t know how anyone understands it.”
Me: *taking my receipt and slowly trying to detach myself from the conversation* “Well, the Germans manage.”
Related:
Germaniac, Part 6
Germaniac, Part 5
Germaniac, Part 4
In A State Of Confusion, Part 5
(I work in a hotel that is situated in a city that has the same name as another state. I get phone calls like this on a regular basis despite the fact that our website clearly displays the full location on our website and in our hotel’s name. Also, we don’t have an area code at all, like those from the other state.)
Me: “Hello! This is [My Name] at [Hotel] in Indiana. How may I help you?”
Caller: “Yes. Hello. I was wondering where in Indiana you were located.”
Me: “No problem. We are located on [Street] right off of the highway, and in the same area as [Store].”
Caller: “No, no. I meant what city in Indiana are you located in.”
Me: “We are actually located in the city of Indiana within the state of Pennsylvania. We are about 350 miles from the border of the state of Indiana.”
Caller: “But you’re website says you are located in Indiana.”
Me: “Yes. That is the city and not the state.”
Caller: “But I want a [Hotel] in Indiana.”
Me: “Then I suggest you look at our websites for hotels in the correct state. Have a good day, sir!”