Are they being unreasonable? Banned from local KFC today

[GraciousLife]

Popped into my local KFC today. Due to the area I live in, they have screens up between customer and cashier (like in post offices and banks), which makes it hard to hear what is being said. I didn't understand what the girl asked me, and, as I often say when I don't understand what someone has said, I jokingly said "Can I have that in English please", without thinking/realising/noticing the cashier was from another country (english being her second language).

The cashier got very upset. More upset than I would have thought is necessary, and refused to continue to serve me. I was shocked. She got her manager and told her what I had said. To cut a very long story short, I have been banned from the store.

It wasn't racist. It was rude. If I was in another country and attempted to speak the language of that country, and people laughed or asked me to try again, I wouldn't feel racially discriminated against but I would feel hurt and offended.

"More upset than I would have thought is necessary"

Well, maybe you're not on the receiving end of stupid remarks all day.

Kids Fattening Centre

I have to say that I am seriously impressed at wahwahwah's beanie fatwa - that's going to take some beating.

op how did you know the woman had been in the UK for 15 years? Poland only joined the EU in 2004 so she wouldn't have had EU working rights before that date. What was she doing here before then? Was she a child? Surely if that was the case then she'd speak English like a native speaker (my mother moved to the UK when she was 20 and speaks English with no trace of an accent)

I think you made the whole thing up...

good point headfairy

Mmm, seems a little odd to me. How does OP know all of this about the Polish KFC woman?
But, regardless OP it was rude and offensive

Which isexactly what I said approximately 8 hours ago.

Sorry Jane I was being far too lazy to read through the whole thread :o

No worries, I gave up about the same time I posted

I scrolled through the pages and pages of s to get to the OPs only other response, at which point I was prompted to add my own

Yes but Rhubarbo - a Glaswegian or a scouser will still have as unlimited command of the English language as I do - as its their first language as it is mine - to be able to go off script a bit if its a complicated situation - not just a standard quick query such as 'what is my balance please?'.

I was through to my banks call centre earlier this year - Indian call centre - and dont get me wrong - their command of English is much better than my Punjabi or Urdu or whatever - and l think its impressive how well they speak it - but it is still in many cases very limited and basically l was on the phone for nearly an hour - ended up nearly in tears (of frustration) - they couldnt understand me unless l repeated it three times and very slowly and in many cases l had to re-word things completely and l couldnt understand them. I'd had some suspicious transactions going out of my account for quite a lot of money and I was alerted by several bank charges incurred - it was sorted in the end but the language difference made it even more of a nightmare. They obviously had a script but anything outside that we really struggled with each other.

I know how they get the big buckets through the glass panal. But I am not telling.

We have the glass panals on our nearest KFC, but this is downtown Manchester.

Ah come on, agedknees. Spill the beans.