Service Staff Who Can Only Speak Chinese

• av98m

  1 Dec 08, 15:43

  Originally posted by charlize:

  Let us all resign ourselves to where the country is headed to.

   

   

  
  haiz

• charlize

  1 Dec 08, 15:46

  Originally posted by miNty`:

  as I mentioned in the others posts "we are TIONG-GAH-PORES" soon..

   

  that day I went to this coffeeshop & was served by a TIONG auntie..i told her : "Auntie, i want BANDUNG"..

   

  she stared @ me with bewildered eyes & repeated aft me "bandung?"

   

  =.=''' it was only when i said " 玫瑰露" then she understands me =.='''

   

  Btw, when did Gah-Men change direction for the 1st language used in S'pore to be from English to Chinese? *fold arms & roll eyes*

  I didn't know bandung was called mei gui lu in mandarin.

• theyj

  1 Dec 08, 15:51

  hiazzz alot of people living in the west thinks singapore is a part of china sad..

• Ed11790

  1 Dec 08, 15:53

  u should just learn the basics of chinese......like saying hi and bye...thats all u need to know to act mandarin....lol
• Ms.shells

  1 Dec 08, 16:02

  Originally posted by noahnoah:

   

  i only know

  they like to charged more

  leh

  happened once or twice in cafe cartel

  at cityhall one

  Erhh why lydat? So unfair leh =_=

• Herzog_Zwei

  1 Dec 08, 16:04

  Originally posted by Ms.shells:

  Erhh why lydat? So unfair leh =_=

  
  Always the same old same old.

• Ms.shells

  1 Dec 08, 16:07

  Originally posted by Kuali Baba:

  It's a bumpkin's view of the world. Not all oriental-looking people learn mandarin - what about those born in North America, Australia, Britain and Indonesia? They ought to have it knocked into their heads.

  Some people will get their wish though when Western expats, tourists and investors get pissed off and leave.

  Again, It's so unfair.. I also can not speak mandarin frequently, but i know some basic words lar. It's very useful when we go out buy food heh ^_^"

• rainee

  1 Dec 08, 16:12

  Originally posted by dragg:

  generally, isnt it a shame that a chinese cant speak chinese or arent interested in conversing in chinese?  the same goes for a malay or indian who cant speak their own language (never met one until today.  but plenty in the case of chinese)

  i know a lot of people defended this situation by saying all singaporeans study and speak english because of survival.

  but the unfortunate thing is a lot of local chinese arent interested in learning chinese or are not interested in conversing in chinese.

  why?  because the english language is more 'high class'?  i cant help but believe that many chinese actually think or feel that way.

  its the fault of our educational system that local chinese can hardly speak the chinese language and dialects.

  i think it is only 'normal' for a mainland chinese to want to converse in chinese with a fellow chinese, regardless of nationality.

   

  I think it is very inconsiderate for them to expect everyone to speak Mandarin to them. This is not China, you can't expect everyone to speak Chinese here because there are so many different races and not all of them are fluent in Mandarin to begin with, heck, it is not even their mother tongue!

  Plus if we don't know Mandarin doesn't mean we do not know other dialects. We speak English not because we think it is high class, it is because it is an universal language which can be understood by most people here, except for those who are unwilling to learn and expect everyone to speak the only language that they know.

• Ms.shells

  1 Dec 08, 16:14

  Originally posted by cathykitty:

  nowadays, the average coffee shop also have chinese helpers.

  yesterday experienced a chinese lady helper at a kopi tiam who also didn't understand orders in english.

  this customer asked for 7-Up, but the woman had no idea what it was. so the customer got fed up and ordered Coke Lite, but end up he was given Coke. :/

  but at least the helper in this case was quite apologetic. after tt, when an indian guy asked for chinese tea and she din understand, she asked another customer to help her translate.

  Ya lor.. It also happened to me one time. I ordered Sugar Cane. Then this china lady didn't get what kind of drink it is. So my bf finally told her sugar cane in mandarin. Finally she got it. I mean, she's working in drink stall but she couldn't even understand what sugar cane is.. =_="

• rainee

  1 Dec 08, 16:15

  Originally posted by Ms.shells:

  Ya lor.. It also happened to me one time. I ordered Sugar Cane. Then this china lady didn't get what kind of drink it is. So my bf finally told her sugar cane in mandarin. Finally she got it. I mean, she's working in drink stall but she couldn't even understand what sugar cane is.. =_="

  Some don't even understand what is "water", let alone "sugar cane"...

• Ms.shells

  1 Dec 08, 16:19

  Originally posted by rainee:

  Some don't even understand what is "water", let alone "sugar cane"...

  LOL!!!

• Ms.shells

  1 Dec 08, 16:20

  Originally posted by rainee:

  I am not against employers hiring them...but should at least teach them how to speak basic English if they want to broaden their customer base. If the waiter/waitresses only want to speak in Mandarin then they are limiting their customers to just Chinese.

  Very true indeed :D

• rainee

  1 Dec 08, 16:22

  Interesting articles about the Chinese and English language.

  Studying Chinese will help racial integration

  English Can Be The Bridge Between Races

   

  Seriously, I don't see how Chinese can unite the races. It is just plain unfair to expect all the other races in Singapore to learn Chinese when it is not even the national language here.

   

• dragg

  1 Dec 08, 16:26

  Originally posted by rainee:

  I think it is very inconsiderate for them to expect everyone to speak Mandarin to them. This is not China, you can't expect everyone to speak Chinese here because there are so many different races and not all of them are fluent in Mandarin to begin with, heck, it is not even their mother tongue!

  Plus if we don't know Mandarin doesn't mean we do not know other dialects. We speak English not because we think it is high class, it is because it is an universal language which can be understood by most people here, except for those who are unwilling to learn and expect everyone to speak the only language that they know.

  of course if and when they serve a non-chinese it is only fair they speak the common language, which in this case is english.

  but when they serve a chinese it is not 'abnormal/wrong' in any sense to assume that the other party can speak chinese.

  i did not mean to say that you are like what i mentioned.  i am just writing in the general sense.

   

• rainee

  1 Dec 08, 16:31

  Originally posted by dragg:

  of course if and when they serve a non-chinese it is only fair they speak the common language, which in this case is english.

  but when they serve a chinese it is not 'abnormal/wrong' in any sense to assume that the other party can speak chinese.

  i did not mean to say that you are like what i mentioned.  i am just writing in the general sense.

   

  Some chinese are not born in China or country which has a lot of Chinese-speaking people so can't assume that they are fluent in Chinese either.

  Yes, of course they should make an effort to learn but I am talking about those in service industry who take for granted that everyone knows how to speak Chinese and make no effort to learn English so that they can communicate better with the customers.

  If they expect us to speak in Chinese, why can't we expect them to be able to speak in English as well?

  It is more of an attitude problem, of taking for granted that everyone here must adhere and give in to them until they are now complacent and even dare to be sarcastic to customers who are unable to speak fluently in Mandarin.

• charlize

  1 Dec 08, 16:34

  The sales person is always right.

   

  Not the customer.

• dragg

  1 Dec 08, 16:34

  Originally posted by rainee:

  Some chinese are not born in China or country which has a lot of Chinese-speaking people so can't assume that they are fluent in Chinese either.

  Yes, of course they should make an effort to learn but I am talking about those in service industry who take for granted that everyone knows how to speak Chinese and make no effort to learn English so that they can communicate better with the customers.

  If they expect us to speak in Chinese, why can't we expect them to be able to speak in English as well?

  It is more of an attitude problem, of taking for granted that everyone here must adhere and give in to them until they are now complacent and even dare to be sarcastic to customers who are unable to speak fluently in Mandarin.

  if i meet someone like that i shall boycott that shop.

   

• miNty`

  1 Dec 08, 16:38

  Originally posted by charlize:

  I didn't know bandung was called mei gui lu in mandarin.

  
  now u know liao =x

   

  sekali next time i tell auntie.."i want barley"..

   

  tiong auntie stared back in bewildered eyes again..lols..

   

  chinese version for barley is called dunno wat ç±³ =.='''

• av98m

  1 Dec 08, 16:40

  Originally posted by miNty`:

  
  now u know liao =x

   

  sekali next time i tell auntie.."i want barley"..

   

  tiong auntie stared back in bewildered eyes again..lols..

   

  chinese version for barley is called dunno wat ç±³ =.='''

  
  yu mi

• miNty`

  1 Dec 08, 16:41

  Originally posted by theyj:

  hiazzz alot of people living in the west thinks singapore is a part of china sad..

  
  lol..i've used to know someone from Canada..when we self intro over facebook..i intro myself as from "Singapore"..he replied asking "oh..singapore..is it one of the towns in China?"

   

  i nearly faint right on the spot.. =.='''

• 93'guy

  1 Dec 08, 16:42

  i agree with you guys here . get those bloody china workers to learn english !

  this is OUR country , why should we change for THEM ?

  they learn english = problem solved isnt it ?

  

• miNty`

  1 Dec 08, 16:42

  Originally posted by av98m:

  
  yu mi

  
  my colleague said is "Yi Mi" O.O

• mistyblue

  1 Dec 08, 16:44

  Originally posted by miNty`:

  
  now u know liao =x

   

  sekali next time i tell auntie.."i want barley"..

   

  tiong auntie stared back in bewildered eyes again..lols..

   

  chinese version for barley is called dunno wat ç±³ =.='''

   

  Sometimes the PRC chinese has a different name for the same thing. So even if we speak local Chinese to these Ah Tiong. its not good enough. Its not the Chinese the Ah Tiong understand.

• miNty`

  1 Dec 08, 16:46

  Originally posted by rainee:

  Interesting articles about the Chinese and English language.

  Studying Chinese will help racial integration

  English Can Be The Bridge Between Races

   

  Seriously, I don't see how Chinese can unite the races. It is just plain unfair to expect all the other races in Singapore to learn Chinese when it is not even the national language here.

   

  
  Chinese language can't unite the races..is just to "por" Cheena ppl mah..It is not the 1st time that our Gah-Men expressed their views on how financially strong or what a big market China is..Last time is "por" Western Head..nw is "por" China head..but sad to say lah..SG is simply too small to standalone..can only take sides & depends on the protection of the "Stronger" countries..

   

  *singing away : "we're TIONG-GAH-pores..we're TIONG-GAH-pores..we're a nation strong & free for blah blah blah"

• av98m

  1 Dec 08, 16:46

  Originally posted by miNty`:

  
  my colleague said is "Yi Mi" O.O

  
  oh yah , my bad.

  my hanyu pinyin sucks