[Tulane]

Well, I guess I am an idiot then...I think that is just about the dumbest business policy I have ever heard of...the idea is to attract as many customers as possible...not alienate them by banning their language...

I understand wanting to have employees speak a language that the customers speak, and that may be what is going on in the posted story...

But posting a sign where customers could read that Spanish is banned is downright bad business...in my humble opinion.

[chris1]

There should not even be the need for a sign. It is obvious that they verbally asked these people to cut the nonsense and they ignored it, then they put up the sign.

We are in America. Speak English, that is the language. Not Spanish.

I do collection work for small businesses. You have no idea how badly small businesses get screwed when they do business with people who don't speak English. I have gotten to the point where I tell my clients almost not to do business with these people or at least hire full time staff conversant in these languages. Its kind of insane when you consider that English is the language of business worldwide, but no in many of our cities where Spanglish is more and more common.

[Texas_Conservative2]

I fell uncomfortable anytime someone speaks another language around me.

I think as the boss I have the right to make rules which prohibit such things on my property.

If they want to leave the premises... they can speak whatever language they want.

[Right Brother]

If a company policy is not illegal, then it is the company's right to dictate whatever policy they wish. If you don't agree, quit. As with so much of our current society, the tail wags the dog. I'm fed up with employee 'rights'. The employee is supposed to do the employer's bidding, not the other way around.

[azhenfud]

So, would you be opposed to a business posting a message stating they sell only American made products?

English IS and will be the official language of the United States, if we wish to remain united. There'd be a lot more effort on the part of Hispanics to assimilate into American culture if there were much less accomodation.

[Atlas Sneezed]

Well, I guess I am an idiot then...I think that is just about the dumbest business policy I have ever heard of...the idea is to attract as many customers as possible...not alienate them by banning their language...

---

Perhaps you should start a haircut chain based on that assumption, and get rich on the errors of your competitors.

You can attract all the people looking for a cheap haircut in a third-world-sounding underclass workplace.

(To many people, when a Hispanic-looking person seems unable to speak English well, it is assumed that he is less intelligent, less responsible, less skilled, and less respecting of laws and social norms.)

[subterfuge]

"But posting a sign where customers could read that Spanish is banned is downright bad business...in my humble opinion."

This is America where PRIVATE business is supposed run however its owner wants it to.