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For high-quality service, press 2 for Spanish (D.C.)
The Washington Times ^ | 11-01-07 | Tom Knott

Posted on 11/01/2007 11:31:54 AM PDT by JZelle

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty says the city has an obligation to provide "high-quality customer service" to illegal aliens, which undoubtedly comes as a shock to those legal residents who sometimes question the efficiency of customer service.

This is after you have pressed one for English instead of two for Spanish and entered the bureaucratic maze that leads to a plethora of disembodied voices before speaking to an actual living person who transfers you to yet another living being until, somewhere in the process, someone on the other end taps the wrong button and you lose your connection, which means you have to start all over again.

Or, you just shake your head and decide it is not worth the bother, which perhaps is the unstated purpose of the official merry-go-round.

Perhaps it does not go down this way if you are an illegal alien who speaks Spanish. Perhaps the illegal alien is helped immediately and comes away completely satisfied with the city. I have no way of knowing what is what, because I do not hang out with the illegal aliens at Home Depot on Rhode Island Avenue Northeast. I do not compete in their bladder-relief celebrations or take siestas under the front porches of nearby homes, which, of course, upsets some of the homeowners.

Few homeowners like having an illegal alien sleep under their front porch, regardless of how fatigued the illegal alien may be. It is just off-putting to have a strange man sleeping under your front porch, whether he is a legal or illegal resident or merely a drunk who has lost his way.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; US: District of Columbia
KEYWORDS: aliens; daylaborer; dc; fenty; illegalaliens; immigrantlist
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1 posted on 11/01/2007 11:31:55 AM PDT by JZelle
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To: JZelle

Adrian, you ignorant slut.


2 posted on 11/01/2007 11:32:49 AM PDT by fieldmarshaldj (~~~Jihad Fever -- Catch It !~~~ (Backup tag: "Live Fred or Die"))
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To: JZelle

Unbelievable head in the sand DC crap.

And the guy that invented the automated voice systems needs to be (can’t say or I’d be banned)


3 posted on 11/01/2007 11:34:25 AM PDT by RDTF ("Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear". Mark Twain)
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To: RDTF

Bullseye!


4 posted on 11/01/2007 11:39:57 AM PDT by theDentist (Qwerty ergo typo : I type, therefore I misspelll. <br> "What happens if neutrinos have mass?")
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To: JZelle
All these accomodations to illegals - driver's licenses, in-state tuition, etc. - appear to be based on the logic that 'they are here anyway, so why not make things less chaotic, and limit any harm done?" The same "logic" could be used, say, to give out condoms to pedophiles. "They exist anyway, so let's deal with the situation and minimize the harm!" But the rational mind would recoil at doing anything less than using all our power to stop pedophiles. When it comes to illegal immigration, though, America's leaders have no will.
5 posted on 11/01/2007 11:40:15 AM PDT by cvq3842
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To: JZelle
Pushing Number 2 is the Secret to an efficient life.

By pushing 2 your call will always get answered sooner and typically the operator does a better job than the operators that only speak English.

6 posted on 11/01/2007 11:45:15 AM PDT by trumandogz (Hunter Thompson 2008)
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To: trumandogz
I speak what is alleged to be fluent Spanish, at least nobody in Mexico has ever had any trouble understanding me. I've been tempted to push 2 to get through the automated morass faster but I flatly refuse to do it.

I get Spanish language telemarketing calls once in a while because my last name is of Iberian Jewish origin and looks Spanish. During the election campaign last year, I got a call from a Spanish language get-out-the-vote program. I told the caller I preferred to speak English if the subject was an American election. He responded that he did not speak English. I don't have to tell you which party this was.

7 posted on 11/01/2007 11:55:20 AM PDT by atomic conspiracy (Rousing the blog-rabble since 9-11-01)
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To: 1_Inch_Group; 2sheep; 2Trievers; 3AngelaD; 3pools; 3rdcanyon; 4Freedom; 4ourprogeny; 7.62 x 51mm; ..

ping


8 posted on 11/01/2007 12:01:29 PM PDT by gubamyster
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To: atomic conspiracy
OF the times I have pressed 2 I start off speaking in Spanish and if they can speak English I try to continue the conversation in that language.

For me it is just a little short cut through all the other crap. The secret is that these companies train there bilingual staffers to handle more problems. Thus, you never have to go through six levels of automated phone hell.

In other words, pressing 2 does not mean let me speak to your Spanish only employee but rather it means “let me speak to you most competent person right away and do not make me talk to that bonehead who does not know what they are doing.”

9 posted on 11/01/2007 12:07:21 PM PDT by trumandogz (Hunter Thompson 2008)
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To: trumandogz

Sounds like you’ve spent a lot of time on the phone with Comcast and Verizon.


10 posted on 11/01/2007 12:08:31 PM PDT by 3AngelaD (They screwed up their own countries so bad they had to leave, and now they're here screwing up ours)
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To: cvq3842
All these accomodations to illegals..

I see it as an accommodation to bilingual Americans.

11 posted on 11/01/2007 12:09:34 PM PDT by trumandogz (Hunter Thompson 2008)
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To: 3AngelaD

No, for the most part utility companies in regards to property that I own or manage.

Trust Me.

Pressing 2 will make life much easier.


12 posted on 11/01/2007 12:11:31 PM PDT by trumandogz (Hunter Thompson 2008)
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To: atomic conspiracy

Perez


13 posted on 11/01/2007 12:12:15 PM PDT by dennisw (Four and a half acres of sovereign U.S. territory,anytime,anywhere ---- US aircraft carrier)
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To: JZelle

I am actually on hold right now for the IRS. No request to press 1 for English, just an offer to press 2 in Spanish, otherwise you get English as the default language.


14 posted on 11/01/2007 12:16:42 PM PDT by texas_mrs
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To: trumandogz

Tell me about it. I speak Spanish and always oprimo numero dos. You get a real person, on the first ring, who can actually answer questions.


15 posted on 11/01/2007 12:24:03 PM PDT by 3AngelaD (They screwed up their own countries so bad they had to leave, and now they're here screwing up ours)
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To: atomic conspiracy

My fluent Spanish-speaking wife FORCES them to speak English first or sweat trying. She figures if she can do both, so can they.


16 posted on 11/01/2007 12:25:39 PM PDT by VeniVidiVici (No buy China!!)
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To: texas_mrs

Press 2 and you would be speaking to a human by now.


17 posted on 11/01/2007 12:25:44 PM PDT by trumandogz (Hunter Thompson 2008)
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To: 3AngelaD; trumandogz
Tell me about it. I speak Spanish and always oprimo numero dos. You get a real person, on the first ring, who can actually answer questions.

LOL!! You're calling his bluff. He's lying.

18 posted on 11/01/2007 12:27:14 PM PDT by VeniVidiVici (No buy China!!)
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To: VeniVidiVici

Who is lying?

And lying about what?


19 posted on 11/01/2007 12:33:51 PM PDT by trumandogz (Hunter Thompson 2008)
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To: trumandogz
I see it as an accommodation to bilingual Americans.

That makes no sense. A bilingual American wouldn't need a Spanish operator, by definition.

20 posted on 11/01/2007 1:16:54 PM PDT by thecabal
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