Spanish is actually one of the easiest languages out there. Phonetical spelling, long words, redundant, no tricky pronunciation.
Plus, there are many dialects, so one can always claim to learn Spanish in Chile (that’s, if you are good at it) or Nicaragua (if you really cannot make it). Spanish people really appreciate, if you are trying, and are quite forgiving, if you mangle it. I have had great experience with my Spanish, love it!
But this is unbelievably horrible. I do not think those people appreciated it. No excuse could be found!
That's been my experience also. I had four years of Spanish in high school back in the late 70's, before it was called "immersive learning." Our Spanish teacher only spoke in Spanish from day one.
Many years later, I was stopped as I walked up Canal Street on the near South Side of Chicago by a Hispanic couple who asked for directions to the court house in Spanglish. I figured hey, they were trying to speak English, so I tried giving them directions in Spanish. The best I could do was the number of blocks to travel and which direction to turn. They were actually pretty close to the courthouse and just made a wrong turn.
I received big smiles, a very nice thank you and a thumbs up.
As I live in a townhome now and most of the landscape crew is Hispanic, we exchange pleasantries in Spanish and occasionally I get new words/phrases from them. The bonus here for me is my GF is half Hispanic and I get to try those new words & phrases on her. Occasionally she's impressed I still try. :-)