Retail worker pretends to not speak English to avoid bad-mannered customer: 'So I looked her [...] in the eye and said, "No hablo inglés"'

Author image for JR Atkinson
JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Jul 9, 2025 10:00 PM EDT

Everyone who has ever worked in a retail environment has tried to avoid a customer. Maybe it's someone who you knew was going to be a problem, so you snuck off to the supply closet for a second. Some days, you just can't be bothered to deal with unkind people. This is the terror of working in retail. You have no control over who is going to step into those doors, and it's on you to handle it, whoever they are. 

If you're good at your job, you have surefire ways to handle problematic customers. You've mastered the perfect balance of firmness and politeness it takes to put people in their place. But this takes a lot of energy out of you. You come home after a shift and feel like you need to shed your retail skin. Your smile drops, you crawl out of your bubbly, energetic self, and into your real one. 

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  • 01

    AITA for pretending not to speak English so I wouldn't have to help a tourist at work?

    I work at a retail store in a touristy area. I speak fluent English and Spanish. The other day, this very loud tourist comes in yelling, "HELLO? ANYONE SPEAK ENGLISH?" while waving her arms like she's calling livestock. I already had a long day, wasn't on the clock yet, and the way she was talking rubbed me the wrong way.
    via u/Past-Airport8377
  • 02
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  • That's why this worker had a clever way of shutting down a potentially problematic customer. They tapped into their jokester brain and pulled out the perfect solution, especially since they were technically off the clock. Read on to see what happened to this customer and what commenters thought about it. 

  • 03
    So I looked her de d in the eye and said, "No hablo inglés." She made a face and walked away. A coworker who overheard me laughed, but later said it was kinda messed up.
    via u/Past-Airport8377
  • 04
    I get that it was petty, but like... why do people think shouting makes them entitled to your energy? If she had just spoken like a normal person, I probably would've helped. So now I'm wondering: AITA for faking a language barrier to avoid dealing with someone annoying?
    via u/Past-Airport8377
  • 05

    Commenters came to their defense.

    MakalakaPeaka 14h ago NTA, • People can be exhausting, and you weren't on the clock.
    via u/MakalakaPeaka
  • 06
    • SugarSpunPsycho 14h ago NTA. I speak ONLY English and I would have pretended not to, too.
    via u/SugarSpunPsycho
  • 07
    Dj_Heteroclite 14h ago Nta you're off the clock. Had you done that on the clock that'd be a different story.
    via u/Dj_Heteroclite
  • 08
    gothfru 14h ago . NTA. As an American, I find people who don't learn the basics (Do you speak English? I do not speak X. Please. Thank you. I'm sorry.) super ride.
    via u/gothfru
  • 09
    Broken-Collagen · 10h ago . I live near a large US city, so I can say hello, thank you, and bathroom in 5 languages. Having the internet in my pocket means I could easily find out a basic phrase in a hundred more. Maybe not with perfect grammar, or ideal forms of address, but at least enough to show I'm trying. English-speakers who don't bother are a shame to us all.
    via u/Broken-Collagen
  • 10
    leezee2468 • 13h ago Nah, screw that. You're not clocked in, so who cares. Bad attitudes will get people nowhere. They should learn that.
    via u/leezee2468
  • 11
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    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 12
    redwarriorexz • 14h ago Are you paid extra for the extra language? Also, are you paid extra for working before you clock in? NTA no matter the answer to these questions. I definitely would do the same even if on the clock.
    via u/redwarriorexz
  • 13
    roborabbit_mama • 14h ago . NTA, she's already loudly announcing she's got an attitude, and you didn't want to take on that energy.
    via u/roborabbit_mama
  • 14
    foodfarmforage • 13h ago Not one bit. Not on the clock, and don't have to put up with others sh. Good on you for sticking up for yourself
    via u/foodfarmforage
  • 15
    • gfdoctor 13h ago NTA- unless it is a part of your job, and you had clocked in, you don't have to help
    via u/gfdoctor
  • 16
    Extension Climate... . 13h ago NTA. I'm Asian American and whenever someone comes up to me and the first words out of their mouth are "do you speak English?", I say "nope" and walk away.
    via u/Extension_Climate471
  • 17
    Jelalien 13h ago NTA, many people do this. If you go to an area you learn the local language, you don't expect them to form to your language. And if you do expect it, you get the 'sorry don't speak that' treatment.
    via u/Jelalien
  • 18
    Creative_Energy 533 13h ago NTA. It sounds like it wasn't even just her shouting, but her attitude, verdad? Just that she made a face, too. She probably passed up a lot of people that also really spoke english, but didn't want to help her either.
    via u/Creative_Energy533
  • 19
    4EVAH-NOLA • 12h ago My uncle is like this. He thinks talking louder makes people who don't speak English understand better. It's their country dude, at least try.
    via u/4EVAH-NOLA
  • 20
    knightsofgel • 12h ago Im a white american and live in Tokyo but sometimes I even pretend not to speak English when tourists start talking to me lol
    via u/knightsofgel
  • 21
    YourLocalMosquito • 8h ago NTA. I only speak English and I think even I would bust out a "no hablo ingles" for this wild specimen.
    via u/YourLocalMosquito
  • 22
    shan... • . 12h ago Edited 12h ago Definitely NTA and she shouldn't have yelled. Are you American? I will say I was surprised when I went to Miami and I went to a very big shop that looked like a chain store and none of the staff
    via u/shanghai-blonde
  • 23
    spoke English. I literally travelled from Asia and more people speak English than in a shop in the actual USA. It was honestly quite shocking. That said I'd never yell but I was surprised. If you're in Spain / LatAM then you're 100% NTA if you're in America you're NTA but I get her reaction a bit more.
    via u/shanghai-blonde
  • 24
    Coquito-D-Flan98 • 13h ago H I now you are not an AH. Besides you weren't on the clock. So since you were not on the clock that gives you the right to deny helping someone that rubbed you whatever way. Whether they spoke Spanish or English they do not deserve. your time if their actions if you don't desire. It's your personal time not company time.
    via u/Coquito-D-Flan98
  • 25
    LawyerDad1981 • 13h ago I sincerely hope you spoke to her without even a hint of a Spanish accent.
    via u/LawyerDad1981
  • 26
    Commercial_Panic9768 • 12h ago NTA. I learn how to ask 'sorry excuse me, do you speak english?' in the native language of said country and politely ask people for help. f that.
    via u/Commercial_Panic9768
  • 27
    Opening-Raccoon-2811 12h ago lol I learned how to say "sorry, I don't understand" in Russian only to say it to religious people trying to recruit me
    via u/Opening-Raccoon-2811
  • 28
    Potato2266 · 12h ago Only if she needed help for emergency medical situation eg her husband is having a heart attack and she needed help. Otherwise, nope, you're under no obligation to anything whatsoever.
    via u/Potato2266

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