So I’m a white Caucasian female, but I am fluent in Mandarin Chinese and English. Now, looking at me, you wouldn’t know I can speak Mandarin, which is why I find it absolutely hysterical to mess with people when they come through my line speaking Chinese, and I understand every word they’re saying. My co-workers find it especially hysterical.
Okay, so the other day this Chinese couple came through my line, and I asked them (in English) all the questions about the bags and if they had their rewards cards, all of that fun stuff.
Anyway, I started ringing up their stuff, and the wife said to her husband, “Tell her not to bruise the bananas” in Chinese, and I didn’t say anything. The wife said, “Tell the stupid girl to go faster” in Mandarin. I smiled at her and pretended like I had no idea what she was saying.
She kept commenting on how my hair was like a boy’s (I have short hair; honestly, it’s not even that short) and how her grandfather would have gone faster than I was going, all of this in Chinese.
And then she said, “Make sure she doesn’t forget the water” in Chinese, and I replied in English, “I won’t forget the water”
And I watched with enjoyment as a look of sheer terror spread across her face as she realized I understood everything she had said before. She just stood there with her mouth open, and her husband said (in Chinese): “This is why you shouldn’t trash talk employees while they’re standing right in front of you.” And I replied (in English): “He’s right”.
They paid, the husband apologized, and they left. After they walked out the door, my manager, my coworker, and I were laughing so hard. Even though being a cashier sucks, it sometimes makes my day a little brighter when something like that happens.
