DELAWARE VOICE

It's just business in any language


by HOWARD M. BERLIN

12/19/2007

I write a column for a magazine and often travel to Europe. So I'm amused by the running battle between Philadelphia cheesesteak sandwich entrepreneur Joseph Vento, who owns Geno's, and the city Commission on Human Relations. Vento, who parlayed $6 in 1966 into a multi-million-dollar business selling Philly cheesesteaks, has a sign saying, "This is America. When ordering speak English."

Apparently Hispanics in the neighborhood feel they have been dissed and singled out. The battle lines have been drawn in Philadelphia, whose name in Greek means "city of brotherly love." Yeah, right.

Joseph Vento, owner of Geno's Steaks in Philadelphia, was called before the city's Commission on Human Relations after he posted signs asking patrons to speak English when ordering food. AP

Vento complains, "If you can't tell me what you want, I can't serve you."

I'm currently in Munich, Germany. If the restaurants here were owned by people like Vento, then I had better be able to speak German or I might not be able to eat. Fortunately, I do speak German well enough to carry on a conversation with the locals.

But even if I didn't, most of the people employed by the hospitality industry throughout Europe speak English -- often one or two languages besides their native tongue.

When in Italy last month, I spoke a little Italian with appropriate gestures when asking for directions and in restaurants to order food. I'm not fluent in Italian by a long shot. I probably mangle the language, but people appreciate my small effort to learn when in their country. I could have easily accomplished everything in English most times, but I wanted to try the local lingo.

I was in a Hong Kong restaurant years ago where the locals eat. No one there spoke a word of English, only Cantonese Chinese. I looked around and saw what I wanted to eat and pointed to it. The waiter and I got along just fine.

In other countries where I don't understand what the price of something is in the native language, the salesperson punches it on the calculator and I see the display. As Homer Simpson says, "no problemo."

Vento just doesn't want finger pointing at menus, or to take the few extra seconds to accommodate the occasional non-English speaker. Apparently his language barrier is focused on Spanish-speaking customers.

How hard would it be for him and his staff to learn a few Spanish words or phrases like: bisteak con queso un cebolla, per favor. Philly translation: cheesesteak with onions, please.

Vento's attitude is akin to the complaint many have about the French-Canadians in Quebec, or the French who turn up their supposed bigoted noses at Americans and respond only in French when we're in their country. Yet we ask them questions in English because we don't speak a word of French.

Some businesses are having their employees learn some Spanish. Consider that not everyone who speaks Spanish as a first language is a poor Mexican illegal. A wealthy South American or Spanish tourist might visit the United States and go to South Philly to experience a cheesesteak for the first time. Given a choice between a shop that declares "We speak Spanish" and Vento's place, guess where he'll buy the cheesesteak?

If a company thinks communicating with a customer in a language other than English will benefit business, I find this practice acceptable. It creates goodwill, satisfaction and repeat business.

Go to Brighton Beach in New York to see signs in Russian and Ukrainian. In the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, it could be Yiddish. Move up to Mott Street in lower Manhattan and the language could change to Mandarin Chinese.

Vento apparently doesn't want to adapt one iota.

I was in Istanbul earlier this year and was constantly hounded by street merchants to buy carpets. They assumed I spoke English. I decided to trick one of them and spoke back in Hungarian, shaking my head. The Turkish merchant pestered me again, this time in perfect Hungarian.

These guys aren't dumb. They understand full well what it takes to sell a product. They adapt, and Vento should also.

Howard M. Berlin lives in Wilmington.