Other language response to a craigslist call, what would you do?

[Three Wolves In Snow]

Originally Posted by keepingquiet

If the listing was in English I would leave a message. Is it really that hard to understand that a person might communicate only in English but may communicate in their personal life in Spanish.

This.

[diva360]

Originally Posted by Redraven

I found an interesting power/jump start box on craigslist; just the kind I have been looking for. No air pump, no lights, no radio, just a battery pack with a built in inverter, and jumper cables.
So, of course, I called on it.
The phone range 5 times, then went to voice mail. After a lengthy dissertation in what I think was Spanish, the beep sounded.
I hung up.
What would you have done?

I probably would have left my name and number in English as others have stated, but, if the fact that the message was left in Spanish is so apparently upsetting to RR, I would hope that you would just let it go. No harm, no foul. What's the worst that can happen: The Craigslist poster (potentially) loses a sale, and you don't get an "interesting power/jump start box on cragislist." If I really wanted the item and if that didn't work, I would have left a message in Spanish, too, because I know how to, and then that would be a potential win-win.

However, the fact that the Craigslist poster wrote the original message in English leads me to believe that he or she is perfectly capable of comprehending spoken English regardless of his or her voicemail message. Maybe most of his or her friends or family members are Spanish speakers and thus he or she has not tailored her voicemail with the tender sensibilities of RR in mind. Think about it; he or she could just be a native Spanish speaker who never imagined that any personal linguistic voicemail choices would come to bear on a P&OC discussion board.

Who cares, though, really. Is this seriously something worthy of any kind of upset?

[MikMal]

A few months ago I saw a Criagslist listing for a motorcycle that I was interested in but the entire add was in Spanish. I did a "Google" Spanish to English translation to get the gist of the add and then replied with a message stating that I had more questions and I didn't speak Spanish so could they please reply in English. I heard nothing back. So I moved on. Their loss.

[BruSan]

Originally Posted by Redraven

Since I am so obviously wrong in my attitude, Moderator please close this thread.
My attitude has not changed. If one wants to do business in an American English speaking community, it behooves one to speak English. For all I know, the foreign language dissertation was instructions on how to perform an obscene act on a perambulating pastry.
Of course, it probably wasn't, but I have no way to tell.

The times, they-are-a-chang'n and it will make for unnecessary stress for you if you choose not to adapt.

U.S. is the No. 2 Spanish-Speaking Country in the World - KULR-8 Television, Billings, MT

Montana Hispanic or Latino Origin Population Percentage by County

In short; your opportunities to get all bitter and twisted are going to increase exponentially.....your choice is to compromise or heat up your bile ducts and carry a mega-bottle of TUMS ULTRA.

[charolastra00]

For a while in high school and college, my voicemail was in either Spanish, French, or Icelandic. None are my first language. None are languages anyone in my family has ever spoken. Glad to know that it potentially ran off some real bozos.

The OP sounds like the little old lady who once told me to "Go back to Mexico" when I was having a private conversation on my phone with a friend (who happened to be another America) as we prepared for our AP Spanish literature exams. Being an American is no excuse to be ignorant to world languages. To be a truly educated person, you must be at least bilingual.