In the world of retail the customers and employees alike are representative of greater society. And in the greater society people speak a multitude of languages. But not as far as Whole Foods is concerned. This tea bagger conglomerate only wants English spoken by the employees. Ostensibly for safety purposes but in reality it will hinder employees communicating naturally. I for one would prefer a shout of fiero to waiting for panicked employees to find the English equivalent.
This reeks of racism and xenophobia, something that has no place in any civilized culture.
Ben Friedland, Whole Foods Market Rocky Mountain Region Executive Marketing Coordinator, said the Austin, Texas-based company believes in “having a uniform form of communication” for a safe working environment.
“Therefore, our policy states that all English speaking Team Members must speak English to customers and other Team Members while on the clock,” Friedland said in a statement. “Team Members are free to speak any language they would like during their breaks, meal periods and before and after work.”
Friedland said the policy doesn’t prevent employees from speaking Spanish to customers who don’t speak English nor does it prevent them from speaking Spanish if all “parties present agree that a different language is their preferred form of communication.”