Leon's Frozen Custard Making National News

[real chili 83]

gibberish.

Why do you guys go there???

[ChicosBailBonds]

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/K9whdk8_XJc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/K9whdk8_XJc</a>


I hope Mr. Sanchez receives a custard for life.  Definitely deserves it after this national nightmare.

[brandx]

You said "let the marketplace decide."  It decided.  He realized his business would suffer so he changed the policy.

Now you criticize him?  Huh...

He is clueless as usual, Sultan.

As I said earlier, it is NEVER a good idea to alienate your customers. Seems like almost everyone here understands the common sense of that.

[MUsoxfan]

He is clueless as usual, Sultan.

As I said earlier, it is NEVER a good idea to alienate your customers. Seems like almost everyone here understands the common sense of that.

I know when I would call DirecTV it would tell me to press 1 for English or 2 for English. At least that's what I think it said. The second prompt was in Spanish

[ChicosBailBonds]

I know when I would call DirecTV it would tell me to press 1 for English or 2 for English. At least that's what I think it said. The second prompt was in Spanish

Nope.  They use a natural language IVR, not a push button IVR.   Nice try.   It starts in English, then there is a short sentence in Spanish that allows you to go down that path.

Incidentally, Directv sells (or did when I was there) Spanish language programming.  And Russian.  And Japanese.  And Chinese.  Etc.   Is Leon's selling Spanish custard?  Russian custard?  Does one need to know how to speak Russian to eat custard?

Again, that was their choice just as Leon's was their choice to do what they wished.  To each their own, the market will ultimately decide.

The point was, is and shall remain, no one was denied service at Leon's.   No one was somehow shortchanged service.   If a Ukrainian comes in tomorrow at Leon's, I'm pretty sure he or she will find a way to still order custard, just as others did for the last 50+ years.

“I would prefer if the employees would simply speak English, and encourage those customers who can to speak English, and if you don't speak English, trust me — we can come up with some way to communicate with you."

As for Brandx's comments, I find that funny since there are certain industries that alienate potential customers all the time....I can think of a few...can you?   

Apparently a lot of other folks agree with me.  http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/wisconsin-frozen-custard-store-english-only-policy-fire-article-1.2643073

Or read the comments section  http://fox6now.com/2016/05/18/latinos-vs-leons-is-the-frozen-custard-stands-english-only-policy-discriminatory/



Were Leon's customer's the last 50 years alienated?  LOL.   Massive fauxrage.  If he felt they were, they would have changed their policy.  I do wonder if this will lead to Leon's expanding 5x because they have underserved their customers for so many decades. 

[MUsoxfan]

Nope.  They use a natural language IVR, not a push button IVR.   Nice try.   It starts in English, then there is a short sentence in Spanish that allows you to go down that path.

Again, that was their choice just as Leon's was their choice to do what they wished.  To each their own, the market will ultimately decide.

The point was, is and shall remain, no one was denied service at Leon's.   No one was somehow shortchanged service.   If a Ukrainian comes in tomorrow at Leon's, I'm pretty sure he or she will find a way to still order custard, just as others did for the last 50+ years.

As for Brandx's comments, I find that funny since there are certain industries that alienate potential customers all the time....I can think of a few...can you?   

Were Leon's customer's the last 50 years alienated?  LOL.   Massive fauxrage.  If he felt they were, they would have changed their policy.  I do wonder if this will lead to Leon's expanding 5x because they have underserved their customers for so many decades. 

Nobody is being alienated. Nobody was ever denied service

Someone who speaks Spanish walked up to another person who speaks Spanish and tried to order in Spanish. Oh, the horror. Is it the business owner's decision to try to circumvent that? Absolutely. Would it also be easier to get the order correct and out the door if done in Spanish? Most likely



I work for a food distributor. We have many customers who order only in Spanish. Sure, it would be the prerogative of the owner to take those orders or not, but he'd only be losing money by not taking them. It wouldn't be illegal or discriminatory to not take those orders, but he'd only be losing money by not taking them.

It's just smart business to make things easier for customers to give you money. Just as if a business in a Vietnamese neighborhood had Vietnamese employees in customer service.

Of course you know all this. You just love to be that guy

[ChicosBailBonds]

Nobody is being alienated. Nobody was ever denied service   YUP

Someone who speaks Spanish walked up to another person who speaks Spanish and tried to order in Spanish. Oh, the horror. Is it the business owner's decision to try to circumvent that? Absolutely. Would it also be easier to get the order correct and out the door if done in Spanish? Most likely

Perhaps, but the person also spoke English and most of the employees don't speak Spanish.  Oh the horror.  Would it have been just as easy to order in English?  Most likely




I work for a food distributor. We have many customers who order only in Spanish. Sure, it would be the prerogative of the owner to take those orders or not, but he'd only be losing money by not taking them. It wouldn't be illegal or discriminatory to not take those orders, but he'd only be losing money by not taking them.  Your company's choice, and I suspect you have personnel that can take the orders in Spanish.  Leon's doesn't.

It's just smart business to make things easier for customers to give you money. Just as if a business in a Vietnamese neighborhood had Vietnamese employees in customer service.  Sure, it can be, but that also means having to hire people that are bilingual, which maybe he can't afford to do.  Has customer service been a problem at Leon's the last 50+ years?  I suspect if it was, they wouldn't be around since 1942.

Of course you know all this. You just love to be that guy   I know that there wasn't a problem.  A guy that spoke perfectly fine English needed to fauxrage because despite speaking perfectly fine English was bummed to hear he had to do that.  The reason?  The owner wants to run a tight ship, make sure he knows what is being said to customers in a common language, etc.  A total non-event blown out of proportion.  Amazing Leon's survived almost 75 years.  It's a miracle...


End of the day, this is CUSTARD he's selling.  Not complex food offerings.  Not telephone service.  Not pharma.   Custard.

[MUsoxfan]

Are you being dense to prove a point?


For someone who champions common sense, you seem to be conveniently low on it in this discussion. I'm done. Feel free to think you've won another one

[ChicosBailBonds]

Are you being dense to prove a point?


For someone who champions common sense, you seem to be conveniently low on it in this discussion. I'm done. Feel free to think you've won another one

Sox, do you think a businessman would knowingly turn away business if he thought he could make an extra buck?  I'm being serious.  If he thought his policy ever turned away business, he would have changed it.   This is a giant fauxpout and nothing more.  He may get a short term bump, he may get a short term hit (at one point today he had a bump from supporters coming to support his position...maybe tomorrow there is a bump supporting the new position).

[MUsoxfan]

Sox, do you think a businessman would knowingly turn away business if he thought he could make an extra buck?  I'm being serious.  If he thought his policy ever turned away business, he would have changed it.   This is a giant fauxpout and nothing more.  He may get a short term bump, he may get a short term hit (at one point today he had a bump from supporters coming to support his position...maybe tomorrow there is a bump supporting the new position).

I deal with small restaurant owners everyday. That's my job. They're incredibly short-sighted. You're on the Fortune 500 end, I'm on the opposite end. I can promise you that when this guy made his edict, he didn't see it going past the end of the day. It just blew up in his face in the worst way.

My guess (and totally my guess) is that he was upset that his employees were socializing in Spanish and was pissed off when he heard orders being taken in Spanish.

It's likely that he doesn't have any position at all beyond the period of time he was pissed off at some guy that was threatening to quit, or some other really minuscule inconvenience.



Macro vs Micro. Most small business owners don't have MBA's

[Skitch]

While at MU I worked summers in restaurants in Door County. Every summer 100s of eastern European college students come work on an exchange program. One summer the guy that owned the place said they all had to speak English only. The reason he gave, which actually made sense, was that one of the reasons they were in America was to learn/strengthen their English. The real reason, I'm almost 100% certain,  is that he thought they were all talking sh*t about him (which I'm pretty sure they were).

[StillAWarrior]

That's too bad.  He had nothing to run from.  He did nothing wrong.  He served all customers, did nothing illegal, did not discriminate in any fashion whatsoever.  I hope a Russian guy comes by and demands Russian service....just to show the silliness in all of this.

Please tell me that you are just trolling and you really do understand the difference between being forced to provide additional services that you're not equipped for (i.e., Russian translators) and refusing to provide quality service that you have at your disposal.  This is kind of like saying, "don't give them vanilla even though we have it here, because if you give them vanilla, pretty soon someone is going to demand smoked salmon."

The market spoke and the owner made a smart decision.  A savvy owner doesn't have to wait until filing for bankruptcy to see that the market has spoken.  He realized that he had taken a position that was widely considered stupid -- even by a lot of pretty conservative people -- so he reversed course.  There's no shame in that.

[StillAWarrior]

Your Hispanic soldiers comparison...weird....why do you assume language is tied to race, when it absolutely isn't.  Maybe you should get a dictionary.  You don't any Hispanics that speak English only?  I know tons.  How about Asians that speak Spanish or German?  Happens all the time. 

You must be missing the politics board, and you're being intentionally obtuse.  I realize, of course, that you're taking extreme positions just to make a point.  Even though I haven't brought race into the discussion, I'll accept on behalf of the the group that there is not direct correlation between language and race if you'll accept that while it is not a direct correlation, there is a strong statistical correlation.

[StillAWarrior]

Your company's choice, and I suspect you have personnel that can take the orders in Spanish.  Leon's doesn't.

But this is the point.  They do.  The girl mentioned in the article that was taking the order did speak Spanish.  She whispered to the customers, in Spanish, that she wasn't allowed to speak Spanish to them.  Leon's has the ability -- at least when that employee is working -- to provide an additional service to some of its customers.  Even if it has a right to withhold that service, it seems foolish to most of us here to do so.  I've yet to hear anyone on this thread that is outraged that Leon's had made that decision -- they just think he's an idiot...and that he's now come to his senses.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

This whole thing is silly. 

I will say though I am extremely grateful for the willingness of shopkeepers to speak English to me when I travel outside the states.  I try my best to muddle through in the local language but we usually are more successful when they are gracious enough accommodate me.

[Mr. Nielsen]

Mark Belling from Thursday
http://www.newstalk1130.com/media/play/27010624/

[ChicosBailBonds]

But this is the point.  They do.  The girl mentioned in the article that was taking the order did speak Spanish.  She whispered to the customers, in Spanish, that she wasn't allowed to speak Spanish to them.  Leon's has the ability -- at least when that employee is working -- to provide an additional service to some of its customers.  Even if it has a right to withhold that service, it seems foolish to most of us here to do so.  I've yet to hear anyone on this thread that is outraged that Leon's had made that decision -- they just think he's an idiot...and that he's now come to his senses.

Yes, and she was the EXCEPTION.   Also stated, MOST of his employees do not speak Spanish.  That was his point, he doesn't have the resources on a day to day basis to offer that kind of service.   

Did I say it was foolish what he's doing?  Nope.  Do I think is what foolish?  Nope.  I don't see where his business was suffering the last 50+ years, but if he wants to change it, that's fine.   Did I say that he has a right to do it?  Yup...as did you and others.  Did I say the marketplace should ultimately decide?  Yup.   Is the fauxrage alive and well....absolutely.   

[ChicosBailBonds]

Please tell me that you are just trolling and you really do understand the difference between being forced to provide additional services that you're not equipped for (i.e., Russian translators) and refusing to provide quality service that you have at your disposal.  This is kind of like saying, "don't give them vanilla even though we have it here, because if you give them vanilla, pretty soon someone is going to demand smoked salmon."

The market spoke and the owner made a smart decision.  A savvy owner doesn't have to wait until filing for bankruptcy to see that the market has spoken.  He realized that he had taken a position that was widely considered stupid -- even by a lot of pretty conservative people -- so he reversed course.  There's no shame in that.

Are you suggesting that if he didn't make this decision he was going into bankruptcy and would lose a ton of business?    No one is saying he is being forced to provide those services, the point was to show how ridiculous it is the fauxrage created with this one in the first place.  A customer, who speaks perfectly fine English, upset because he can't order in Spanish? Give me a break. The owner, wanting to control what his employees say and being able to offer a consistent experience is punished for wanting to do that, because he knows he doesn't have the resources to provide that service all the time.   Again, sad.

Just wait until the next time someone wants to order in their preferred language and on shift that day are two kids that speak English only and the hub bub that will start.  Beyond silly.  This country is offended by the wind blowing.

[ChicosBailBonds]

I deal with small restaurant owners everyday. That's my job. They're incredibly short-sighted. You're on the Fortune 500 end, I'm on the opposite end. I can promise you that when this guy made his edict, he didn't see it going past the end of the day. It just blew up in his face in the worst way.

My guess (and totally my guess) is that he was upset that his employees were socializing in Spanish and was pissed off when he heard orders being taken in Spanish.

It's likely that he doesn't have any position at all beyond the period of time he was pissed off at some guy that was threatening to quit, or some other really minuscule inconvenience.



Macro vs Micro. Most small business owners don't have MBA's

He made his edict over a decade ago.....just to provide a few facts.

[ChicosBailBonds]

This whole thing is silly. 

I will say though I am extremely grateful for the willingness of shopkeepers to speak English to me when I travel outside the states.  I try my best to muddle through in the local language but we usually are more successful when they are gracious enough accommodate me.

Travel to Paris much?  Beyond rude if you don't speak French.   I'm pretty sure, however, if I went to order custard even in Swaziland or Kenya or Turkey, I could point to what I want and order just fine....the same that has happened at Leon's for 74 years.  And yes, this whole thing is beyond silly.  The fauxrage is strong.

[GGGG]

Are you suggesting that if he didn't make this decision he was going into bankruptcy and would lose a ton of business?    No one is saying he is being forced to provide those services, the point was to show how ridiculous it is the fauxrage created with this one in the first place.  A customer, who speaks perfectly fine English, upset because he can't order in Spanish? Give me a break. The owner, wanting to control what his employees say and being able to offer a consistent experience is punished for wanting to do that, because he knows he doesn't have the resources to provide that service all the time.   Again, sad.

So are you a supporter of "the marketplace" or not?  Someone organizing a boycott is a marketplace driven decision. 

You are logically all over the map here.

[ChicosBailBonds]

You must be missing the politics board, and you're being intentionally obtuse.  I realize, of course, that you're taking extreme positions just to make a point.  Even though I haven't brought race into the discussion, I'll accept on behalf of the the group that there is not direct correlation between language and race if you'll accept that while it is not a direct correlation, there is a strong statistical correlation.

Ahem....that response wasn't to you, unless MU82 and you are the same person.....so not sure why you think it was. 

 

The bigger point was the idiots that have said this is racism, clearly a lot of people have no clue what the definition of racism is.  I'm glad you do, many don't, including here at Scoop.  Language has nothing to do with race, but that doesn't start the inane, dare I say obtuse, charges of it.

[ChicosBailBonds]

So are you a supporter of "the marketplace" or not?  Someone organizing a boycott is a marketplace driven decision. 

You are logically all over the map here.

People claim to organize boycotts all the time, and they don't happen or have zero impact.  Didn't you hear that Chick-Fil-A went out of business......oops.  Beverly Hills Hotel, article yesterday about the "boycott" that did nothing and all is back to normal, with zero policy change on behalf of the hotel.

I'm not logically over the map at all.  You made a leap of faith that his business would suffer.  You have zero idea if it would.  Zero.  Nada.  The owner, may or may not have made the same decision.  Who knows, but just because you predict it doesn't mean it is going to happen.   

[ChicosBailBonds]

Mark Belling from Thursday
http://www.newstalk1130.com/media/play/27010624/

You couldn't pay me to listen to him.

[GGGG]

People claim to organize boycotts all the time, and they don't happen or have zero impact.  Didn't you hear that Chick-Fil-A went out of business......oops.  Beverly Hills Hotel, article yesterday about the "boycott" that did nothing and all is back to normal, with zero policy change on behalf of the hotel.

I'm not logically over the map at all.  You made a leap of faith that his business would suffer.  You have zero idea if it would.  Zero.  Nada.  The owner, may or may not have made the same decision.  Who knows, but just because you predict it doesn't mean it is going to happen.   

The owner thought he made the best decision given the circumstances at hand.  He didn't want to deal with a potential boycott that THE MARKETPLACE was organizing.

That's exactly what you are advocating for.  The government didn't make him change his policies.  The free market did.