Just a Coincidence or it's like that (Just wondering)
I could write this as a BLOG entry but since it made me feel queasy in a way...I think I'll post it here: Got invited in a birthday gathering and most of the service crew were "kabayans". Since I arrived late due to traffic (imagine that! Traffic in Doha!!!), said hello to the other guests...kwento dito, kwento doon.
Went to the buffet table and politely asked what was in the service tray. It so happened that another female kabayan came to the buffet table as well and said something to the lady server/service staff. Though I know I spoke clearly (in english) and loud enough for the service staff to hear, I was (felt) ignored as she started chatting with the lady (beside me) in our mother tongue/dialect. I had to repeat myself twice and still I was IGNORED.
Exasperated by the way I was treated...I spoke in Tagalog telling them "Kausapin nyo naman ako"(please talk to me) in a jokingly manner. The reply was..."AY...Filipina kayo?"(ay, you're a Filipina?) I just replied, "Hindi ba halata?" (Isn't it obvious?) and smiled. Then, guess what...I was given the attention I asked for.
This is no big deal as it's not the first time I was mistaken for another nationality. I can't say that the lady service staff was rude. I myself had done some years in the service industry and as far as I know, customers should be treated as well as the customer before or after him/her. And not by someone's nationality
Or maybe I'm just overanalyzing things or just being dramatic. Another QL poster made some comments about the type of customer service he got from fellow kabayans in some establishments here and though I don't believe it at first...what I experienced made me wonder----is it reallt like that or it's just a coincidence....like I said, i'm just wondering.
"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent" -Eleonor Roosevelt
