The Unloading Zone: Is the AAA Auto Club now the MAIA Amoblé Club?

Has the AAA Auto Club been sold to a Mexican Grupo? That's the only assumption I can make with this latest and most blatant bi-lingual outrage.

I received an attractive credit card offer from the AAA as I have my home and auto insurance policies with them. I decided to take them up on it and called the toll-free number on the application.

I wasn't surprised to be connected to an auto-attendant but I was shocked at what I heard next:
Presa Uno por Español; Press two for English! PRESS TWO FOR ENGLISH????????

The American Automobile Association has now relegated ENGLISH to second class status! Do they think the 11-15 million Illegal Hispanic Aliens in this country who have no drivers license or auto insurance are actually going to buy Roadside Assistance? Worse, is the AAA happy to issue platinum credit cards to illegal aliens?

I was too stunned to hang up and applied with a pleasant English-speaking woman. But at the end of the call, I told her I wanted to place a customer service complaint. I told her I was insulted and outraged that the AAA had chosen to make Spanish the primary language on their phone tree. This is America and we speak English here! I further informed her that I would have to seriously review switching my home and auto insurance policies to an American company.

And to her credit, she didn't defend or decry the AAA. She simply read back to me my comments in her pleasant voice and thanked me for calling. Somehow, I don't think this is the first call of this nature she has taken.

It's sad enough we have to cater to Spanish people too lazy or stupid to learn the language of the country they have chosen to make a (usually illegal) home in, but to put Spanish as the first option on the phone tree, as if we English-speakers are somehow deficient in not learning Spanish is an outrage.

I don't know if my complaint had any effect but you can call the AAA at 800-428-7676 and see if they changed anything. If they didn't, hearing that message will definitely send a chill up your spine. If the AAA feels comfortable doing this in 2007, what's America going to be like in 2061 when the Census Bureau says Hispanics will be the majority racial group in this country? I'm glad I'll be dead by then.

Postscript: If the Spanish used in this post is incorrect, blame Microsoft Translator. I'll be damned if I'M going to learn Spanish as long as I live in America!

Technorati Tags:aaa, american automobile association, bi-lingual, spanish-first, english-only, hispanics, illegal aliens, illegal immigration, insurance companies, mr. unloadingzone, the unloading zone, mexico, spanish
Generated By Technorati Tag Generator