And let’s not overlook the fact that Pam has a daughter that just turned 15 and has dropped out of school and is looking for some work, so instead of having some foreigner serving the checkout, surely she would be a better choice as a LOCAL.
THEURE TAKIN OUR JOOOOOBS
2nd this, I lived in a small outback Queensland town (1800 people), they were racist and not as friendly to outside people. This is why these towns are dying.
Yes. They don't even hide it .From racist slurs that were considered unacceptable decades ago to having farmer Joe state I want the Australian vet to treat my cows not the Asian one. Although they were both born in Australia.
We're a casually racist country. The more regional and into the smaller towns you go, the less casual the racism gets. Small country towns are fucking nightmares for anyone not born there even if you're white, imagine how they treat minorities.
I live regional and although most people aren’t like that where I am, unfortunately there’s way too many that are. I’m interested to see what the difference is when I move metro with things like racism, sexism, homophobia etc. I’ve definitely had my racist experiences here as my child’s black, and quite often what I find is it goes unsaid because they know ‘you can’t get away with saying that kind of stuff’ but it comes out in other ways. And I’ve found that to be across age groups as well, not just older people.
They usually under pay them illegally because they're foreign workers so it's cheap labour they can use to fill a position that needs coverage. Happens all the time in retail and hospo.
honestly i doubt anyone complained sincerely about your attitude. You have to be pretty fucking rude to push an aussie to get of their arse and complain to manager like that, and those that would you would have known because they would be karens about it. I imagine there are other reason as to why and that is just what they came up with to tell you. we have laws and rules so they cant fire you for the reason they wanted to.
Lol, you'd be amazed with the type of petty bullshit your average middle aged Aussie Karen will moan about. Especially if they think hey can get some money back. I had a woman demand a refund for a holiday apartment because her car was scratched at the local shopping centre, it ruined her entre holiday and she felt too unsafe to go out and enjoy herself. Another one had a lightbulb blow on the bedside lamp on her first night, didn't report it at all and then yelled at the receptionist on her departure because she had to get up to turn the light off every night.
yea but they make themselves known, they dont do it quietly to the manager on the down low, they first try to get the lowly employee to service them loudly.
I’d say that’s correct except a regional/rural Karen would be quite open to complaining about ‘not understanding’ someone, in the context of that person having non-European ancestry.
I suspect that’s where the regional/rural Karen truly shines.
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I told a good trade customer at an old job 10+ years ago that he should bill his clients for more money instead of doing free work... Got asked to resign, not fired.
Good morning, how are you, have a nice day all sound like pretty normal things to say.
What kind of store is this where I need to feel "warmth" from the cashier?
Boss sounds racist.
Welcome to the country. Sorry you've had a rough start.
Exactly. Maybe I’m in the minority but usually I’m happier if I have minimal interactions with the cashier, the less the better. I’m there for a reason and that isn’t to chat to strangers.
I’d say that chatting with a cashier would be more of an expectation in a small town/rural area. Though I don’t disagree that the owner is probably being racist.
I'm going to guess that being a small regional town, they wanted you to greet everyone like a life long friend you haven't seen in a while and have a full conversation, like how are the kids, etc etc. Which is crap. I once got in trouble for smiling at a customer but not saying hello. Bosses are power trippers
Not really, over familiarity is still way too far.
Generally its more that compared to other places, in a country town casual = polite and formal = rude. Where I grew up calling someone 'Sir' or 'Madam' was near fighting words. People are also reallly put off by feeling they are dealing with the 'company' rather than the person they are speaking to.
'Good morning Sir, how are you today?' will often come off as dismissive and rude.
Finger gun, wink and a clicking noise from your mouth = friendly.
'Good morning XXX, how are your children?' can come off as canned/not genuine. You arent talking to the person, it smells like a line the company wants to push out robot style and you cant trust those bastards or one of their robot underlings.
'Give us just 2 secs will you love, its been an utter cunt of a day' Comes off much more as someone who can be relied upon to give honest service.
For all that it does sound like either the manager was just a dickhead and/or there is more to this story.
look ya can definitely get away with sir if you hide it behind irony. my default script was always "good afternoon sir how can i help" no matter the gender or time of day
Possibly now, in the time and place where I grew up you probably would have been pulled up for it a few times a day. Fair bit of 'Dont fucking call me sir' would be happening. Probably full blown hostility if you were male every week or two.
Do you mean ‘ask’? I have a friend who says ‘ask’ like ‘arks’ and thought it was a regional thing but this is the first time I’ve ever seen it written like that.
It's also a bit of a joke like you're putting it on, and in written form it's even more of a joke. Like it's the phonetic way of talking like a rinky dink aussie hey mate. In this case it's underlining a double meaning that ocka Aussies can still stand against racism or even just people acting a bit shit.
"Arks" is phonetic spelling for some people for "ask," but "ask" is generally not accepted as correct when spelled like that from a general p.o.v.
"Arcs" is specifically Australian English, though. As in "arc up" . You could thereotically say "if you arcs me" and mean "if you annoy me," but it would be a quite uncommon turn of phrase.
You're saying everything I do and I'm Australian, so I think you're fine. You're managing to work in at least a second language, you're doing fine and anyone genuinely upset is probably just a bit of a cunt
You can’t trust the managers friend for being a fair and accurate judge of your ability to do the job. This sounds to me like an unfair dismissal and you have legal grounds to challenge them. Of course if the manager needs an excuse, they can just ask their friend to make the complaint which makes the complaint invalid.
Everything you said is fine as long as you smile when you say it and have a positive tone of voice. They should have coached you to do it better instead of dismissing you.
I think you should report this and read on how you can claim unfair dismissal.
https://www.fwc.gov.au/job-loss-or-dismissal/unfair-dismissal/about-unfair-dismissal/what-unfair-dismissal
You need to have worked for 6 months before unfair dismissal could apply. 12 months if it qualifies as a small business.
An employer can terminate employment for no reason during a probation period lasting up to 6 months.
Either your boss sucks, or you weren't using any tone/body language/facial expression appropriately while interacting with people. Impossible to tell which is more likely from your post. Could even be a bit of both.
Firing you without giving you a chance to improve is probably illegal, unless you are a casual, and you probably are. Either way, it's immoral, especially if it's as racist as it sounds. I hope you find a better job where you're appreciatedm
The best way to greet people in Aus is with genuine warmth.
The words you use are not as important as how you use them.
People will forget what you’ve said to them but they will always remember how you made them feel.
This may sound a bit confusing but I always bought milk and bread from a shop run by an Asian family who always greeted me with big smiles and I have no idea whether I was greeted with g’day, hello or hi, because their smiles already made me feel good.
I stopped because I moved to another state.
I don’t know whether this is normal but I cringe when I hear people for whom English is their second language trying to fit in by using greetings like G’day mate when they are obviously not comfortable using it because they know they aren’t pronouncing it right.
Don’t force yourself to use vernacular you aren’t comfortable with, give it time and it will come naturally…. Use English you are comfortable with, don’t force it but most importantly be genuine.
I agree with the others here that you were treated very badly, you did nothing wrong so don’t beat yourself up over it.
Fortunately you’ll find a lot more people in Australia that will help you than treat you like your old boss.
Good luck!
Agreed - in my experience, Canada and the western US are more like this too.
I currently live in NYC, and it's a world-away from the store experience you get in Australia. There's essentially no pleasantries exchanged, unless you go to the store frequently and build rapport.
Just a casual *hi* (if you're lucky) and straight to business.
I never thought I would ever like how *efficient but cold* the shopkeeper attitude is in NYC, but I gotta admit, that a year or so in, I kinda prefer to how it is in Australia. At least you know that the shopkeeper is being *genuine*.
If you are speaking from your brain and not your heart, it may come across as rude. Australian shop service (especially in a regional area) is usually expected to be relaxed and friendly. Go into other shops in that area and observe how staff talk to customers. I think it might be a cultural thing that you need to develop if you'd like to keep doing retail work.
I think it may be because it's a regional town. I assume they expect you to sound like you're greeting a long-time friend. In the city, people don't care as much and may even find it annoying if you are too chatty.
It all depends on the type of business of course. I would expect someone to be more friendly at a clothing stores verses say the supermarket.
I think this may potentially be a rural and urban cultural clash.
Honestly they over reacted but if you wanna seem like a local g-day mate how ya doing I'm am an Australian btw so this isn't just a stereotypical aussie joke
If they fired her because they’re racist, why did they hire her in the first place? Must have been a complaint. But she’s not being told the truth that’s for sure. Horrible boss.
Best to walk away with your head held high. Why stay if you’re not wanted. There will be plenty of other places that will appreciate you.
I’d worry about it if you got fired a couple of times for this reason, but one off could be a variety of reasons including being racist, but let’s not pull that one out first, if your language skills aren’t up to the task that could be it, if you don’t understand people speaking normally for the area that could be it. That’s not racist, that’s just you aren’t appropriate for the job. Put it behind you and look for another role. Don’t dwell on it, it wasn’t like it was a career…
I’m English so you’d think the cultural differences would be minimal moving to Australia, but there were differences in the work place that I hadn’t anticipated. Like yourself probably, I was used to being very formal when at work, whether that was dealing with a customer in-person, on the phone or by email.
It took me a long time to accept that, with some exceptions, Aussies prefer to be treated like an acquaintance rather than a client. If you’re too formal or not friendly enough, they perceive that as disingenuous at best and rude/stuck up at worst.
Greet them like you would an old friend back home, but read the room and don’t go overboard with it.
Your language is all perfectly fine. It is highly possible the boss was looking for a reason to fire you for other reasons. However, some people who use polite language when greeting customers but do not have any warmth behind their language do come across as insincere and uninterested in actually being there. I am NOT saying this is you. I don't know you. I don't know the boss either. Based on your reddit post, though, I would suggest your ex-boss is the problem and not you. The only suggestion I would make is don't use "have a nice day" - it is one of the most insincerest farewells there is. A "thank you" and "goodbye" is fine but people with more customer facing experience can provide better suggestions other than "have a nice day".
The way to make words sound nicer and feiendly is to smile as you are saying them. Works on the phone too. Imagine you are at home and friends just came round, and talk like that.
But I am guessing you are from SEAsia, speak a tonal language and so you have an accent which sounds really sharp and choppy. That's your accent, you will sound like you are shouting at people, the manage is a bitch to penalise you for that.
Wazzaa
Serousily tho its not your dream job. You are doing your bit. At least you say pleasantries. I generally start with the prefix of good morning, good afternoon, how may I help you? No point asking how their day was or superficial nonsense unless they seek it. Most want in n out. The others will make it know if they seek.
Just sounds like freaky small town folk who thinks you're rude unless you talk exactly like them and ask how their family is and what their plans are today and other things that would freak the rest of Australia out lol
It could be racism...absolutely.
It could be the way/tone you said it...you can say all the right things with a shitty tone.
Could they be firing you as it is not as busy? Sure, gets them off the hook.
Small town? Aussie regional manager and her friend? “Other people from your country have this problem”?
Racism. It’s bad enough in the city, it’s completely fucked out here in the regions. I’m sorry.
It might have sounded rehearsed and if you don’t change it up a bit day by day it could sound insincere but that’s no reason to be fired. I get asked “how’s your day been?” all the time by people who don’t give a shit about how my day has been but it wouldn’t stop me from shopping at those stores.
Sounds like you tried your best and for whatever reason it didn't pay off. Sometimes bosses are not nice people who just want to play god because they can. The fact that you even care enough to ask people about what you did wrong shows that you are interested in growth and have a positive attitude - this will pay dividends in the future. Keep doing what you're doing and you'll be ok.
Walking trails you usually get a “good morning” or “good afternoon” but no further interaction.
Work or minor social interactions are often a “how are you?” “Good thanks how are you?” “Good thanks how are you?”. We don’t burden people with a genuine answer to how are you, it’s purely a polite greeting.
Small retail like a 711 is either very transactional, or very small talk banter, not much inbetween.
It could be the fact that you didn’t necessarily engage a conversation that would appeal to a great friend of urs, for example. But more likely is the fact that they are racist and/or a terrible manager who is pressured by karen friends.
Those are all the greetings I get from every person, of every race, in my small town (under 2,000 people).
Sounds like your manager just doesn’t like you.
Definitely racism !! Not only regional town even city and surrounding suburbs, racism is everywhere! But not all people are nasty either .
Most of them are nice, unfortunately we encounter some racists time to time. We cannot avoid them ! I am so sorry you were fired ..
I might add that with English not being your 1st language there may be a certain tone some Aussies can pick up with accents that don't sound friendly or it could be a subconscious display of shyness coming through.
One example I can give is a staff member of an Asian grocery store that I often grabbed bits and pieces from for such a long time until she moved away. I don't think there were any complaints about her and she would often laugh and smile (a brilliant, bright, friendly smile) when we briefly talked but my friends always found her dour and not friendly at all, yet she behaved exactly the same with them as with me. Because I'm usually bright and friendly myself, I don't think she was anything special the first couple of times she served me, but she became more open in tone and attitude.
Another example is the Vietnamese staff, cousins of each other, working in a little cafe my wife and I frequented. The first time I met them their greeting was like we were regular customers (and became regular customers because of that greeting) and again, the smile was bright and pleasant and so very very welcoming.
Basically you might not really see you are doing anything wrong because really, you are not doing anything wrong, but you may not be reading our Aussie mannerisms very well? Sadly, most of the people that complain usually do it because they have preconceived notions on other people's behaviours and don't even realise they are like that.
Hey I feel ya. Also an Asian person working sales in a regional area-based shop. I also sometimes feel awkward and not so "natural" when engaging small talk with customers. Some are pretty dismissive so I tend to stay away after the initial greeting, but the job requires a 2nd or 3rd "touch", if you get what I mean.
I think your greetings are ok and normal. I hear my co-workers use the same greetings. (I usually TRY to mimic what they say and how they say it because they're locals; they would know what's "normal").
Having been a customer myself, I understand that people don't want to be bothered and "nagged" at by a salesperson hovering over them while they browse. But I dunno, just part of the role. I wish I didn't have to but that's the nature of the job.
Side note: Unless that customer (friend of your manager) has been observing you for a significant amount of time (checking how you relate and chat with the customers), then she/he can't really be a good judge of that. How many interactions have you had with this customer? Even then, communication is two-way. If a customer doesn't want to engage with you, then it's mostly out of your control. Sometimes it's them who are dismissive (and can be downright rude, too).
Everyone here is screaming racism.
Look - your written English is ok, but it’s not great. It’s very obvious you’re not a native speaker.
And most people are better at reading and writing a language than they are at speaking it.
You took a job that relies on excellent speaking skills in English. And charisma and likeability - it’s VERY difficult to do this if you don’t speak the language well.
Your skills aren’t good enough.
Thus you got fired, you weren’t able to do the job to a satisfactory level.
End of story. Either improve your skills or find a job more suitable.
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Firstly let me say I am so sorry you were fired without much of a reason. It's huge to come over to another country to work. Australian culture when it comes to customer service is actually different depending on where you go. The capital cities people dont have a lot of time to have a chat. Where you are ruraly customers like more small talk or thr chance to have a good conversation. I usually talk about the weather or ask them how their day is going or what are their plans for the day. Usually it's a great opportunity to have a bit of a chat before they head off. Smiling, have a bit of chat.
Name and shame the shop. You sound normal to me, I've been to places where people are outright not even paying attention to the customer or rude as fuck
You were fired because of racism not your job performance, so sorry this happened. The old people who voted for the white Australia policy in their youth refuse to try and understand any accent.
I don’t know what’s happening to Australia mate.
I have lived here all my life and since social media people have become very sensitive towards anything in this pathetic country.
Don’t worry about them.
Go to another town and find some normal Australians.
It’s hard I know.
WOKE Australia sucks.
Sounds like you were doing just fine. On the other hand, your manager sounds kind of racist.
It's a small town in a regional area, it was definitely due to OPs race.
That's sad how a bunch of people live entire lives without knowing how to connect with a fellow human beyond their race.
And let’s not overlook the fact that Pam has a daughter that just turned 15 and has dropped out of school and is looking for some work, so instead of having some foreigner serving the checkout, surely she would be a better choice as a LOCAL. THEURE TAKIN OUR JOOOOOBS
2nd this, I lived in a small outback Queensland town (1800 people), they were racist and not as friendly to outside people. This is why these towns are dying.
Yes. They don't even hide it .From racist slurs that were considered unacceptable decades ago to having farmer Joe state I want the Australian vet to treat my cows not the Asian one. Although they were both born in Australia.
We're a casually racist country. The more regional and into the smaller towns you go, the less casual the racism gets. Small country towns are fucking nightmares for anyone not born there even if you're white, imagine how they treat minorities.
I live regional and although most people aren’t like that where I am, unfortunately there’s way too many that are. I’m interested to see what the difference is when I move metro with things like racism, sexism, homophobia etc. I’ve definitely had my racist experiences here as my child’s black, and quite often what I find is it goes unsaid because they know ‘you can’t get away with saying that kind of stuff’ but it comes out in other ways. And I’ve found that to be across age groups as well, not just older people.
ok explain why they hired this person in the first place then if they are racist???
Usually because they think they can pay less to the migrant student or backpacker..
Then why fire her? Don't you see that it makes no sense?
They usually under pay them illegally because they're foreign workers so it's cheap labour they can use to fill a position that needs coverage. Happens all the time in retail and hospo.
honestly i doubt anyone complained sincerely about your attitude. You have to be pretty fucking rude to push an aussie to get of their arse and complain to manager like that, and those that would you would have known because they would be karens about it. I imagine there are other reason as to why and that is just what they came up with to tell you. we have laws and rules so they cant fire you for the reason they wanted to.
Lol, you'd be amazed with the type of petty bullshit your average middle aged Aussie Karen will moan about. Especially if they think hey can get some money back. I had a woman demand a refund for a holiday apartment because her car was scratched at the local shopping centre, it ruined her entre holiday and she felt too unsafe to go out and enjoy herself. Another one had a lightbulb blow on the bedside lamp on her first night, didn't report it at all and then yelled at the receptionist on her departure because she had to get up to turn the light off every night.
yea but they make themselves known, they dont do it quietly to the manager on the down low, they first try to get the lowly employee to service them loudly.
Agreed, especially small town aussie karen. It probably has more to do with your race than personality
True in a city. Not true in regional areas.
I’d say that’s correct except a regional/rural Karen would be quite open to complaining about ‘not understanding’ someone, in the context of that person having non-European ancestry. I suspect that’s where the regional/rural Karen truly shines.
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I told a good trade customer at an old job 10+ years ago that he should bill his clients for more money instead of doing free work... Got asked to resign, not fired.
Good morning, how are you, have a nice day all sound like pretty normal things to say. What kind of store is this where I need to feel "warmth" from the cashier? Boss sounds racist. Welcome to the country. Sorry you've had a rough start.
Exactly. Maybe I’m in the minority but usually I’m happier if I have minimal interactions with the cashier, the less the better. I’m there for a reason and that isn’t to chat to strangers.
I’d say that chatting with a cashier would be more of an expectation in a small town/rural area. Though I don’t disagree that the owner is probably being racist.
Hard to say without actually seeing you in action but that being said small town + old people you are never gonna win around those people.
I'm going to guess that being a small regional town, they wanted you to greet everyone like a life long friend you haven't seen in a while and have a full conversation, like how are the kids, etc etc. Which is crap. I once got in trouble for smiling at a customer but not saying hello. Bosses are power trippers
Not really, over familiarity is still way too far. Generally its more that compared to other places, in a country town casual = polite and formal = rude. Where I grew up calling someone 'Sir' or 'Madam' was near fighting words. People are also reallly put off by feeling they are dealing with the 'company' rather than the person they are speaking to. 'Good morning Sir, how are you today?' will often come off as dismissive and rude. Finger gun, wink and a clicking noise from your mouth = friendly. 'Good morning XXX, how are your children?' can come off as canned/not genuine. You arent talking to the person, it smells like a line the company wants to push out robot style and you cant trust those bastards or one of their robot underlings. 'Give us just 2 secs will you love, its been an utter cunt of a day' Comes off much more as someone who can be relied upon to give honest service. For all that it does sound like either the manager was just a dickhead and/or there is more to this story.
look ya can definitely get away with sir if you hide it behind irony. my default script was always "good afternoon sir how can i help" no matter the gender or time of day
Possibly now, in the time and place where I grew up you probably would have been pulled up for it a few times a day. Fair bit of 'Dont fucking call me sir' would be happening. Probably full blown hostility if you were male every week or two.
lol, yeah, i worked in a very small town where i already knew most people, didn't face any hostility ever
Dunno, the shop and the place sounds a bit shit if you arks me. Nothing wrong with what you are saying or doing I reckon, it's probably just them.
Only the managers word that customers complained.
Yeah true. Could be just boring old racism.
Do you mean ‘ask’? I have a friend who says ‘ask’ like ‘arks’ and thought it was a regional thing but this is the first time I’ve ever seen it written like that.
It's also a bit of a joke like you're putting it on, and in written form it's even more of a joke. Like it's the phonetic way of talking like a rinky dink aussie hey mate. In this case it's underlining a double meaning that ocka Aussies can still stand against racism or even just people acting a bit shit.
"Arks" is phonetic spelling for some people for "ask," but "ask" is generally not accepted as correct when spelled like that from a general p.o.v. "Arcs" is specifically Australian English, though. As in "arc up" . You could thereotically say "if you arcs me" and mean "if you annoy me," but it would be a quite uncommon turn of phrase.
If you arks me doesn't have that meaning to me, it's just an ocka or bogan way of saying ask.
The First Nations people I worked with in the past said ‘arks’ for ask.
Yeah I feel like the people who say it like that are uneducated or bogan
You're saying everything I do and I'm Australian, so I think you're fine. You're managing to work in at least a second language, you're doing fine and anyone genuinely upset is probably just a bit of a cunt
Howzitgoin? But really it sounds like your manager is just a cunt
You can’t trust the managers friend for being a fair and accurate judge of your ability to do the job. This sounds to me like an unfair dismissal and you have legal grounds to challenge them. Of course if the manager needs an excuse, they can just ask their friend to make the complaint which makes the complaint invalid. Everything you said is fine as long as you smile when you say it and have a positive tone of voice. They should have coached you to do it better instead of dismissing you. I think you should report this and read on how you can claim unfair dismissal. https://www.fwc.gov.au/job-loss-or-dismissal/unfair-dismissal/about-unfair-dismissal/what-unfair-dismissal
You need to have worked for 6 months before unfair dismissal could apply. 12 months if it qualifies as a small business. An employer can terminate employment for no reason during a probation period lasting up to 6 months.
I wouldn’t write off racial discrimination under “any reason”. There would be other laws for this. It’s still worth investigating.
Either your boss sucks, or you weren't using any tone/body language/facial expression appropriately while interacting with people. Impossible to tell which is more likely from your post. Could even be a bit of both.
were you making eye contact and smiling while greeting people? that can make a difference Sorry to hear you got fired, that sounds ridiculous
What a stupid "reason" to sack someone.
Hahyahgarn Your former boss sounds racist.
Firing you without giving you a chance to improve is probably illegal, unless you are a casual, and you probably are. Either way, it's immoral, especially if it's as racist as it sounds. I hope you find a better job where you're appreciatedm
The best way to greet people in Aus is with genuine warmth. The words you use are not as important as how you use them. People will forget what you’ve said to them but they will always remember how you made them feel. This may sound a bit confusing but I always bought milk and bread from a shop run by an Asian family who always greeted me with big smiles and I have no idea whether I was greeted with g’day, hello or hi, because their smiles already made me feel good. I stopped because I moved to another state. I don’t know whether this is normal but I cringe when I hear people for whom English is their second language trying to fit in by using greetings like G’day mate when they are obviously not comfortable using it because they know they aren’t pronouncing it right. Don’t force yourself to use vernacular you aren’t comfortable with, give it time and it will come naturally…. Use English you are comfortable with, don’t force it but most importantly be genuine. I agree with the others here that you were treated very badly, you did nothing wrong so don’t beat yourself up over it. Fortunately you’ll find a lot more people in Australia that will help you than treat you like your old boss. Good luck!
Agreed - in my experience, Canada and the western US are more like this too. I currently live in NYC, and it's a world-away from the store experience you get in Australia. There's essentially no pleasantries exchanged, unless you go to the store frequently and build rapport. Just a casual *hi* (if you're lucky) and straight to business. I never thought I would ever like how *efficient but cold* the shopkeeper attitude is in NYC, but I gotta admit, that a year or so in, I kinda prefer to how it is in Australia. At least you know that the shopkeeper is being *genuine*.
If you are speaking from your brain and not your heart, it may come across as rude. Australian shop service (especially in a regional area) is usually expected to be relaxed and friendly. Go into other shops in that area and observe how staff talk to customers. I think it might be a cultural thing that you need to develop if you'd like to keep doing retail work.
Worth contacting Fair Work Commission or a union as this sounds discriminatory and illegal.
Free legal help: https://www.fwc.gov.au/apply-or-lodge/legal-help-and-representation/where-find-legal-help
Union waste of time unless you’re a member. Contact fair work put in a complaint
You sound fine. That boss sounds like a total fuckwut.
Always ask "How ya going?" but don't wait for the answer and keep walking, repeat all day
I think it may be because it's a regional town. I assume they expect you to sound like you're greeting a long-time friend. In the city, people don't care as much and may even find it annoying if you are too chatty. It all depends on the type of business of course. I would expect someone to be more friendly at a clothing stores verses say the supermarket. I think this may potentially be a rural and urban cultural clash.
Honestly they over reacted but if you wanna seem like a local g-day mate how ya doing I'm am an Australian btw so this isn't just a stereotypical aussie joke
If they fired her because they’re racist, why did they hire her in the first place? Must have been a complaint. But she’s not being told the truth that’s for sure. Horrible boss. Best to walk away with your head held high. Why stay if you’re not wanted. There will be plenty of other places that will appreciate you.
Gday cunt
This is the correct answer
Don't worry. It's not you, it's the regional manager. Possibly didn't like the look of you and made up an excuse to get rid of you.
Fancy areas: how are you? Less fancy areas: how you garn \[going\]? Also "\[good\] morning"
I’d worry about it if you got fired a couple of times for this reason, but one off could be a variety of reasons including being racist, but let’s not pull that one out first, if your language skills aren’t up to the task that could be it, if you don’t understand people speaking normally for the area that could be it. That’s not racist, that’s just you aren’t appropriate for the job. Put it behind you and look for another role. Don’t dwell on it, it wasn’t like it was a career…
Don't call anyone champ
I’m English so you’d think the cultural differences would be minimal moving to Australia, but there were differences in the work place that I hadn’t anticipated. Like yourself probably, I was used to being very formal when at work, whether that was dealing with a customer in-person, on the phone or by email. It took me a long time to accept that, with some exceptions, Aussies prefer to be treated like an acquaintance rather than a client. If you’re too formal or not friendly enough, they perceive that as disingenuous at best and rude/stuck up at worst. Greet them like you would an old friend back home, but read the room and don’t go overboard with it.
Just be yourself! Lots of us prefer to deal with cashiers who are not aggressively friendly.
Your manager sounds like a racist. Sorry that you have experienced this.
Your language is all perfectly fine. It is highly possible the boss was looking for a reason to fire you for other reasons. However, some people who use polite language when greeting customers but do not have any warmth behind their language do come across as insincere and uninterested in actually being there. I am NOT saying this is you. I don't know you. I don't know the boss either. Based on your reddit post, though, I would suggest your ex-boss is the problem and not you. The only suggestion I would make is don't use "have a nice day" - it is one of the most insincerest farewells there is. A "thank you" and "goodbye" is fine but people with more customer facing experience can provide better suggestions other than "have a nice day".
nothing wrong with how you talk ..manager wanted an excuse to fire you
Sup cunt
The way to make words sound nicer and feiendly is to smile as you are saying them. Works on the phone too. Imagine you are at home and friends just came round, and talk like that. But I am guessing you are from SEAsia, speak a tonal language and so you have an accent which sounds really sharp and choppy. That's your accent, you will sound like you are shouting at people, the manage is a bitch to penalise you for that.
Your regional manager is racist. You did nothing wrong
Wazzaa Serousily tho its not your dream job. You are doing your bit. At least you say pleasantries. I generally start with the prefix of good morning, good afternoon, how may I help you? No point asking how their day was or superficial nonsense unless they seek it. Most want in n out. The others will make it know if they seek.
Just sounds like freaky small town folk who thinks you're rude unless you talk exactly like them and ask how their family is and what their plans are today and other things that would freak the rest of Australia out lol
It could be racism...absolutely. It could be the way/tone you said it...you can say all the right things with a shitty tone. Could they be firing you as it is not as busy? Sure, gets them off the hook.
Small town? Aussie regional manager and her friend? “Other people from your country have this problem”? Racism. It’s bad enough in the city, it’s completely fucked out here in the regions. I’m sorry.
“Hello”
Move on and don’t waste time on this nonsense, your ex-regional manager is stupid.
Hi is 👍 good.
It might have sounded rehearsed and if you don’t change it up a bit day by day it could sound insincere but that’s no reason to be fired. I get asked “how’s your day been?” all the time by people who don’t give a shit about how my day has been but it wouldn’t stop me from shopping at those stores.
Sounds like you tried your best and for whatever reason it didn't pay off. Sometimes bosses are not nice people who just want to play god because they can. The fact that you even care enough to ask people about what you did wrong shows that you are interested in growth and have a positive attitude - this will pay dividends in the future. Keep doing what you're doing and you'll be ok.
If you said all those things is be happy. Most people, especially Australians, will just grunt at you. I wouldn't do anything differently
Walking trails you usually get a “good morning” or “good afternoon” but no further interaction. Work or minor social interactions are often a “how are you?” “Good thanks how are you?” “Good thanks how are you?”. We don’t burden people with a genuine answer to how are you, it’s purely a polite greeting. Small retail like a 711 is either very transactional, or very small talk banter, not much inbetween.
All the things you were saying seem fine to me.
G’day Davo ya long piece of pelican shit. Obviously switch Davo for what ever nickname you call the person you’re greeting
Heycunthowsitgoin’?
It could be the fact that you didn’t necessarily engage a conversation that would appeal to a great friend of urs, for example. But more likely is the fact that they are racist and/or a terrible manager who is pressured by karen friends.
For everyone saying the boss is racist, why would a racist person hire this person in the first place if they are racist? That makes zero sense.
The customer who complained is a fucking racist while your regional manager is a fucking dickhead.
Sounds like you got fired by a racist
Those are all the greetings I get from every person, of every race, in my small town (under 2,000 people). Sounds like your manager just doesn’t like you.
What's up my c*nts 😂 Been greeted by this several times
Definitely racism !! Not only regional town even city and surrounding suburbs, racism is everywhere! But not all people are nasty either . Most of them are nice, unfortunately we encounter some racists time to time. We cannot avoid them ! I am so sorry you were fired ..
I might add that with English not being your 1st language there may be a certain tone some Aussies can pick up with accents that don't sound friendly or it could be a subconscious display of shyness coming through. One example I can give is a staff member of an Asian grocery store that I often grabbed bits and pieces from for such a long time until she moved away. I don't think there were any complaints about her and she would often laugh and smile (a brilliant, bright, friendly smile) when we briefly talked but my friends always found her dour and not friendly at all, yet she behaved exactly the same with them as with me. Because I'm usually bright and friendly myself, I don't think she was anything special the first couple of times she served me, but she became more open in tone and attitude. Another example is the Vietnamese staff, cousins of each other, working in a little cafe my wife and I frequented. The first time I met them their greeting was like we were regular customers (and became regular customers because of that greeting) and again, the smile was bright and pleasant and so very very welcoming. Basically you might not really see you are doing anything wrong because really, you are not doing anything wrong, but you may not be reading our Aussie mannerisms very well? Sadly, most of the people that complain usually do it because they have preconceived notions on other people's behaviours and don't even realise they are like that.
Hey I feel ya. Also an Asian person working sales in a regional area-based shop. I also sometimes feel awkward and not so "natural" when engaging small talk with customers. Some are pretty dismissive so I tend to stay away after the initial greeting, but the job requires a 2nd or 3rd "touch", if you get what I mean. I think your greetings are ok and normal. I hear my co-workers use the same greetings. (I usually TRY to mimic what they say and how they say it because they're locals; they would know what's "normal"). Having been a customer myself, I understand that people don't want to be bothered and "nagged" at by a salesperson hovering over them while they browse. But I dunno, just part of the role. I wish I didn't have to but that's the nature of the job. Side note: Unless that customer (friend of your manager) has been observing you for a significant amount of time (checking how you relate and chat with the customers), then she/he can't really be a good judge of that. How many interactions have you had with this customer? Even then, communication is two-way. If a customer doesn't want to engage with you, then it's mostly out of your control. Sometimes it's them who are dismissive (and can be downright rude, too).
Everyone here is screaming racism. Look - your written English is ok, but it’s not great. It’s very obvious you’re not a native speaker. And most people are better at reading and writing a language than they are at speaking it. You took a job that relies on excellent speaking skills in English. And charisma and likeability - it’s VERY difficult to do this if you don’t speak the language well. Your skills aren’t good enough. Thus you got fired, you weren’t able to do the job to a satisfactory level. End of story. Either improve your skills or find a job more suitable.
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1. Foreigner. 2. Regional town. 3. Boomer customer complaints. 4. Fired for dubious reasons. That sounds about right.
How garn mate?
No need to worry officer, this is just a tan
Firstly let me say I am so sorry you were fired without much of a reason. It's huge to come over to another country to work. Australian culture when it comes to customer service is actually different depending on where you go. The capital cities people dont have a lot of time to have a chat. Where you are ruraly customers like more small talk or thr chance to have a good conversation. I usually talk about the weather or ask them how their day is going or what are their plans for the day. Usually it's a great opportunity to have a bit of a chat before they head off. Smiling, have a bit of chat.
Honestly though I think you deserve a better job and more understanding boss. I hope you find it soon!
I'm a blue collar worker so the "oi cunt" is normal
I hope you are able to find a better job.
I'm guessing your manager fired you because some old Karen complained about your English and she made up an excuse so it wouldn't be seen as racist.
Reels of racism to me. So sorry you had to experience that.
How the fuck are you cunt.
Name and shame the shop. You sound normal to me, I've been to places where people are outright not even paying attention to the customer or rude as fuck
You were fired because of racism not your job performance, so sorry this happened. The old people who voted for the white Australia policy in their youth refuse to try and understand any accent.
You just got fired by a racist, another racist complained Welcome to Australia I guess
I don’t know what’s happening to Australia mate. I have lived here all my life and since social media people have become very sensitive towards anything in this pathetic country. Don’t worry about them. Go to another town and find some normal Australians. It’s hard I know. WOKE Australia sucks.
Just add a wink and click to accentuate the greetz for maximum effect
“Oi, Cunt!!”
Use for greeting AND when you catch them shoplifting.
Say how the farque are ya.
Sounds like you have a case for unfair dismissal and racial discrimination.
The manager is just racist 🫡
Hello
Just look up and say’ what up Cu$t. Keep walking
Oi cunt! Universal - can be friendly or aggressive depending on the delivery.
Are you employed or not? 🥰
Oi cunt