Boss Provides Language Training, Asks Customers to Show Kindness to Migrant Staff

A Malaysian restaurant owner has come online to express his sympathy for his employees despite the busy schedule of running a restaurant. He said that one of the biggest challenges in his daily work is language communication. He often has to quickly switch between three languages—English, Malay and Cantonese—during staff meetings.

On the other hand, the situation becomes more difficult when talking to Myanmar and Bangladeshi employees. However, he believes that management should take responsibility for this problem. Therefore, he wants to make the employees proficient step by step by providing basic language training.

Language Challenge

The restaurant owner said in a Facebook post that working with employees who speak different languages is not easy. Sometimes, misunderstandings arise when the customer’s language and the employee’s language do not match. As a result, the speed of service slows down, and uncomfortable situations can arise.

However, he emphasizes that this problem can be reduced to a great extent with proper training. With that in mind, he has taken the initiative to teach the employees the language step by step. He believes that given time, the employees will become more proficient.

Harsh Reality

He added that many of the workers working in his restaurant have left their home countries to work in search of a livelihood. Learning a new language in a new country is not easy for them. Yet, they are working hard to fulfill their family responsibilities.

Therefore, he believes it is important to treat them with patience and compassion. Recently, he was deeply hurt when he heard a customer insult a waiter. That incident motivated him to speak out publicly about the issue.

Call for Compassion

The restaurant owner requested customers to try to understand the situation of the workers before speaking harshly. A little patience and polite behavior can be a great motivation for the workers. He believes that kind behavior not only improves the quality of service but also makes the work environment positive.

Therefore, he urges everyone to maintain a humane perspective. In his words, being right all the time is not a big deal; being humane is more important.

Netizens’ Reactions

After the publication of this post, there was a huge response on social media. Many commented that publicly insulting someone is never acceptable and mutual respect should be maintained. Some praised the owner’s humanitarian stance and said that increasing empathy in the workplace is the need of the hour. Another experienced chef shared his experience, mentioning that in the past, the kitchen environment was often toxic, where insults and harsh behavior were considered normal.

However, he believes that the situation has changed in many places and the importance of empathy has increased. Overall, netizens agreed that it is important to show more patience and kindness, especially towards expatriate workers.