NationStates

I wonder how much Mcdonalds is getting compensated for this.

All McDonalds are now sovereign U.S. territory.

Pretty sure there was an American Dad! episode that dealt with this.

Scomagia wrote:It's not unlikely at all that Mario speaks some English, enough to put the person in contact with the Embassy.

If Mario spoke a foreign language well enough to understand distressed Americans, he wouldn't be flipping Frikadellen at McD.

Also, seriously, how difficult would be finding ANY bloody shop and just asking "Telefon, bitte?"

Would you like Freedom Fries with that?

This is Vetinari-level policymaking- it sounds quite silly, but the more you think about it the more it seems to have a kind of logic to it. It certainly can't do any harm.

Old Tyrannia wrote:This is Vetinari-level policymaking- it sounds quite silly, but the more you think about it the more it seems to have a kind of logic to it. It certainly can't do any harm.

That the Ugly American Tourist stereotype is true enough to where a McConsulate made perfectly logical sense is rather depressing.

although it is weird, I think it may be helpful if you lost your passport in the city that has no US consulate also it may be more convenient and reachable in the moment when you get pick pocketed or doesn't have the money with you.

Although I'm not coming from US, I like the idea that public service shall come to the public not the opposite. Right now in my nation some municipality already applied this to renew or re-do your ID, driver license, vehicle license, passport, family registration and such on shopping malls on weekend, other license or report like tax report or company registration through online submission. since most of the people must work on weekday. That actually give more convenience to both employer & employee.

Brightlake wrote:although it is weird, I think it may be helpful if you lost your passport in the city that has no US consulate also it may be more convenient and reachable in the moment when you get pick pocketed or doesn't have the money with you.

You know, that's what police offices are for - and police offices are much more likely to host someone able to speak a second language than the average McD. By the way, you HAVE to report a crime or the loss of ID to the police anyway.

Risottia wrote:

Scomagia wrote:It's not unlikely at all that Mario speaks some English, enough to put the person in contact with the Embassy.

If Mario spoke a foreign language well enough to understand distressed Americans, he wouldn't be flipping Frikadellen at McD.

Also, seriously, how difficult would be finding ANY bloody shop and just asking "Telefon, bitte?"

You do understand that over 8 million Austrians speak English, yes? That's nearly three quarters of Austrians. I'm not sure where you pulled the idea that speaking a second language makes you over qualified to work at McDonalds but it's wrong.

Where would Austrian tourists in the US turn if they needed immediate contact with a consul?

Where would those visiting from elsewhere turn?

McDonald's is still a good option. It is widely distributed and easily located.

Pope Joan wrote:Where would Austrian tourists in the US turn if they needed immediate contact with a consul?

Where would those visiting from elsewhere turn?

McDonald's is still a good option. It is widely distributed and easily located.

Aye, that is a problem, few other nations have companies so ubiquitous, but a few could do it. Germany and Aldi, UK and Nando's, Canada and Tim Horton's, The Philippines and Jolibee, and so on.

Scomagia wrote:

Risottia wrote:If Mario spoke a foreign language well enough to understand distressed Americans, he wouldn't be flipping Frikadellen at McD.

Also, seriously, how difficult would be finding ANY bloody shop and just asking "Telefon, bitte?"

You do understand that over 8 million Austrians speak English, yes? That's nearly three quarters of Austrians. I'm not sure where you pulled the idea that speaking a second language makes you over qualified to work at McDonalds but it's wrong.

Exactly, where did you pull this stat from?
Also, how often do you go to Austria?
Have you tried speaking English to a generic Austrian clerk?
Are you aware that passing a high-school level foreign language test does not make one a fluent speaker?

This might come in handy in case of a vicious kangaroo attack.

Baltenstein wrote:This might come in handy in case of a vicious kangaroo attack.

Gotta watch out for those Austrian Kangaroos. They're hardcore.

Galloism wrote:

Baltenstein wrote:This might come in handy in case of a vicious kangaroo attack.

Gotta watch out for those Austrian Kangaroos. They're hardcore.

Kangaroos in Lederhosen.

Risottia wrote:

Galloism wrote:Gotta watch out for those Austrian Kangaroos. They're hardcore.

Kangaroos in Lederhosen.

Yet another good name for a band.

is mcdonalds "a well known part of austria's" culture?

what i want with real ground beef is noodles and mushrooms instead of bread.

i know nothing of austria's culture other then to ride narrow gauge trains in its mountains is the only reason i know of i would ever want to visit there.

Old Tyrannia wrote:This is Vetinari-level policymaking- it sounds quite silly, but the more you think about it the more it seems to have a kind of logic to it. It certainly can't do any harm.

And this is step in the right direction. China and Russia use their country’s companies both public and private to advance national interests.
Companies can make profits so long as doing so does not harm national interests.

Unfortunately we have not done the same. We let our companies work against us rather than ensuring they work with us and for us.

We should absolutely leverage American companies to advance American interests, not just their own share prices.
If the do it willing, great.
If not we should make them.

Risottia wrote:

Scomagia wrote:You do understand that over 8 million Austrians speak English, yes? That's nearly three quarters of Austrians. I'm not sure where you pulled the idea that speaking a second language makes you over qualified to work at McDonalds but it's wrong.

Exactly, where did you pull this stat from?
Also, how often do you go to Austria?
Have you tried speaking English to a generic Austrian clerk?
Are you aware that passing a high-school level foreign language test does not make one a fluent speaker?

The European Commission's Eurobarometer(the EU's statistics compilation) actually puts the figure of fluent English-speakers at 40.6% of all Austrians, which is still nearly 3.6 million people.

Sounds like the ideal roleplayed nations on NationStates' National and International Roleplaying forums (e.g. turning one's most well-known company into a mini embassy/consulate; most bizarre!), but I guess this is in real life

Cameroi wrote:is mcdonalds "a well known part of austria's" culture?

what i want with real ground beef is noodles and mushrooms instead of bread.

i know nothing of austria's culture other then to ride narrow gauge trains in its mountains is the only reason i know of i would ever want to visit there.

Then you should go to Switzerland instead. More mountains, more narrow-gauge lines, and wider narrow-gauge network.

Shrillland wrote:

Risottia wrote:Exactly, where did you pull this stat from?
Also, how often do you go to Austria?
Have you tried speaking English to a generic Austrian clerk?
Are you aware that passing a high-school level foreign language test does not make one a fluent speaker?

The European Commission's Eurobarometer(the EU's statistics compilation) actually puts the figure of fluent English-speakers at 40.6% of all Austrians, which is still nearly 3.6 million people.

I somewhat doubt that those "fluent" are certified C1 or C2. Anyway, one would guess that burger-flippers are more likely to hail from the least-educated 60%.
So, really, what's the point when you have telephones and local police offices?

Risottia wrote:

Shrillland wrote:
The European Commission's Eurobarometer(the EU's statistics compilation) actually puts the figure of fluent English-speakers at 40.6% of all Austrians, which is still nearly 3.6 million people.

I somewhat doubt that those "fluent" are certified C1 or C2. Anyway, one would guess that burger-flippers are more likely to hail from the least-educated 60%.
So, really, what's the point when you have telephones and local police offices?

To be fair, the best possible training for such situations would indeed be to calm the person asking for services down and have a list of telephone numbers to call the actual embassy staff whilst the new customer eats something that reminds them of home. It's not like the employees can legally have the right to give any other service anyway as they are not diplomatic staff. And I doubt that a fast food franchise would want to be saddled with the legal risk of giving actual legal advise. So most likely this will take the form of a list of specially allocated telephone numbers at the embassy and instructions on how to call them.

Risottia wrote:

Shrillland wrote:
The European Commission's Eurobarometer(the EU's statistics compilation) actually puts the figure of fluent English-speakers at 40.6% of all Austrians, which is still nearly 3.6 million people.

I somewhat doubt that those "fluent" are certified C1 or C2. Anyway, one would guess that burger-flippers are more likely to hail from the least-educated 60%.
?

Why ? I would assume most are university students with a job to help pay for college

Risottia wrote:

Shrillland wrote:
The European Commission's Eurobarometer(the EU's statistics compilation) actually puts the figure of fluent English-speakers at 40.6% of all Austrians, which is still nearly 3.6 million people.

I somewhat doubt that those "fluent" are certified C1 or C2. Anyway, one would guess that burger-flippers are more likely to hail from the least-educated 60%.
So, really, what's the point when you have telephones and local police offices?

Fluency isn't required to process a request to reach the consulate, just enough understanding to know that the person does, in fact, want to reach the consulate.. You're just finding any little reason to nitpick an otherwise good or neutral policy.