A video that went viral on social media showed a Taco Bell worker using the name Luisa arguing with a customer trying to place an order.
The worker keeps insisting that she not speak English, and asks the customer to place her order in Spanish.
The video was recorded in Florida, killing any doubt that the incident could have occurred in an area with a large Spanish-speaking population.
It is worth noting, moreover, that the situation specifically took place in Hialeah, the largest Hispanic community in the United States. According to 2016 census data, 90 percent of the city’s residents speak Spanish.
The employee then goes on to berate the woman for holding up the line and asks her to move up, threatening to call the police on her.
Upon being told “This is Hialeah,” the customer responded with “This is America.”
According to representatives of Taco Bell, the unnamed employee has been immediately dismissed, and the company claims to be taking steps to prevent such incidents from occurring again in the future.
Taco Bell released a statement that read: “This does not meet our customer experience expectations. We have worked quickly to resolve with the customer to ensure this doesn’t happen again. The individual no longer works for the brand.”
Additionally, they have offered a $100 gift card to the affected customer, although she did not seem too swayed by the gesture.
Alexandria Montgomery, the customer in question, explained that a gift card would not address the actual issues that led to this incident in the first place, and she saw that as an attempt by the company to sweep the problem under the rug.
She called the viral encounter “racist” and explained: “This lady understood what I was saying but didn’t want to take my order talking bout she don’t speak English.”
It is not clear if she plans to take any further action related to the incident, although many have expressed their support over her potential decision to do so.
As can be expected, the incident has also been entirely dividing for some groups.
"No habla ingles!" Hialeah Taco Bell employee fired for refusing to take order from customer who doesn't speak Spanish. Watch full video here: https://t.co/rp2Pjo6oc7 pic.twitter.com/XWXtU2hZHa
— WSVN 7 News (@wsvn) September 14, 2018
