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Language barriers can be a real hassle to deal with, especially when you are at work.

What would you do if a customer came into your gas station, set money on the counter, and simply said, “$20.”

That is what the guy in this story experienced, but through some patience and creativity, he was able to figure out exactly what he wanted.

I won’t spoil the story for you, so read on to get all the details and see if you like it as much as I did.

Money lost in translation

Yesterday was pretty busy at the gas station food mart; lots of cigarettes to be sold; snacks, scratchers and of course, gas.

Language barriers can be difficult, but sometimes they are funny.

We sell to everyone too, and have a wide international client base, so sometimes there’s a language barrier in the way of customer service.

Like, this elderly Asian gentleman at the end of my shift, came up to the register; dropped a bill on the counter and said, “Twenty dollars.”

K.

It is reasonable to guess that he wanted gas.

I waited patiently, sometimes it takes a minute for them to remember the word for what they want. He just smiled and repeated, “Twenty dollars.”

Okay, so I tried to guess; what was our most common $20- purchase? Ah! Gas! So, I ask, “Which pump, sir?” All I got was a confused look.

“Pump number?”

At least the guy is cheerful.

He points at the money. “Yes sir” I say, “That’s twenty dollars.”

“Twenty dollars!” He repeats cheerfully, and… nothing.

He really isn’t getting anywhere with this.

“What do you want?” I say, trying to be direct.

“Twenty dollars!” He insists.

What could he want?

“Do you want gas?” …and I point at the fuel pumps. “Do you want cigarettes?” …and I point at the packs of smokes.

“Do you… ?”

Oh, now it is all making sense.

“MEGA!!!”

Lottery tickets, he wanted lottery tickets.

The language might be a barrier, but it won’t stop him from getting his lottery tickets. It is nice that everyone remained happy and cheerful throughout, though.

Let’s see what the people in the comments have to say about this story.

Here is another comment from another gas station attendant.

Here is someone who has to sell a lot of lottery tickets.

Learning a second language is very rewarding.

Lottery games are very popular.

Now this is how to overcome a language barrier with cheerfulness. In addition to being funny, this story really shows that people can overcome anything as long as they keep a good attitude about it.

I’m sure this type of thing happens all the time. Hopefully, the guy who got those lottery tickets ended up winning big time.