Saying "please" is understood as a basic courtesy when asking for something in the U.S., but evidently using the Spanish equivalent, "por favor," is enough to bring condemnation and even threats of physical violence. At least that appears to be the case with Pizza Patrón, a 104-restaurant takeout chain that has run a promotion offering customers a free, large pepperoni pizza on the evening of June 5 simply by placing their order in Spanish (Pizza por favor).
Andrew Gamm, brand director for Pizza Patrón, said the promotion was meant to be light-hearted and, while it was primarily intended for the chain's overwhelmingly Hispanic customer base (70 percent Spanish-speaking), it was open to all.
"If you don't speak Spanish, come on in. We'll give you the phrase and make sure everyone that shows up walks away with a pizza," Mr. Gamm told ABC News.
Posts on the company's Facebook page were overwhelmingly positive, but negative comments were also included. One critic wrote, "No thank you for your racist promotion ... the native language in the USA is English ... I will never order food from you again."
A number of supporters of the promotion pointed out that neither of the words in the company name were of English origin. Most took issue with charges of racism.
"All you have to say is pizza por favor. It's not like they are asking you to recite the Mexican pledge of allegiance," wrote one person on Facebook.
