A New Jersey knife shop owner is getting dragged over a sign he posted on his window charging customers more if they don’t speak English. Store Owner Dave Feinberg grew frustrated after a customer came into the Cutter’s Edge, his knife and blade sharpening shop in Clifton, but only spoke Spanish. “I had an impossible time understanding (him), and the communication between this guy and myself was virtually none, and I tried,” the 71-year-old told the Daily News. “And he made no attempt to communicate with me in a language I understood.” So he posted a sign in his window: “Speak English or Pay $10 Extra.”
“I guess the frustration factor got to me, but it had nothing to do with speaking English or Spanish or any other language,” he said. “It was about when we’re here, we are able to understand each other.”
This was three weeks ago. And initially, it got little attention.Then over the Labor Day weekend, someone on Twitter snapped a photo of the sign and posted it online. When Feinberg returned to his shop Tuesday, he discovered a slew of angry voice mails.
“All hell broke loose,” he said. “I’ve been getting phone calls from all over the place, I’ve had people walk in and tell me they were going to close by business down.”
The hand-written sign has since been removed & replaced it with an apology note.
“Some people said they accept my apology,” he said, but “some people have said it’s too late for an apology.”