SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — As more people continue to move to southwest Missouri, local businesses have been struggling to find bilingual workers.
Over the last decade, the Hispanic population in Greene County alone has risen 75%.
Adam Bell with Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Water Cleanup says his team has to call in their secret weapon just to be able to translate for their customers.
“My father-in-law is Hispanic, and I’ve been at Roto-Rooter for almost 20 years, and every time I need to communicate with somebody, I’ll I’ll give him a call, and you help explain things to the customer,” said Bell.
SGF City Council could consider reviving 2017 Kearney Corridor Study
Bell is a part of just one of many local businesses that are in need of bilingual speakers.
It’s not only out there in the field, but also being able to work the phones and speak with customers.
“It’s imperative, you know, if you could put yourself in the customer’s shoes for a second,” said Bell. “They don’t know what’s going on. They don’t know how expensive it’s going to be. And you show up and you tell them it’s going to be this much money to do this. They don’t know why.”