Small Business
Greet customers, take payments, handle returns — running the counter out loud in Spanish.
Open with ¿en qué le puedo servir? — the natural shop-floor greeting — and at the register the standard prompt is ¿es en efectivo o con tarjeta? When something's sold out, say el producto está agotado, or casually se nos acabó, instead of the stiff no hay stock. And when a return comes up, lead with the policy, stated plainly: tiene garantía de 30 días.
Below: the inventory, order and payment words you'll reach for daily, how customers bargain region by region — and a way to rehearse a whole shift at the counter out loud, no flashcards, before a real customer walks in.
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Regional Spanish
Textbooks teach one word. Locals use several — pick your region's and stay consistent.
| English | Mexico | Argentina |
|---|---|---|
| How much is it? | ¿a cómo lo da? | ¿cuánto sale? |
| a little discount | un descuentito | una rebaja |
| cash (slang) | la feria | la plata |
| the merchandise | la mercancía | la mercadería |
Watch out
The part no drill site can do
Olivia
Your vocabulary teacher for this pack
You don't drill this vocabulary — you work a shift with it. In the Small Business lessons, Olivia plays your customers: one wants a special order, and you confirm the item, the quantity and the delivery date out loud; the next is back with a return, so you ask for el recibo, check the policy, and offer reembolso o cambio. Then the roles flip and you're on the phone to your proveedor, reordering stock. Every word earns its place by being said.
Blank mid-sentence and nothing bad happens — she waits. That's the practice, without unnecessary judgement.
Finish the 6 lessons and Small Business is yours — earned, not given.
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Quick answers
¿En qué le puedo servir? is the standard, polite version you'll hear across Mexico. In casual neighborhood stores in Colombia and the Caribbean it's warmer and looser: mi pana, ¿me ayudas con algo?
¿Es en efectivo o con tarjeta? — the standard cashier prompt. In Colombia customers may ask ¿aceptas Nequi? (mobile payment), and in Mexico offer ¿le hago factura? when someone needs a formal invoice.
El producto está agotado is the professional version; se nos acabó is what everyone actually says. In Argentina you'll hear no nos queda mercadería.
Queja is the general word for a complaint, but most of Latin America says reclamo for a formal one — the kind that expects a refund or a fix, not just sympathy.
State the timeline, the conditions, and the options: tiene garantía de 30 días, con recibo, sin usar, reembolso o cambio. Small shops that don't take returns put it bluntly: no hay devoluciones.
