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.
The warm-up pack
The lines that actually run a shift behind the counter — no register-drill flashcards.
01 · How you open the counter
¿En qué le puedo servir?
How can I help you? — mi pana, ¿me ayudas con algo? in casual Caribbean/Colombian shops.
This is what gets said the second someone walks up to the counter. Learn it and you can open any retail exchange, not just recite it.
02 · Every shopkeeper's mantra
El cliente siempre tiene la razón.
The customer is always right.
Every small shop runs on this line. Drop it into a conversation about work and you sound like someone who's actually stood behind a counter.
03 · When there's none left
El producto está agotado.
The item is sold out. — locals often just say se nos acabó.
This is the polished version. Say it first, then loosen up with se nos acabó once you're comfortable.
04 · Call first, don't waste the trip
¿Lo tienen disponible?
Do you have that in stock?
The polite phone-call opener across Latin America — ask this before showing up for nothing.
05 · Short enough to be believable
Paso por el pedido.
I'll come by for the order.
Direct, no over-explaining — exactly what a Mexican customer says on their way to collect something.
06 · Haggling starts with this question
¿A cómo lo da?
How much are you asking for it? — the Mexican-market version of ¿cuánto cuesta?
Quiero saber el precio is correct and stiff. This is what actually gets said across a market stall.
07 · Cash or card, decide now
¿Es en efectivo o con tarjeta?
Cash or card?
Have your answer ready before you reach the register — that's the whole decision this line is asking you to make.
08 · The paperwork offer that impresses
¿Le hago factura?
Should I make you an invoice?
A small, formal offer that shows you know Mexican retail runs on more than just a receipt.
09 · Softer than asking for a refund
¿Me lo puede cambiar?
Can you exchange this for me?
This, not a demand for money back, is how a return conversation actually starts.
10 · Thirty days, stated plainly
Tiene garantía de 30 días.
It comes with a 30-day warranty.
Say the timeline out loud and the customer relaxes. One sentence does the reassuring for you.
11 · The shop's blunt house rule
No hay devoluciones.
No returns.
Small shops say it flat, no cushioning. Knowing the line means it won't catch you off guard when you hear it.
FLUENT
Finally, someone to talk to in Spanish.
Ten-minute spoken lessons. A teacher who answers back — and gently fixes what you got wrong.
First 10 lessons freeandbefluent.com/spanish/small-businessRegional 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.
First 10 lessons free · 10-minute spoken lessons · your AI coaching team remembers you
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.
