Yes, there are human beings on the other side of our daily transactions that should always be treated with respect. However, these are transactions, not social calls.
I live 10 minutes away from an Ace hardware, 20 minutes away from Home Depot. I almost always go to Ace and pay a few dollars more because when I walk in the door, somebody immediately asks me if they can help me find what I'm looking for. They walk me to the isle and spend a few minutes discussing the various options. If I had to communicate awkwardly through a tablet, I'd honestly just spend a few more minutes driving and save the money.
Sales is a communication-heavy job. It's pretty common already to offer extra pay for bilingual associates. I don't see what the difference is here; nobody would hire me for a job selling in Mandarin, even though I could run Google Translate on a tablet.
I think this is the issue in a nutshell. And as a salesperson, you don't get to define the method by which customers want to interact with you.
They're the ones with the money. You're the one trying to get the money. They get to have you meet them where they prefer.
