En Faite… Non.

We don’t work on Wednesdays, at least most of us. Primary schools are closed and the High Schools only have class until 12. I usually use Wednesdays for sleeping in, drowning out all light with the French “black out blinds” (you seriously have no idea that time of day it is when they are closed and could sleep foreverrrr/why didn’t we have those in college?), going for a run, and getting all my weekly errands done. 

This past week’s errand list involved trying to rent a bike, and I came across some of the customer service that is so notorious here, the kind that made my friend and I stop and say “How French was that!?” 

Armed with information from our lovely foyer “animatrice” about where we can rent bikes, we venture downtown and follow signs to a slightly sketchy looking staircase leading to an underground parking lot. There is a desk, a place to pay for parking, and thankfully a few brochures to tell us we are in the right place.  After pretending to read all the brochure information (because I read it all already online) we build up the confidence to speak with the man at the desk. Here is the conversation that followed:

Frenchie “Oh you want a bike… you have to make a request online for that… do you have internet?”

(Yes we have internet. We’re foreign, not 100).

Foreigners “So you don’t have bikes for rent right now?”

Frenchie “Yes you can rent them for a half day, for the day, for the month… you must fill out the form and make a request online”

Foreigners “It’s impossible to do it here? Where you rent the bikes?”

Frenchie “Let me write down the internet address for you”

Foreigners “So after we make our request, how long will it take to get a bike”

Frenchie “Oh… (Insert a lot of meaningless but often used French sound effects here. We do not have an equivalent for them) In fact, I cannot tell you a number of days. Sometimes it is fast. Sometimes it takes a long time”

*trails off into what I think is mutual, confused, silence

Foreigners “So you can’t tell us how long this process usually takes?”

Frenchie “In fact, No.”

This seems extreme, this complete lack of customer service, but in actuality it’s a part of the culture here that we’ve noticed in restaurants, at formal government offices, even at the French Consulate in Chicago. .. and it may be a big culprit for the ever-persistent “The French are rude” stereotype. They’re not necessarily rude; it’s more like they just don’t care. Unlike in America, where “the customer is always right”, here you should feel lucky that you were permitted into the building and that someone is talking to you.

The best part? I’ve scoured their website. There is nowhere to make a request online. I’m unsure as to whether we were talking to an actual employee.  

It was raining by the time this entire exchange was over, so I can only think I have excellent karma and the weather gods were just looking out for me. Who wants to cycle 20 minutes home in the rain? Not this girl. 

The only thing to do after an experience like this? March right over to your nearest pastry shop, enjoy a few macarons, and stop in a café for a cup of strong black coffee. And then try it all again next week, hoping someone else is working the desk. I’ll keep you posted. 

Bisous