can't stand this place anymore
Discussion
LDN said:
I honestly never realised that France was like this... in any case, we will just have a second home and will avoid renting it out anyway. But, this thread is an eye opener!
If you're talking about short term holiday lets, you won't have any more tenant problems than you will anywhere else, and regulation, accounting, and taxes on the income will be simpler and cheaper than in Britain. Long term rental (particularly to families with children), as Abbott says would be best steered clear of for the feint of heart, but the hoops prospective tenants have to jump through are much the same in the UK.
Steve
Another piss boiler with non-existant customer service and I-can't-be-bothered-attitude from shop assistants.
Waited in the car whilsts the Mrs goes in to Alinea to get a gift voucher for a friend's house warming. She comes back with an €80 one and we both decide that a €100 woukd be better so she goes back to change it.
She comes back five minutes later and says they told her they "cant't change it".
I immediately feel the rage and frustrating rising up because yet again the f
kers are pulling their same old st.
So I take the card and go back in. Even if I say so myself, to my credit I didn't lose it.
Me to supervisor whilst smiling: "Hello! Just bought this voucher card and would like to change for one of higher value please"
Supervisor with scrutinising look "Oh no we can't do that"
Me, still smiling, breezy " I don't understand? Just reimburse the €80 and I'll pay you €100 for a new voucher"
Supervisor with increasingly irritated look on her face: "No Monsieur (I fking love it when they act like they're being respectful) the computer won't do that, it's not possible."
Me, staying calm but firm "Look I can't believe they didn't include that functionality in the computer, I'm not asking for anything unusual, just an exchange/refund"
Supervisor very irritated with this customer who dares to ask for stuff "I can't do it Monsieur"
Me: "It's not that you can't do it, it's that you won't do it"
She then literally convulses her whole body in anger and throws her arms out, asks me for the voucher, tells me not to move and walks off muttering "I don't believe it! I don't believe it!"
5 minutes later she comes back, asks me to pay the €20 difference and gives me a new €100 voucher card.
I smiled and thanked her for the great customer service.
Lying, lazy, bad willed, mediocre weasels!
Waited in the car whilsts the Mrs goes in to Alinea to get a gift voucher for a friend's house warming. She comes back with an €80 one and we both decide that a €100 woukd be better so she goes back to change it.
She comes back five minutes later and says they told her they "cant't change it".
I immediately feel the rage and frustrating rising up because yet again the f
kers are pulling their same old st.So I take the card and go back in. Even if I say so myself, to my credit I didn't lose it.
Me to supervisor whilst smiling: "Hello! Just bought this voucher card and would like to change for one of higher value please"
Supervisor with scrutinising look "Oh no we can't do that"
Me, still smiling, breezy " I don't understand? Just reimburse the €80 and I'll pay you €100 for a new voucher"
Supervisor with increasingly irritated look on her face: "No Monsieur (I f
king love it when they act like they're being respectful) the computer won't do that, it's not possible."Me, staying calm but firm "Look I can't believe they didn't include that functionality in the computer, I'm not asking for anything unusual, just an exchange/refund"
Supervisor very irritated with this customer who dares to ask for stuff "I can't do it Monsieur"
Me: "It's not that you can't do it, it's that you won't do it"
She then literally convulses her whole body in anger and throws her arms out, asks me for the voucher, tells me not to move and walks off muttering "I don't believe it! I don't believe it!"
5 minutes later she comes back, asks me to pay the €20 difference and gives me a new €100 voucher card.
I smiled and thanked her for the great customer service.
Lying, lazy, bad willed, mediocre weasels!
To address the balance; been into a Leroy Merlin to buy tiles and some other bits... and the guy in there speaks little but decent English... was THE most helpful person I've ever had the pleasure of dealing with in any shop ever. Seriously; just going out of his way in every way shape and form; even down to organising the batches to be sure tiles matched; organising a delivery that officially couldn't be done, etc.
In the week I've been here sorting stuff; everyone has been brilliant. The trip to Leroy Merlin was preceded by being lost and pulling over to ask for directions; cue the French chap (kids in tow) shouting at me to follow him; 10 minutes later; he's driven all around the houses just to ensure I got to where I'd asked for.... unbelievable.
Like anywhere; there's good and bad...
In the week I've been here sorting stuff; everyone has been brilliant. The trip to Leroy Merlin was preceded by being lost and pulling over to ask for directions; cue the French chap (kids in tow) shouting at me to follow him; 10 minutes later; he's driven all around the houses just to ensure I got to where I'd asked for.... unbelievable.
Like anywhere; there's good and bad...
LDN said:
To address the balance; been into a Leroy Merlin to buy tiles and some other bits... and the guy in there speaks little but decent English... was THE most helpful person I've ever had the pleasure of dealing with in any shop ever. Seriously; just going out of his way in every way shape and form; even down to organising the batches to be sure tiles matched; organising a delivery that officially couldn't be done, etc.
In the week I've been here sorting stuff; everyone has been brilliant. The trip to Leroy Merlin was preceded by being lost and pulling over to ask for directions; cue the French chap (kids in tow) shouting at me to follow him; 10 minutes later; he's driven all around the houses just to ensure I got to where I'd asked for.... unbelievable.
Like anywhere; there's good and bad...
...bit of a long way for me to go, plus plenty of competition by way of a distraction, but I have to say that many of the staff in Leroy Merlin speak some English and are genuinely helpful and do practice the good service ethos. I think they must be trained to do so, which is exceptional in modern France in my experience.In the week I've been here sorting stuff; everyone has been brilliant. The trip to Leroy Merlin was preceded by being lost and pulling over to ask for directions; cue the French chap (kids in tow) shouting at me to follow him; 10 minutes later; he's driven all around the houses just to ensure I got to where I'd asked for.... unbelievable.
Like anywhere; there's good and bad...
Driller said:
I do agree that chez Leroy there is the semblance of some kind of customer service compared to the rest of French commerce.
Still relatively kack compared to the UK though and of course no British cheeriness!
I found Leroy Merlin better than any B&Q I've ever been in and was genuinely shocked at how far the guy I was dealing with, went; in helping out. So much so, that I'll be ringing the manager and singing his praises... I've never done such a thing. Maybe Leroy M' is an exception and I struck lucky but generally; I've found a week here pretty easy going; I'll admit, my stint in Castorama didn't go quite as well. The vet for the dog passport was good, the accommodation staff were good, etc etc. I don't have a lot of experience of France but so far so good. Still relatively kack compared to the UK though and of course no British cheeriness!
Glad you've a good week so far 
. Also great with your Leroy experience but I genuinely think you struck lucky.
Also, when you come across a real problem that needs to be sorted put which needs a little extra something from someone, that's when it goes <CRUNCH>.
You have to be here for a few years before the irritation accumulates and, like the situation I described above, you get annoyed in your head even before you speak to them because you just know what's coming: the standard replies of "no we can't do that", "you'll have to come back later" or "that"s not in my job description".
. Also great with your Leroy experience but I genuinely think you struck lucky.Also, when you come across a real problem that needs to be sorted put which needs a little extra something from someone, that's when it goes <CRUNCH>.
You have to be here for a few years before the irritation accumulates and, like the situation I described above, you get annoyed in your head even before you speak to them because you just know what's coming: the standard replies of "no we can't do that", "you'll have to come back later" or "that"s not in my job description".
My experience in Leroys goes a follows,
"Can I have that Karcher please"
"No"
"Why not"
"We have none in stock"
"Can I have the display one"
"no"
"Why not"
"It's the display model"
"When will you have some in stock"
"Don't know"
"Can I order one" "Yes sir you can"
"Good ,how long will it take"
"2 weeks sir"
"I can order and have it delivered from England in a week"
At that I get the typical French shrug of the shoulders and off he walks without another word.
I still don't get it 6 years on.
"Can I have that Karcher please"
"No"
"Why not"
"We have none in stock"
"Can I have the display one"
"no"
"Why not"
"It's the display model"
"When will you have some in stock"
"Don't know"
"Can I order one" "Yes sir you can"
"Good ,how long will it take"
"2 weeks sir"
"I can order and have it delivered from England in a week"
At that I get the typical French shrug of the shoulders and off he walks without another word.
I still don't get it 6 years on.
Leroy Merlin. I bought a load of floor tiles for a bathroom from them in the sales. After laying them I had half left over, yes, I got my calculations wrong.
Anyway, off to Leroy Merlin with the left overs and my receipt.
Can I get a refund on these I asked. Yes, no problem was the reply.
The odd thing was that the sale was over and I had to be refunded at the pre sale price.
It turned out that 20 square metres of tiles cost me just 30 Euro's instead of around a hundred.
Great result.
The problem with most French is that they simply can't think outside of the box, or they don't want to!
Anyway, off to Leroy Merlin with the left overs and my receipt.
Can I get a refund on these I asked. Yes, no problem was the reply.
The odd thing was that the sale was over and I had to be refunded at the pre sale price.
It turned out that 20 square metres of tiles cost me just 30 Euro's instead of around a hundred.
Great result.
The problem with most French is that they simply can't think outside of the box, or they don't want to!
Carrefour Hypermarket, SALE time, there's a fine Karcher on the oddments shelf, chucked back in it's box with no price. Assistant calls the responsable de rayon.
"600 francs" says he. About £60 for what was a £200 washer.
me, trying not to show surprise: "but there's no rotary lance, it shows one on the box"
him: "I'll ring Karcher and tell them there wasn't one in the box when we opened it and they'll send us another"
me, grudgingly: "OK I'll take it"
My attitude must have worked because he said: " you do know these washers are 2000 francs?" Two weeks later we got a call and picked up the missing lance.
Castorama tile department, two weeks ago.
"Oui?" shakes my hand, although I hadn't been in there for a few years
"I'd like just 6 square metres of these tiles please." Normally for in stock tiles you pay at the till on a chitty, then pick up the tiles next door.
Him: "I think my colleague has just sold some of these and there's not many left, wait there and I'll go and get them quickly." RUNS off.
Ten minutes later returns with a trolley and 4 boxes of the tiles. Smiles and thanks all round.
The Toyota dealer in Vannes treated us like royalty when we used to go in for a service, even when the car was 9 yrs old, and we didn't buy it there. VW though, the service manager in the Vannes dealership thinks he's the Queen of bloody Sheba, and grants you an audience when he sees fit. The small local dealership always seemed to be trying to find enough work for their mechanics and come up with recommendations costing thousands at every service. They could run the workshop on half a dozen of cars like mine.......
Nissan Rennes, can't speak highly enough of them, went there following comment on French Nissan forums.
But anything that has happened to me in France pales into insignificance in comparison to the unbelievable utter and complete incompetence of the UK National Savings bank who I have been attempting to become a customer of recently.
Steve
"600 francs" says he. About £60 for what was a £200 washer.
me, trying not to show surprise: "but there's no rotary lance, it shows one on the box"
him: "I'll ring Karcher and tell them there wasn't one in the box when we opened it and they'll send us another"
me, grudgingly: "OK I'll take it"
My attitude must have worked because he said: " you do know these washers are 2000 francs?" Two weeks later we got a call and picked up the missing lance.
Castorama tile department, two weeks ago.
"Oui?" shakes my hand, although I hadn't been in there for a few years
"I'd like just 6 square metres of these tiles please." Normally for in stock tiles you pay at the till on a chitty, then pick up the tiles next door.
Him: "I think my colleague has just sold some of these and there's not many left, wait there and I'll go and get them quickly." RUNS off.
Ten minutes later returns with a trolley and 4 boxes of the tiles. Smiles and thanks all round.
The Toyota dealer in Vannes treated us like royalty when we used to go in for a service, even when the car was 9 yrs old, and we didn't buy it there. VW though, the service manager in the Vannes dealership thinks he's the Queen of bloody Sheba, and grants you an audience when he sees fit. The small local dealership always seemed to be trying to find enough work for their mechanics and come up with recommendations costing thousands at every service. They could run the workshop on half a dozen of cars like mine.......
Nissan Rennes, can't speak highly enough of them, went there following comment on French Nissan forums.
But anything that has happened to me in France pales into insignificance in comparison to the unbelievable utter and complete incompetence of the UK National Savings bank who I have been attempting to become a customer of recently.
Steve
I had some great customer service from Bricoman in Laval this week too.
I had bought a toilet which came in one (big) box. Stupidly tried to lift the whole thing when I got home, and dropped it, breaking the cistern, the rest was undamaged. So i went back to the store and explained, and they ordered me just a cistern. As usual "15 days". I had expected that.
15 days later I went back there, but sadly there was no sign of the order, and various shoulders were shrugged. So i asked if they might just take one out of one of the complete boxes on the shelf, suggesting they could replace it with my order when it finally arrived, not expecting any positive outcome. In French, i got "what a good idea" or the equivalent, she went off and got the fork lift, lifted a box down from somewhere just above the clouds, and took the cistern out and handed it to me. "Gratuit". You could have knocked me over with a feather. Credit where credit's due.
Just sometimes....
I had bought a toilet which came in one (big) box. Stupidly tried to lift the whole thing when I got home, and dropped it, breaking the cistern, the rest was undamaged. So i went back to the store and explained, and they ordered me just a cistern. As usual "15 days". I had expected that.
15 days later I went back there, but sadly there was no sign of the order, and various shoulders were shrugged. So i asked if they might just take one out of one of the complete boxes on the shelf, suggesting they could replace it with my order when it finally arrived, not expecting any positive outcome. In French, i got "what a good idea" or the equivalent, she went off and got the fork lift, lifted a box down from somewhere just above the clouds, and took the cistern out and handed it to me. "Gratuit". You could have knocked me over with a feather. Credit where credit's due.
Just sometimes....
Beware of buying a 'bargain' something or other that looks like it's just been chucked in its box and left on a shelf. In my bitter experience it's often something that someone else bought, found it was faulty and took it back, and it was put straight back on the shelf for the next sucker...
Hey Driller, however committed you are, I think it's the wrong country for you. You sound so angry and bitter, it can't be good for you 
.
You seem so unlucky with the outcomes of your experiences with the French, one wonders if you have the right attitude with them to start with, you seem to have convinced yourself that the French are all bad, so maybe they respond to you accordingly.
I really don't believe in national stereotypes: we have serious morons in the UK too, who seem to behave pretty much exactly like the "French attitudes" that you seem to have experienced. Conversely, there are some really well run customer facing operations in France, who by contrast, do really well.
.You seem so unlucky with the outcomes of your experiences with the French, one wonders if you have the right attitude with them to start with, you seem to have convinced yourself that the French are all bad, so maybe they respond to you accordingly.
I really don't believe in national stereotypes: we have serious morons in the UK too, who seem to behave pretty much exactly like the "French attitudes" that you seem to have experienced. Conversely, there are some really well run customer facing operations in France, who by contrast, do really well.
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