* our inability to speak French
Posted by Lew Weinstein on February 22, 2007
Of course not everything goes as planned.
Two of the most frustrating experiences in our first summer abroad concerned our telephone/internet connections (France Telecom and Wanadoo) and our new sofa (IKEA).
A big part of the problems, in both cases, was our inability to speak French. If we had been able to communicate fully, I think we would have overcome what appears to be an underlying French aversion to customer service.
Norma Klein said
The term “customer service” does not exist in France!
The most common term I heard whenever looking for something was “n’existe pas en France” which could also apply to customer service.
Bonne Chance!
norma
Kath Botterill said
Hi Lew
I’ve discovered an excellent site which may help you with your inability to speak French. http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/french/mafrance/ You might not have time for this while you are travelling, but on your return it’s well worth a look and what’s more it makes learning a language fun!