* good customer service at Galeries Lafayette

I have often complained in these posts about the lack of customer service in France. No more. In June, I had purchased a small camera bag at Galeries Lafayette. Yesterday, I noticed that one of the attachments of the strap to the bag was fraying badly. Galeries is a terrific store – it has become our Bloomingdales in Paris – so I was sure they would exchange it. Problem: the June receipt was in Collioure. I looked up the transaction number on my credit card bill (on the web) and wrote down whatever information I could. Off to Galeries. The clerk said she could not make the exchange without a receipt, but maybe her supervisor could. And, lo and behold, she did.

* anniversary at Le Train Bleu

 

At 1:00 pm, we re-enter the station and go up the stairs to what is probably the most elegant railroad station restaurant on this planet, Le Train Bleu. It is like eating at Versailles. This was our treat to each other in celebration of our life together.

The service and the food matched the ambiance, and a remarkable thing happened. My steak, which I had ordered medium-well, came pink in the middle.

Of course, monsieur, we will fix that immediately. AND … while I was patiently waiting, the waiter arrived with a platter of veal and potatoes. What is this? Just something to eat while we cook your steak more. The steak was back before the veal was gone.

 

* Velib … not designed for tourists

We have described Paris’ Velib before - a magnificent concept poorly implemented. But, we thought optimistically, we solved it last year, we can do it again. No problem. Wrong!

Velib is a system of bike rentals, with stations all over Paris. You rent the bike, take it wherever you want, leave it at another station. The system is designed for repeat use by Paris residents, who purchase an annual membership and for whom, we suspect, the procedure is quite efficient.

Not so for the occasional user.

There are 17 steps in the process of renting a bike. Make a mistake in any of them and you immediately return to GO. You can almost hear the French bureaucrat chortling in the background.

There are 3 distinct phases, with many sub-steps in each.

First you must register; the cost is 1 euro; it must be paid with a card with a chip (we use our French bank card, our credit cards will not work). When you register, you agree to a 150 euro hold against your bank account in case you don’t return your bike. The bikes are worth more than 150 euros, but be assured the French legal process will find you if they need to.

Step 2 is to obtain a ticket for this particular bike rental. This involves creating a personal 4 digit code which is stored in the system. The ticket comes with its own 7 digit code. All entries must be made on a keypad located below the screen, not on the screen itself; this is not immediately apparent. After each entry, you must enter ‘V’ for validate, although this instruction, if given at all, is less than prominent on the screen. Any mistakes are punished immediately; return to GO.

Imagine doing this with a long and growing line of people behind you. Fortunately the French are patient, and someone will probably help you.

After you get the ticket, the screen says take your bike. This is a trick. If you go to the rack of bikes, choose one, and push the button to release the bike from its lock, nothing happens. Shake the bike, kick it, nothing happens. French people laugh. Take more than a few seconds, and you are blown off the system. Return to GO.

What you should have done is press ‘1’ which is the number next to the words ‘take your bike.’ There is no instruction, however, to push anything. When you finally figure it out, or more likely someone else shows you, if you push ‘1’ the screen will chug along for awhile and then display a list of the available bikes, by the number in the rack. You now enter your chosen number, followed by your personal code (did you forget? return to GO!), after which the chosen bike may be removed from the rack. But not easily. It still takes some yanking and pulling and shoving.

When Pat finally mounts her bike, she is sent on her way by a crescendo of clapping from the outdoor café across the street. My enthusiasm for bike riding having waned, I join the clappers for a cup of coffee.

NOTE: there’s a postscript. When I check our bank account some days later, I learn we have been charged 23 euros. I call and am told the bike was not properly returned 15 minutes after renting it, and was not checked in until after 1:00 pm. This is an outrage.  … Several calls, forms and frustration later, I was told that we had not properly engaged the bike to the rack  when it was returned. Apparently, a small light changes from red to green when the bike is properly engaged, and if it doesn’t, you’re supposed to call the Velib people immediately. We were told that we were charged from 9;15 am when we picked up the bike until 1:30 pm. What happened at 1:30 pm? Did someone then attach our bike? No one knows.

Returning to Partis in August, we told our tale of woe at dinner, and gained no sympathy from anyone.

 

However, while we were eating, Evan suddenly jumped up and ran outside. He came back to excitedly tell us that the Velib man was outside, servicing a line of bikes on the street adjacent to the restaurant. I went outside, and Rawy followed.

With Rawy translating, we tried to learn what had happened; we got the same story: you didn’t properly attach the bike. But it was locked in the rack. No matter, did the light turn green? Now, since we arrived on Saturday, Pat and I had been inspecting lines of bikes. At every Velib station, there were several, sometimes many, bikes which seemed to be attached but for which the light was still red. Were all these people being charged?

You’re supposed to notice and to call immediately, the Velib man said. How can you call if you don’t have a cell phone with you? There’s a phone built into the rental machine. And he showed us. But what if you can’t tell red from green, Iasked, since I’m color blind. The Velib man had every answer. Without hesitation, he said, “Then you better hold onto madame.”

* 2009 home exchanges

We’re starting to plan our 2009 travel, from May through October. Our current interests include Paris (always), Poland (in June, July or August), the Greek Islands (in late May), and the south of Spain (in October). Anyone interested in an exchange for our Collioure apartment is welcome to check our listing at … 

* Pat & Lew on homeexchange.com

                             We’re listing # 52059 and we’d love to hear from you.

NOTE: We have room for two people only; no pets, no smoking. 

LEW

* heading to Kauai, Hawaii

Pat and I are going to Kauai in March. It’s our half of a home exchange with a couple from California who went to Collioure two years ago.

We’re using The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook by Andrew Doughty.

Anybody with suggestions, must do’s, must don’ts … we’d like to hear from you.

LEW

* French customer service … NOT!

Posted in ParlerParis …

Part of the American roots which go so deep that it’s doubtful they will ever cross to French soil is the concept of “customer is king” — that because we are the paying customers, the merchant will always do their best to accommodate us. WRONG.

I’ve practiced the French technique of getting good service for years now, with tutelage by Polly Platt and the other cultural experts, not to mention a lot of trial and error on my own. And just when I think it’s been perfected, something happens to stir up those deeply entrenched American roots…like a visit to an Orange/France Telecom boutique to exchange old mal-functioning equipment for the latest model.

I won’t bore you with the details, but imagine a grown woman sitting on the floor in the middle of the boutique on boulevard Saint-Germain at Odéon, papers spread all over the floor, with her coat, hat and other belongings draped on a nearby chair, blocking their copy machine so no one could use it, on her cell phone to a France Telecom customer service representative (oxymoron) after dialing 3900 and a zillion other code numbers which eventually take you to the right person. The person on the phone, now after having spoken to 5 or 6 others, is asking to speak with a sales person in the boutique to settle the matter, who are not only completely ignoring her pleas to come to the phone, but downright refusing to assist! That’s when the American roots exposed themselves…when the yelling started causing a big stir…and then guess what happened? The customer service representative on the phone hung up. TRUE STORY.

Three trips to the boutique and three trips to the apartment later, the issue was settled, but those old American roots found their way to the surface and asked, “will I ever get used to this?”

For the entire post and links to many other interesting and useful articles, click … http://www.parlerparis.com/?utm_source=Parler+Paris&utm_campaign=5ba8176e37-pparis19_1_091_19_2009&utm_medium=email

LMW NOTE: We’ve had our own customer service issues, with IKEA, getting our phones and internet set up, and with the Paris bicycle rental system. We’ve also had some quite positive experiences at Galeries Lafayette and Le Train Bleu, among many other restaurants. You can read about these experiences by clicking * IKEA’s idea of customer service, * getting connected: telephone & internet, * Velib … not designed for tourists, * anniversary at Le Train Bleu, * good customer service at Galeries Lafayette. Or just click “customer service” in the categories list to read them all.