Serveur

n. – waiter
Vendeur
n. – vendor or shopkeeper
Service in France can be different from what we’re used to in the US. The culture here, as I’ve mentioned before, is very formal. If you call the phone company or your bank representative, you are always addressed as Monsieur or Madame and are expected to respond in the same way. In small stores, you are expected to say hello upon entering and thank you and goodbye upon exiting. If you add the Monsieur or Madame each time, as well, that’s even better.

So most of the time, there is a mutual respect between client and commerce owner – a feeling of “egalité” or equality going back to the second creed of the famous motto. The client here is not necessarily king and we know what happened to the last one here, but rather a partner in a transaction that is mutually beneficial.

It’s an ideal state of balance really, except for when something goes wrong. That is when I actually miss being the king. The formality of the French can sometimes disguise the underlying Latin temperament – at times simply brooding and at others outright volatile. Recently, in confronting someone over what was a legitimate complaint, I was met not with an apology, but rather a tirade as to why I was in fact wrong and they were in fact right.

Sometimes, you can inspire wrath by simply asking an innocent question as I did not long ago when looking at a bedside table that was on sale. I asked the shopkeeper if there were any more to which, after dramatically rolling his eyes, he responded exasperatedly that it was the last one. This type of reaction can go either way when asking in restaurants if they accept credit cards. The response can either be an exasperated “du tout” – short for “pas du tout” or not at all (you idiot), or it can be an equally exasperated “bien sur” or of course we do (you idiot).

Either way you’re the idiot for asking and that’s where the game is designed to keep you on your toes. However, the Monsieur or Madame comes in handy if you feel a confrontation coming on. They act as neutralizers and serve as reminders that we’re all equal and as such should treat each other with equal respect, which is what ultimately results in the final creed of the motto which is “fraternité.” Even as an only child, I know that a little brotherhood can go a long way.