Sorry seems to be the hardest word

[Gardener]

I have had a couple of bureauratic problems ( with different businesses etc) of late and have been required to make phone calls, send emails and write letters to try and get them resolved.

When finally they have been sorted, it has been done very quietly. No one ever sees fit to either reply and tell me that it has been sorted, or heaven forbid , offer an explanation or apology.

Is this bad manners on their part and/ or an inate dislike of having to admit they were ineffecient/ wrong? Or is that thinkingjust my unfair anglo saxon head and is it simpy that they have fixed the problem and that it the end of it?

[NormanH]

"The French don't apologise. Like

the ancient Romans, they think owning up to a mistake is a fatal admission

of weakness."

From an article in today's Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/nicolas-sarkozy/8739805/Sarkozys-France-wiretaps-brown-envelopes-and-never-any-regrets.html

I am only quoting...

[idun]

The men I know always seem to have trouble with the 's' word, seem to choke on it[Www]

 

No they don't say sorry, but actually getting to do their job properly is such a relief to me that I am not too bothered about apologies, even when it has cost me as it has done recently.

[nomoss]

[quote user="NormanH"]"The French don't apologise. Like the ancient Romans, they think owning up to a mistake is a fatal admission of weakness."

From an article in today's Telegraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/nicolas-sarkozy/8739805/Sarkozys-France-wiretaps-brown-envelopes-and-never-any-regrets.html

I am only quoting...

[/quote]

I can recall a few instances myself.

Most recently the chap at the local CT centre refused to accept the spanish papers for a car I was importing.

I returned to see the boss lady of the registration dept. of the Prefecture, who phoned and told him rather firmly that he should stick to testing cars and not interpreting the importation rules.

When I returned to the centre he pretended he hadn't previously noticed the exact document which he had previously disputed.

However, he has been extremely helpful ever since.

[Mr Ice-ni]

I don't understand any refusal to utter the word sorry. It costs and means nothing.

John

[idun]

In my home it would, it is not dispensed easily, so when it is, it does mean something.

[Gardener]

Whether it meant anything or not , I would be happy to hear it said or seen it written as it would at least show ( to me) that they had tried to acknowledged a poor standard of service and had taken the time to say so.

[pachapapa]

[quote user="Mr Ice-ni"]

I don't understand any refusal to utter the word sorry. It costs and means nothing.

John

[/quote]

Loss of face.

Easier to get an apology from chinese gentleman than a gallic gentleman![:D]

[cooperlola]

My tax office has just refunded me all the money I have thus far paid for my 2010 tax bill (we pay monthly in advance via dd) as they say that under the new rules we all pay in the UK now!  Once they figure out that I am right and take all my money back again, I'll let you know if they apologise!

[Rabbie]

Not just a french problem. It seems to cause many UK companies great pain to have to even consider saying sorry for any mistakes or even to express sympathy.

[Gardener]

Generally I have found that the UK is lightyears ahead of French customer care. Yes I have some very good service in France, but when there is a problem, it generally gets worse before it gets better.

[Chancer]

One sparkling beacon of espoir in France is Ikea, especially during the summer months when the staff numbers are boosted by stagaires.

To be fair to them they try so hard to please that it is rare that they would have to say sorry, but they do offer their excuses when they have not met their high standards and are sincere in doing so.

I make special mention of the stagaires because they have followed their induction training formation more recntly than the older staff and dare I say it are more receptive and less jaded than the older staff and willing to give that bit extra, the older staff are far more likely to ignore you to carry on their private conversation and give the the old take it or leave it and shoulder shrug when you ask something like do you actually have any pillow cases that fit these odd sized pillows you sell? In fact the couple of times that I must have looked lost or confused a stagaire, and they are everywhere came over and asked if they could help me.

I was stopped by the security guy when wheeling my trolley to the car, you are suppposed to leave it with a staff member to guard who will give you the access code to the barrier for the pick up point, I thought that he was going to question my own B.O.G.O.F. promotion at theself scan till but no he just politely explained what I should do, as I was close to my car he was happy to guard the chariot while I loaded and to return it from me.

I remarked to him how helpfull and polite all the staff were and said as diplomatically as I could that it was rare in this region, he said its what we build our reputation on, we are proud of it and try to do our best. He was a very good advert for their business as I reckon most of their staff are, I cannot think of one other instance in over 6 years that I have had the same thought in France

 

[cooperlola]

Blimey, that was quick!  Well, I don't know if you'd call this an apology but it's certainly top service, given that I only flagged this up to them last Wednesday.  Sorry about the bizarre letters - they are the result of accents which haven't quite come outproperly:

Bonjour Madame et Monsieur,


Je fais suite à votre dernier message précisant que les pensions que vous percevez sont de nature privée. Votre imposition a donc été corrigée en ce sens et vous n'avez pas de déclaration rectificative à faire.
Je vous envoie par courrier votre nouvelle situation corrigée concernant l'imposition des revenus 2010. Vous pouvez éventuellement me faire valoir vos observations et n'hésitez pas à me recontacter en cas de difficultés.
Un avis rectificatif remplaçant le précédent vous parviendra par la suite.


Cordialement,

[The Riff-Raff Element]

[quote user="NormanH"]

"The French don't apologise. Like

the ancient Romans, they think owning up to a mistake is a fatal admission

of weakness."

[/quote]

It is a bit like saying (not you, Norman, the DT) that the British don't like their children and prefer the company of animals to that of the opposite sex. Just another ludicrous generalisation.

What the French don't seem to do, not yet, anyway, is to indulge in the rather nauseating public displays of mea culpa that are a regular feature of British public life these days.

Didn't the Inland Revenue just recently take out big ads in the Dailies to apologise for some shoddy service or other? And there was a period when a day hardly passed without some minister or other apologising for slavery, the Black Death, the relief of Mafeking and leaves on the rails. Where did it all come from? An idea that confession may be good for the collective soul or something?