French women gabble all the time, they do it in the road in a car your smoking flame foil covered head had less to do with discrimination more to do rabbit and gabbing. Sorry for your highlights, hair is a very important thing to us girlies.
true,
Emily I live in France now.
There was a case of idiotic back chat and sneaky whispering amongst 2 frenchmen
in the doctors surgery ....I soon put them right.
I told them that we pay for everything here....JUST pop over to Uk it
is all handed on a silver platter to etrangers.
I am not angry but sad that the system is so unbalanced.
I hear that council owned properties will no longer be for life.
I am truely sad to say that when I look at the topic" discrimination"
I look at my life in UK in I feel that there has been big discrimination against
me......the me who... struggled with lack of
help and respect for parents who had been dissmised by the system.
And the same me who got no help after serious illness.
At the same time as the recources for assitance were declined more
and more people entered the country with houseing, finance and health
support.
Perhaps I feel discrimination because I was always paying the taxes but
did not get support when it was needed.
Hi Emily, thanks for all your posts, very encouraging!! She does know me, been going there for 3 years now but I am going in to have a word with her tomorrow..watch this space!! Obviously cant today,Monday, but feel she should see the colour of my hair after it has been washed. You are right she was more obsessed with her assistants hair than mine!!! And I was paying...I should have said something whilst I was waiting but not being a hairdresser thought perhaps it was a different method..and me too am not sure of the natural colour of my hair, though think after this episode it might have turned grey!!!!!
Oh I haven't laughed so much in ages!! (you are very brave!)
Haha Patsy....I am going to start checking my supermarket bills from now on, never thought about it before...most people here are lovely and helpful, I just find the odd few that can be discriminatory...usually I brush it off but the other day at the hairdressers it was blatant and downright rude. And my friend who picked the 1st raffle ticket was absolutely humiliated when they changed the prize giving and she got the booby prize!! It wouldn't make me go back to England though lol
I noticed that on more than one occasion I was overcharged and took back the item led the manager to the price on the shelf and demanded my money back. I have also noticed that if I remain polite and firm and quietly spoken it works really well my dad always used to say that people know they are in trouble when you become very quietly spoken.
Mind you there was an incident in our local supermarket on three occasions when we first arrived 6 years ago that a cashier would be very pointedly rude and usually when the same customer was behind me. I lost it eventually and said "parlez vous anglaise" to the man who had made rude comments - he said no- so I gave him the strong arm salute and told him to "f**k off". I have never had a problem since and am always polite. I am given to a stamp of the foot and snort if necessary but by and large I find that people are very good with my pathetic spoken French and helpful. Mind you I don't go out much. Hairdressers are frightful here really they are - they make Tony and Guy look wonderful.
I think we go to the same barbers John - they're free and i get more and more each time i go!
I have to say Maria, I went to the hairdressers the other day (rare) and the crimper was a gay, skinny, tattooed punk guy, with a short back 'n sides, PLUS a 'Tin Tin' like 'flicky up' bit, achieved by blow-drying upwards.
He asked me 'how short?' and thinking, well 2 a year does me, I said like yours. This he did deftly, including TIN TIN's adventures in the Hair Salon.,
To be honest (I'm 60) I was quite chuffed, ( I tipped, equally rare ) and left virtually looking for Cap'n Haddock and the Thompson twins.
My wife was horrified, and forced me to 'dampen down' when we got home. TSK!
:o)
I got grey highlights in mine, free as well:)
Yep...got the message now, gotta toughen up...should see the colour of my hair though..hardly golden highlights!!!!!!
I work on the principle that I want a smile and good service when people are taking money off me and from time to time will quite happily tell the person I will be taking my money elsewhere, I feel its the only way people will get the message. Money is money, does it matter who spends it.
Conversely I will happily let people know when I get good service.
I do find though that the French are the best payers and tippers when it comes to my business so I wont hear a word against them :) Unless you whisper it of course
All takes time Maria, the way I view it is that you wouldn't let people tread on you back home, and if this is your home.....?
If we 'want' something or assistance, we present ourselves as les Anglais, always respectful, pleasant, and amusing, it always works. The French are extremely proud of their job status, we have found, and love to resolve point of purchase problems, or those of an administrative nature, and we always show our appreciation.
But yes, don't accept second best, ranting works wonders, if you haven't got the lingo, rant in English.
There are certain people with whom we deal on a regular basis, who have had a distinct 'attitude'. One rant, cures all. Believe me.
Tuff up!
Ron
Hope I learn to be like that Ron, seems like you have cracked it....problem is I felt embarassed to make a fuss when there was 2 young french hairdressers chating away and only me..must toughen up!!!!
Hi, took us 7 years, but have learned that the charm offensive/humour works every time.
But we now know enough to hit back at the 'schnide' comments, and NEVER let it drop! Don't let people push in either, I always make a big fuss, always works, and you get an apology.
Haha Debra...that is so true...yes must get more assertive, and thanks I was beginning to take all these little things personally!
I think Katrina has a good point - I often think I'm not being treated well because I'm a foreigner or because I'm a woman, because my husband will "take over" and suddenly everyone will be rushing to do what he wants. But I think it's because he has a different attitude - when he phones up a secretary, he's the one in charge, whereas I'm always struggling to be polite and not make a fuss. Sometimes I think French people sound so rude when they speak to each other, but it's just their way...it reminds me of when I was learning Russian and I started to say something like "Would it be possible for you to shut the window?" and my Russian teacher responded "This isn't English. Just say 'Shut the window!'"
You're probably right Katrina, I didn't make a fuss but when I saw the colour of the highlights I did tell her I wasn't happy...perhaps that was too late...think I will try another hairdresser next time!!