Friday, October 5, 2012

A difference between France and Scotland.



The dishwasher in the upstairs kitchen has some sort of breakdown. It trips the fuzes fifteen times in as many minutes. The electrician comes ( remarkably promptly ) to look at it. He takes the offending machine away with him in the back of his van. The morose lads , Gitanes stuck to their lower lips,  carry it down the terrace stairs in silence. '' I'll call you with a quote , that's if I can fix it " the electrician says cheerfully if not altogether reassuringly.

Off to the supermarket to look at replacement dishwashers. €349 doesn't seem too bad. €449 if you have a stainless steel front. Apart from the difference in  price and a choice of door colour they all seem to be identical. Angus asks the young man in the white goods sector if he delivers . ' Don't ask me mate , I'm new here ' . Angus asks if there is anyone else he could ask. The young man wanders away never to return.

An inexplicable  difference between living in Scotland and living in France. In Britain supermarkets put on extra checkout staff to help with the lunchtime rush. In France the majority of  tellers close up at noon and return again at the end of a leisurely lunch hour. To coin an old American phrase : Go figure.

12 comments:

  1. My default for any white goods is now Darty. The ease of on-line ordering, a wide range of choices, and delivery guaranteed on the day you choose. They even call on the delivery day to narrow the delivery window to 1 hour. And, if the machine breaks down within the guaranty period they are back to do the repairs. To coin an American phrase "it's a good thing."

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  2. France and Australia do have things in common. And they wonder why we order on-line.

    XXXOOO Daisy, Bella & Roxy

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  3. Sorry to hear about the dishwasher breakdown...hope the electrician doesn't charge more to fix than the cost of a new one...he may really be fixing it for himself.
    "Don't ask me mate, I'm new here,"....really? Does he really want to continue working there? Oh the nerve...
    If all the dishwashers are basically the same with only a different finish, I would stick to a white one, especially if your kitchen does not already have stainless steel appliances..they are hard to keep clean.
    Keep us posted on the outcome.

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  4. Mad dogs and English (pardon Scottish) men go out for a mid-day shop.

    x

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  5. Stainless steel is a more modern institutional look. Have you thought of having a custom door cover made to match your cabinets?

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  6. Good luck with the search....sounds like here in Canada too. Can never find a sales person to save your life.

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  7. "service".... your story reminds me of when my former dishwasher broke down a few years ago. I went to the "big box store" Lowes (with cash) and started looking at high price machines to see if someone would come over to assist. I was completely ignored!!! How does one ignore a stylish lady with purple in her hair!! .....I could not believe it so I left Lowes and took my cash to a longtime local appliance store and voila!!! Great price, delivery of my new Bosch and the old one hauled away!

    In fact last year I got a new washing machine and avoided Lowes and found my new one at Home Depot.... where I received prompt and courteous service!

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  8. Angus - by the time social security charges have been added in, French statutory minimum wage costs are about 40% more expensive than in the UK. French supermarket queues are always longer because they can't afford to hire as many people. Welcome to France and its 40% longer checkout lines.
    Caroline xxx

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  9. Stainless steel is the way to go it will look nice forever!

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  10. hmmmm. not sure if it's encouraging or depressing find out that service people
    like that young man in the store are the same everywhere nowdays, apparently.
    i was looking at tv's not long ago. i asked the young clerk a question. "i don't know."
    he stood there. silent. i waited. thinking he was thinking. he was not thinking.
    i said "well . . . do you think you could find out?" he didn't disappear like yours did.
    he yelled down the aisle to another young man. who didn't know either.
    i left.

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  11. Ugh! The service man story is sadly familiar. How about they make their pay dependent on how happy their customers are with their service?

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