How would you describe customer service in France?
Well, it’s pretty much non-existent, at least compared to our American experience. While the vendors pay ´lip-service’ to such, the reality is much different. For instance, for returning an item you bought and opened that did not meet your expectations or work as expected, it’s not a « no questions asked » policy like At Costco for instance. You would be expected to repack the item so it could be placed back on the store shelf and resold, and then prove why the item is deficient or defective, and then, be put through torturous stares and glares from the sales person and the other waiting clients. It still might not work unless you are prepared to make a scene. Stores like IKEA (foreign-owned) or Kave Homes may be better, but these are the exceptions.
Are staff generally friendly and helpful, or more formal and direct?
Staff are not generally helpful. They are formal. They are going to tell you about their store policy. They are going to say that it is too late to change your order or cancel, even if the store clerk just placed the order five minutes ago. They will tell you that you have to wait for the item to be delivered by truck from Spain, and only then when they are delivering the (heavy table) item you don’t want, you should refuse delivery. (This won’t work). Then they will tell you that it is a third-party so they have no control over their policy, and it only applies to items purchased and stocked directly from their warehouse (which they didn’t tell you when you purchased the item).
How do businesses handle complaints or requests for refunds?
They tell you it is impossible. Or it will take several months to wait for the returned item to be returned to the supplier. Or you can possibly get a store credit. Or write to the Director of the company and request a refund for your item, and why you returned it, despite knowing that they prohibit any returns or refunds unless you can prove that the item was defective or damaged. And of course, they will tell you they have done everything possible on your behalf, and they even worked a few minutes past five o’clock.
Do expats get treated differently than locals?
I am not an Expat, so I wouldn’t know, but I speak fluent French, and I do not think that you get treated differently. I think it is your mindset which is different. The French are more inclined to accept everything as it is, and not to complain, since when has that ever changed anything? They just tend to fall in line and be more docile and accepting of things.
Any tips on how to get the best service in France?
Tell them you are a regular customer and you always shop there. Flatter them. Tell them you love their merchandise. Be demanding. If things go wrong, be doubly demanding, and be insistent, write letters and call everyday and be a pest. They will just want to get you off their backs.
Share your experiences and stories, whether positive, challenging or funny!
I bought a Refrigeateur Américain from DARTY on the website, phoning in the order and speaking to a sales rep who confirmed all the sale details. I did this because the delivery date and price were preferable to the store delivery date and terms. Big mistake! Darty uses a third-party merchant to resell you their discounted unit. Their terms are different and DARTY’s store-bought guarantees no longer apply. You must now deal with the reseller. They in turn use a third-party delivery outfit. My contract terms with Darty include delivery with the old refrigerator picked up and disposed of. The delivery guys complained about the difficulty in getting the refrigerator through my doors and ended up scratching the tiles and denting the front of the unit. Of course I took photos of the delivery men throughout the process, including when they removed the outer packing. However the delivery men insisted that the damage was done at the warehouse when the item was packed, and not in transit. They then refused to take the old refrigerator away, leaving it outside on my patio deck. They said the foreman told them it was a two-man job, but it was a three-man job. So after weeks of calling and complaints, I sent pictures and everything, and was assigned someone to my case. I ended up bribing the foreman to come back and I would pay them 100 euros to get my old refrigerator taken away. What was impossible suddenly became possible. I took photos of the men hauling the refrigerator away. When I was in Paris in a cab later that day, I received a call from the customer rep doing my account. She was angry that I had paid the men to take away my old refrigerator. She said it was a bribe and it didn’t make them look good! Finally, they agreed to reimburse me 130 euros, which covered the bribe, and thirty euros to cover the cost of a refrigerator magnet I bought to cover that bump on the new refrigerator. That was the best outcome I could have expected from the whole fiasco!
