Parisian waiters can be so snobbish, especially in places that cater to a regular clientele - my French son's recent experience: He and his American girlfriend went into a cafe and waited at least 30 minutes for service - the waiter seemed to be doing little, he was chatting on his cell phone, etc. so my son went up and asked him in perfect French of course if they could get some service - the waiter said "If you're in a hurry there's a cafe next door"
Do you have horror stories of experiences in Parisian cafes? Myself i've mainly had good service but once in a while, and it's something about Parisian waiters is that they seem to once in a while have a terrible attitude - something that if happened in the US they'd be fired on the spot! Oh well at least in this case it was a French person who was treated like ****!

I have,from time to time, encountered surly waiters in many places around the world, most often here in the US, though they are still the exception and not the rule.

Unless you're just trying to start trouble, why make a statement that appears to indict all Parisian waiters?
In many visits I've had very very few unpleasant wait staff experiences, and none that I can specifically recall.

My worst experience so far was in the USofA, one of the small towns in the Bay Area, with my husband we walked in expecting to be seated, the waitress just pointed to a table without saying a word. We walked out.

Sorry, I don't understand why are you so upset. Is it because this happened to your child? And why is it such a big deal if there were other cafes in this area?

Actually I envy your son's patience, mine would end after 2 min of a waiter being on a phone. To wait 30 minutes for service while seeing he's not getting attention? Why did it take "at least 30 minutes"?

And you didn't tell, did they finally get food there? Walked out? Screamed at the waiter? Asked to talk to the manager/owner?

"Do you have horror stories of experiences in Parisian cafes? Myself i've mainly had good service but once in a while, and it's something about Parisian waiters is that they seem to once in a while have a terrible attitude - something that if happened in the US they'd be fired on the spot!"


I've never encountered anything like that in Paris, but I've experienced similar events a number of times in the US. Is there a reason to limit our responses to Paris?

You've been very lucky in your American dining experiences if you think such an attitude from a server would require "firing on the spot".

As Patrick says, why are we limiting our "horror stories" to Paris? I have more experience in the US. And I can't think of a horror story about Parisian waiters offhand. In fact, they are normally quite professional.

I was ignored once in Paris and once in Spain. Actually kind of nice... In both cases it was a beautiful day and I sat down for a beer/coke/something and to people watch. Got to sit and relax for free. (Since I normally have water on me I wasn't dying of thirst LOL!) I figured it was there loss not mine.

I did encounter a surly waiter in Prague last month. Prague starts with a P.
Does it count?

"My worst experience so far was in the USofA, one of the small towns in the Bay Area, with my husband we walked in expecting to be seated, the waitress just pointed to a table without saying a word. We walked out. "

You poor thing. You've been brutalized. Have you sued yet?

Cleveland, no, but I am traumatized for the rest of my life! And didn't even have to go to Paris for that!

Oh please, this is like the story about the Loch Ness Monster, everyone talks about it, thinks there is one yet no one that you talk to has actually seen it.
Parisian waiters are the same as Italian waiters and New York waiters and (well, they might be a bit more professional than some NY waiters ) ..
I have been to wonderful restaurants in NYC where the waiter acted like it would give him a hernia if he smiled, I have never had a bad Parisian waiter. I had a surly waiter in London.
How many people have never had a salesperson or waiter act like he could care less? Why does it only affect one if it is a Parisian waiter or salesperson??

If you all want to see an attitude you must visit the so called "best restaurant" in my city. It is not the waiters, it is the chef. He instructs the waitstaff to tell the patrons "they will have it the way HE wants to prepare it". End of discussion. And NO, I am not going back to the restaurant, LOL.

This wasn't a cafe, but I had a similar experience with Tokyo Idem Self, which is the casual eatery in Palais de Tokyo.

I think it was last September, but I don't remember. I was there quite late, and I think that I must have waited at least half an hour.

I thought about giving up, but then, I was too tired to try to look for something else because it was past 11, and I had decided on this place because I read it closed late.

Waiters would rush through and hardly acknowledge my existence. Granted, the place was busy. All the time I stood there getting more and more pissed off. But finally they seated me and the dinner was good.

But there is a sweet story behind all this. After I was done, I was walking along the Seine, completely carefree (and just enjoying being in Paris).

A server caught up with me and gave me my passport and the money in it (I think that it was a few hundred -- 300, maybe?) and then warned me that I should be more careful in Paris (especially on the Metro).

I tried to offer her money but she turned me down.

So there.

By the way, in January, I recovered 90 euros that I dropped in a dressing room in Bon Marche (and it was a few hours later, and the money sat in an envelope waiting to be picked up).

Maybe that's why I've a soft spot for Paris.

But ok, my mom was pick-pocketed on the Metro. I guess you can't win every time.

My worst experiences are always in the U.S. I figured that's because often the wait staff are actors, college students, whatever ("I'm not really a waiter&quot... while European staff are professional career waiters.

I've never had a bad experience in Paris, although I've had a few in Brussels, where there are many students or young "artistes" working as waiters. One cafe/restaurant in the St. Gilles section gave great service to friends of the staff or people who could give the place good publicity, but for everyone else...ehhh...have to say I felt a bit of schadenfreude when it burnt down some months ago due to carelessnes in the kitchen (no one was hurt). And the service at some of the Pain Quotidiens can be maddening; if they didn't have such great croissants and large glasses of fresh squeezed orange juice, I wouldn't go there.

I can't help but wonder--
How does one have a 'French son' without being French oneself? Adopted? Stepson?
Is this a riddle?

Ignorance is really Bliss! I have never felt that I have been slighted in any European restaurant - to my knowledge. However, since I speak no foreign language, perhaps I didn't speak French, German, Italian, or whatever good enough to know I was being insulted. I just relax and enjoy the surroundings (and my ignorance).
shrink

I happened to have found a larger concentration of bad service in Rome, and I never anticipated that.

However, absolute worst service I've ever gotten was right here in the US. And my tip reflected it, along with a discussion with his manager.

Tell your son (if his French is so perfect) to talk to the manager next time, it's what adults do to deal with bad service.

There are a**holes all over the world. Some happen to be waiters in Paris. Some of them live right here in (insert your home town here).

I think it would be fairly easy to have a French son without being French: if your son were born or mainly raised in France, was a French citizen, lived in France -- and you were not born/raised in France or a French citizen (even though perhaps lived there a while). The mother could be French or even another nationality, I imagine.

I think PalQ was trying to make people feel better, I imagine, with this story. I don't know -- I admit some of the story kind of bugged me (like how the son asked "in perfect French" for service -- a waiter shouldn't give good service to some and terrible service to another based on the perfection of their local language IMO). However, I have never had that overtly bad a snub in Paris or any restaurant. I have had rude service in Paris and in some other restaurants, but it usually consists of being ignored permanently, not by statements to go next door. I've had lots of waiters in Paris who were not career waiters, there's no law that all waiters have to be in it for their life in Paris. There are lots of younger waiters in Paris doing it while in school or until they find a better job.

I think that the worst service I ever had was in Cologne.

To me it seems obvious that the particular waiter is "the problem" in this case; not waiters in general, not restaurants (in Paris, or elsewhere) in general, and certainly not, well....in general.

Frankly, I am a bit mystified by the ultimate intent of this post other than to muckrake on an otherwise uneventful day...somewhere.