Random Musings

So i've been here for two weeks - and while i'm certain i haven't seen
al that france has to offer, i'm getting a better sense of it, every
day. The key for the french - is being loved by others. As i read
articles and other news sources, i'm struck by how the French media
seems to exclusively cover people and topics that have expressed a love
for "La France." Every article about a non french personality or topic
speaks of its love for the french and their reverence for france. I may
be biased, but i'm fairly certain the us press at the very least reports
on, and covers people that have negative views of the US. The narcissism
here is quite strong.

From a business perspective, i find that there is very little consumer
choice - there are only one or two companies that provide every service
- and there is little or no differentiation between the product
offerings. A perfect example is in cell plans. There are 3 companies -
SFR, Orange, and Bouygues Telecom. All of them have four plans -
prepaid, capped accounts, individual subscriptions, and business plans
- but there is no difference in cost, features, or service...so there
is no initiative to pick one or the other. I find most people choose
SFR - simply because it's run by France Telecom - and people have no
incentive to change. Part of what that entails is if people don't have
a true choice, there's no incentive for companies to offer true
customer service.

And as a result, the marketing concept is diminished - because there's
no need to tailor your business or service to what makes the customer
satisfied - since they're screwed anyway. For example, all banks close
at 12:15, and reopen at 1 pm - for lunch. So during lunch, you have no
choice but to have lunch - as everything is closed and nobody works.
People here seem so endeared to the "laissez faire" attitude, that it
inhibits and prevents the ability of things to get done - instead of
finishing work and then enjoying free time - the business sense seems
to be more "we'll get to it when we get to it - why don't you drink
coffee or wine until it's ready." Which from an American point of view,
seems silly, especially when the delay in receiving a service can
prevent that enjoyment from happening.

For the three of us, this change in orientation has lead to some
frustrating times, as things haven't worked effectively or efficiently,
and nobody seems interested in helping us resolve our situations. So
each day begins with hope for change, and ends with the frustration of
stasis. the belief for me is that once these little things are
completed (hopefully in the next week or two), we can begin to truly
enjoy our time here.

While things for me are new and exciting, i am sure getting tired of
trying to create a new life here again. I guess when people say they
want to settle down - it means more about not having to start from
scratch every time - which after this experience, will sound pretty
good to me. Or maybe it's that the language and teh cultural barriers
are so great, even in the western world, that as creatures of habit,
we're only able to evolve within what seem wide, but in reality are
pretty narrow constraints. I dunno.