There is that stereotype of the French as being rude. (I know you have heard of it, even if you are French.) The only place I truly encountered this was at Monoprix (3 locations, in 2 cities!) I am reviewing this one since I visited it several times during my trip.
I will say that the lady at the cheese counter was incredibly nice and helpful, but any time I had to deal with any check-out clerk (all young women), it was as if I'd just hit on her boyfriend right before I got in line and she saw it: that catty, sniffy attitude that only young women can do.
It seems to me that if you have a job where you can sit down to check things out (think about clerks in the U.S.: hours on their feet), life isn't so bad.
Also, why not have a pen available so people can sign a credit card slip? I got sneered at because *I* didn't have one!
The store itself is great. I bought some wonderful food items, a lovely scarf, and a butter knife (haha, used for spreading cheese, brought home. It's now my "French knife"). It's basically like an upscale Target (if Target had a cheese section that matched the selection of Whole Foods).
But damn, improve that customer service at checkout. You are not helping to change the rudeness stereotype one bit. read more