A PARIS FULL OF ENERGY - Making the most of a job well done, and who says transformation can't take place?

 It had been 10 years since either my husband or I were in Paris - the new reality of no longer flying to Europe once a week for me strikes me freshly every so often - I love spending most of my time around Toronto these past 7 years, and as we get our UK and Blackforest 'fixes' at least a couple of times a year I tend to forget about not being in Paris or Munich anymore.


My first lengthy trip to Paris was in 1978. I visited my younger cousin who was doing a stint as an au pair there while taking French classes at the Sorbonne. It was dead romantic in the middle of February - my first trips to the Louvre, Versailles, Les Tuilleries and the Eiffel Tower - a bit cold for les jardins du Luxembourg and walking as much as we were able to do in our early spring trip two weeks ago.  (The first day we walked a total of 17 km. - what a fabulous way to see things - the little details, the smells, the chatter, the window scenes.


Along with loving every day of being in Paris and spending time with old friends that live there, we were both struck by the astonishing shift in the customer service attitudes on display.Paris, France is, of course, famous or infamous for its rudeness and impatience with tourists. I had experienced this first hand on many occasions and had made jokes about hesitating a few seconds when a waiter asked what you wanted, prompting him to scoot off and not return for another 30 minutes to ask again. 


From the moment we arrived, what I refer to as the 'technical service' - the clear directions to the RER trains out of the airport, the maps on the metro, the signs helping with directions to the major attractions and districts were available and plentiful. 


Now comes the best part - the people - everyone who offered service - from the front desk staff at the Concorde Montparnasse where we stayed to the staff taking the tickets at the Mussee du Quai Branly to the marvelous Air France agents and cabin crew who ushered us onto our flight and got us home and everyone in between - were outstanding. What an endorsement of the city, and what a great attractor for tourists. 


The hotel agent that checked us in went out of his way to offer helpful tips and make sure that our two internet reservations became seamless (I made two reservations as the rates differed drastically for days well before the Easter holiday break and after; I was not able to get the same type of room for both) and we stayed the entire stay in one room. When we approached the desk later that day to ask something that agent had left for the day; the one who dealt with us then was as amiable, as helpful, as focused on our experience as the first.


We walked everywhere and tried side street restaurants that appeared to be populated by 'locals' or at least French speakers. We ate out, a lot :-) (and enjoyed every mouthful - that part is the same - Parisian food is very hard to find fault with!) and to a one, every waiter was good. 75% were outstanding. We passed a chain restaurant one night, and decided to give it a try. Our expectations were pretty low. The young man who looked after us at the Montparnasse location of Chez Clement was amazing.

Chez Clément

 Keep in mind, the service is 'included'. He made a point of checking in with us frequently yet sensitively to our privacy and peace.  The waiter was a young man - no more than 23 I'd guess - and it wouldn't be unusual for someone who's pay wouldn't be any different if he delivered sub-optimally. My take is that this had something to do with his training.... but also his wiring - he seemed genuinely interested and jazzed by us being pleased and by pleasing himself as he worked well.  This chap did a great job of interacting and serving customers, JUST BECAUSE HE COULD.    I'd return to one of the Chez Clement restaurants anytime.  When are they opening in Toronto, we wondered??

We went to a place across the street from our hotel - we should have reserved, but didn't, and it was packed. They made us as comfortable as possible as we had a glass of wine and waited for a table, providing us 'sans charge' with nibblies and checking back with us frequently to give us updates on when the table would be ready. I told my husband the maitre d' type gentleman must be the owner - the way he was ensuring everyone was attended to, the way he moved quickly and efficiently without seeming 'busy and stressed'. As it turned out he had started a week ago. WHAT??  How do you get that sort of dedication that quickly, we wondered. The food and service were excellent.
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No matter where we went, whatever we were seeking, we were welcomed and made to feel comfortable. No one corrected our French. REFRESHING!  We felt so at home in Paris, and if I needed to distill it down to one thing that all we encountered displayed, it would be 'humanity'. At high and wonderful levels!