February 24, 2008
Another case of French rudeness?
On February 11th, a Chinese couple from Zhejiang, while shopping at the famous high-end retail group Galeries Lafayettes on a Paris tour, was accused of using a counterfeit note, then brought to a police station, questioned and searched “insultingly” then accused a second time at the same cashier of using a fake banknote, although it had been proven genuine by a bank expert.
The French company duly apologized and offered the couple another Paris tour, but it looks like the China Tourism Association is not appeased and here's what its spokesperson had to say on Saturday:
"We are discontent and regretted that Chinese tourists were treated so rudely in Paris. We suggest travelers not to go shopping in the store before the incident is properly handled."Will it dampen the friendly diplomatic relations that the two countries have enjoyed so far? Will it question the business opportunities that the Galerie Lafayettes group was looking for last December, planning to open stores in Beijing and Macau?
As one netizen wrote in a comment,
“You know, I once heard from a lady who had visited Paris. She found French so rude that she complained to a concierge at a hotel she stayed. He replied, “Nothing personal, Madame. We always do it to one another.””Maybe the French should learn from the Chinese how to deal with counterfeit banknotes - just try another one!
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ADVICE! Taxi drivers knowingly pass on counterfeit Mao notes to unsuspecting foreign passengers, especially during the late hours.
It still urks me that I have to check money everytime it exchanges hands. And the two times I have CAUGHT someone trying to pass this money on it's always the same "what?" facial expression. Yeah right, too bad i've already paid my dues. Go ahead, take the bulleye off my forehead and pull your hand out of my pocket.
Where are all the stories of unscrupulous business behavior against foreigners here? Shanghai is a model city right?
I feel sorry if any legitimate customers were harassed, but there are so few details here, that it's hard to believe this story is in the newspapers at all.
How is it that the state media picked-up on such an obscure story? Did it happen that the subjects were "important?" Foreign tourists are harassed, cheated, robbed, detained, etc. everyday, and yet normally, such petty cases receive little or no press. Certainly, it is never reported as being some kind of affront to national dignity as it is here.
Obviously, the only sources here are from the state media, and I don't see anything like a police report, so what are we to believe? Who reported this "story" in the first place? (The Chinese tourist, I'd presume.) Why were the police and an "expert" dragged into a case involving a single suspected counterfeit note? Couldn't the shoppers simply go to a bank and exchange the note? Was there some other unpleasant exchange, language problems, perceived rudeness, finger-snapping, recent cases of counterfeit, etc?
It seems to me, that if this story is true at all, that at the very least there are some significant details missing, because as it's presented here, it doesn't add up. To me, it sounds like the Chinese side is reporting an unpleasant experience, framing it in a manner designed to do damage to the retailer's reputation, and leaving out some details.
This photo is kind of amazing...
shangpudi, you make it sounds like shanghai taxi drivers are only out to get the unsuspecting foreign passenger. Take a breath for me for a second, if the taxi drivers only target the "unsuspecting foreign passenger", that's not all that efficient to pass on the fake notes. To make you feel a little less special, they try to pass on fake notes to chinese too.
"To make you feel a little less special, they try to pass on fake notes to chinese too."
Thank you. A little enlightening, although second guessing anyone who hands over 50 & 100 notes in Shanghai adds to my spending bottom line.
Henry A. Kissinger once said:
"Ninety percent of the politicians give the other ten percent a bad reputation."
This quote just stood out, like my once pocket full of innocen$e. Carry on Mr. Taxi Driver, carry on, may your pockets be full of sketchy Maos all ready to march at your request.
"To make you feel a little less special, they try to pass on fake notes to chinese too."
Yeah, they would also pass it along to a kangaroo if it had money in it's pouch.
I just can't leave this one alone. I've had way too many bad experiences with taxi drivers, both in the car and almost being run over. What's with the moral code behind these companies operating these cabs? Aside from getting from point A to B it's downright disgusting how many driver's behave.
Sorry Shangpudi, i guess you really are opening this up for yourself...
having had to deal with taxi drivers across asia, europe and North America, i have to say the taxi drivers here posses good driving skill despite the lack of empathy in our eyes, but they are courteous and effective in getting us to our destinations for a very cheap fare.
As for getting ripped off or mistreated repeatedly, either as passenger or pedestrian, there are plenty of expats and foreigners here that do not run across such repeated experiences, which (not to blame the victims but) leads me to beleive many who do somehow leave themselves open for it. Remember, once it becomes a petpeeve, it will eat you alive. Don't let it.
Good luck.
My boss got a counterfeit 100 RMB note from a bank ATM. Were they crouched behind the machine waiting for a laowai to stick his card in to dole out the fake?
Question: What do you do when you get a fake note in China?
Answer: You pass it on!
Titian, the picture is part of the campaign of Galeries Lafayette in the media or in the subway. There is always a girl and something reminding us of Paris: an Eiffel Tower, a blue-white-red theme etc.
We didn't talk about this story in France, we didn't really care.
But a Galerie Lafayette spokesman made a public apology, and they offered another trip.
Do we get a free trip every time we get ripped off in China?
"Do we get a free trip every time we get ripped off in China?"
Yeah, there's definitely something amiss here. I just saw it reported on CCTV9.
How did this stupid story get elevated to the level of the national media in China? It seems there's definitely some agenda at play in trying to smear the retailer and/or the French tourism industry. Have there been recent revelations in France about Chinese counterfeit products or some other 'tit' that would evoke this 'tat'?
Chinese tourists get ripped off all the time in THEIR OWN COUNTRY. Chinese tourists are treated rudely IN THEIR OWN COUNTRY. Yet, there's no cries to boycott Guangzhou or Guilin or um, every single city which hosts tourists from any other city.
So, I agree with everyone else - how is this a major story?