Merci pour tous ces articles passionnants. En temps que française nouvellement installée en Caroline du Sud comme professeure en Immersion Français, c’est un régal de lire tout cela !
Pourriez vous m’expliquer l’interessante différence entre the French relationship oriented et the US transactional one, merci !

Merci de votre email et BIENVENUE aux USA et a French Affaires! Ou est-ce que vous enseignez? En ce qui concerne les deux cultures, one can compare the experience of shopping in stores in the US versus those in France. Many Americans enter a shop focused solely what they need–and head directly for the merchandise. They look for what they want, select it, pay for it, and exit the store. There is generally MINIMAL interaction with the staff or salesperson. Thus, it is almost solely a transaction and feels fairly mechanical.

In France, on the other hand, when one enters a shop (or a restaurant or other place of business), one says “Bonjour” and includes a polite form of address such as “Monsieur” or “Madame” and makes eye contact with the salesperson. Or the salesperson initiates contact. It is as if you’ve entered their personal space so communication is a must. In addition, it seems to be a source of pride for the salesperson to help customers by sharing their expertise and helping customers select purchases. It is somewhat of a relationship even it is temporary and it takes TIME. Americans are always in a hurry so they don’t have much time–for people or for an interesting interaction. Of course, this is a generalization, and I wouldn’t consider shopping in department stores in France all that personal but on the whole, it is pretty true. I hope this helps!

Amicalement,
Elizabeth

Merci pour tous ces articles passionnants. En temps que française nouvellement installée en Caroline du Sud comme professeure en Immersion Français, c’est un régal de lire tout cela !
Pourriez vous m’expliquer l’interessante différence entre the French relationship oriented et the US transactional one, merci !