Originally Posted by pgalore
Another agent with a walkie talkie was standing nearby and I asked him "est-ce qu'il n y a pas quel que chose qu'on pourrait faire" (isn't there anything that can be done?)...
2) Knowing a few words of the local lingo is very helpful.
I was truly amazed at the number of Americans who I ran into over the past two weeks who not only didn't know any of the language of the countries they were in, but also didn't even bring a dictionary. Not only is it presumptious to assume that everyone is willing and able to speak in English, but it's also very helpless kind of stance that lets people know how easily you can be taken advantage of!
I'm glad to hear you had a good experience at CDG, pgalore. What you encountered was exactly the opposite of what I endured in the exact same situation there several years ago. Perhaps things have improved, though I doubt it.
In any case I disagree. First, the phrase "est-ce qu'il n y a pas quel que chose qu'on pourrait faire" consitutes more than "a few words of the local lingo" for the non-French speaker, particularly in a time-critical situation. Surely you didn't look this up in a dictionary while standing there.
Secondly it is not "presumptious" <sic> to assume that "everyone is willing and able to speak in English" at Delta Air Lines. Delta is an
American company. Do you think Air France hires people in the U.S. who are unwilling or unable to speak in French? Yet at CDG I found that some DL employees at CDG treat English-speaking customers with obvious disdain, possibly because they "know how easily you can be taken advantage of."
When dining at a left-bank restaurant I do not expect the employees to speak English. At Delta Air Lines I do.