• Printer Friendly
• Parler Paris Blog
• Community Calendar (Updated Every Wednesday)
• Recommend to Friends

FREE ONE-HOUR CONFERENCE CALL "FORECASTING FRENCH PROPERTY FOR 2009...with Special New Year Celebration Price of $37.50 for 1 Year Subscription (50 issues) -- Save $20!

Price valid through February 1, 2009
Click here to subscribe: FrenchPropertyInsider.com

PLUS as a subscriber to French Property Insider, you may take advantage of a FREE CONFERENCE CALL scheduled 1 p.m. EST February 1, 2009 on the subject of "FORECASTING FRENCH PROPERTY FOR 2009" with property experts Adrian Leeds and John Rule.

Here's your chance to learn what the experts are predicting for the future of French property values, sales, rentals and mortgages! Join us on this very important call.

February 1, 2009: 10 a.m. PST, 11 a.m. MST, 12 noon CST, 1 p.m. EST, 7 p.m. Paris Time.

Limited to 50 participants. Remember, you must be a subscriber of French Property Insider to participate. If you're already a subscriber, register now to receive your call-in instructions: fpi@adrianleeds.com

Dear Parler Paris Reader,

With all the talk about the inauguration of President Elect Barack Obama, my American roots are more exposed than ever. Americans are gathering together in Paris, and I suspect all across the globe, to celebrate an event that the entire world is embracing with enthusiasm. I can't remember another inauguration which got quite so much media attention, perhaps except John Kennedy's...but that's now just a faded memory from childhood.

If you scroll down to the P.S. of today's newsletter, you'll find a newly published list of events across France and in Paris in which one can participate.

Part of the American roots which go so deep that it's doubtful they will ever cross to French soil is the concept of "customer is king" -- that because we are the paying customers, the merchant will always do their best to accommodate us. WRONG.

I've practiced the French technique of getting good service for years now, with tutelage by Polly Platt and the other cultural experts, not to mention a lot of trial and error on my own. And just when I think it's been perfected, something happens to stir up those deeply entrenched American roots...like a visit to an Orange/France Telecom boutique to exchange old mal-functioning equipment for the latest model.

I won't bore you with the details, but imagine a grown woman sitting on the floor in the middle of the boutique on boulevard Saint-Germain at Odéon, papers spread all over the floor, with her coat, hat and other belongings draped on a nearby chair, blocking their copy machine so no one could use it, on her cell phone to a France Telecom customer service representative (oxymoron) after dialing 3900 and a zillion other code numbers which eventually take you to the right person. The person on the phone, now after having spoken to 5 or 6 others, is asking to speak with a sales person in the boutique to settle the matter, who are not only completely ignoring her pleas to come to the phone, but downright refusing to assist! That's when the American roots exposed themselves...when the yelling started causing a big stir...and then guess what happened? The customer service representative on the phone hung up. TRUE STORY.

Three trips to the boutique and three trips to the apartment later, the issue was settled, but those old American roots found their way to the surface and asked, "will I ever get used to this?"

The annual winter sales are on at their height of frenzy. Rue des Francs Bourgeois in the Marais was closed to traffic Sunday but wall-to-wall with anxious shoppers. You wouldn't have thought there was an economic crisis given the long lines to the cash registers and the big bags people where toting.

Not many stores in France have the legal right to be open on Sunday. A 1906 law requires most non-food retailers in France to close on the "Lord's day," but President Nicolas Sarkozy has been working to change that to encourage business. Le Marais has benefited from its Jewish roots where the shops traditionally closed Saturday to observe the Sabbath, reopening on Sunday, hence the frenzy to catch bargains on what might otherwise be a lazy Sunday afternoon.

I stayed an observer, not wanting to battle for bargains or expose any more of those American roots by expecting good customer service. Guess I'll have to pay full retail and freshen up on what Polly Platt taught us Americans to say -- "Excusez-moi de vous déranger, mais..."

LIMITED TIME OFFER...SAVE 10% ON ALL JANUARY

2009 PARLER PARIS APARTMENTS BOOKINGS

Take 10% Off All January 2009 Bookings in Parler Paris Apartments!*Not many days left in January...so don't delay to plan your stay in Paris at a luxurious Parler Paris Apartment!

Parler Paris Apartments are primarily properties in central Paris owned by our own clients and readers (investment-minded individuals) which high quality accommodations to make your stay in the City of Light as enjoyable and memorable as possible. These are the kinds of owners and management you can fully trust and they, in turn, are seeking trustworthy tenants such as yourselves, to welcome to their Paris homes.

For more information and to reserve your stay in Paris now, visit Parler Paris Apartments at parlerparisapartments.com or email: Apartments@AdrianLeeds.com

*Minimum of three nights or more during the month of January in any one of Parler Paris Apartments at a discount of 10%!

MEET PARLER PARIS READERS TUESDAY "APRES MIDI."

The second Tuesday of every month, Parler Paris and French Property Insider readers gather at La Pierre du Marais for a drink and a "schmooze" -- it's an opportunity to meet and chat with other like-minded people and a great way to make friends! Costs nothing except whatever you drink, so don't miss the next gathering on Tuesday, February 10th, 2009 from 3 to 5 p.m.

For more information, visit parlerparis.com/apresmidi.html

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY -- BRING A FRIEND AND ATTEND PARLER PARLOR FREE!

Join us at the Parler Parlor Conversation Group for free-form conversation with native French and English speakers. Practice speaking 45 minutes in French, 45 minutes in English. Make friends, discuss interesting topics, learn about other cultures, progress in understanding and speaking, naturally and easily, in groups of 6 to 8, each in its own acoustically sound private room.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Bring a friend and attend FREE! Sweets will be served!
11 a.m. at Lutèce Langue, 23 bd de Sébastopol, 1st

Members of Parler Parlor: Bring one or more friends who have never attended before...the will attend free, of course (FIRST TIME FREE!), BUT SO WILL YOU!!! If you come alone...a session on your card will be marked off! So, don’t come alone...bring any Anglophone or Francophone friends of your choice. Sweets will be served!

For more information, visit ParlerParlor.com

Copyright 2010, Adrian Leeds®
Adrian Leeds Group, LLC, adrianleeds.com