LOCAL COLOR: FRENCH ELEVATOR OPERATORS (COMMENT).

LOCAL COLOR: FRENCH ELEVATOR OPERATORS (COMMENT). Mary Jane commented here about an incident in Paris which reflected that: “There was no concern for the poor customer.” Properly considered, this was a wonderful illustration of an aspect of French culture that Adam Gopnik described beautifully here. Americans are given to comsumerism; the French, to producerism. Gopnik observes: “For us, an elevator operator is only a tourist’s way of getting to the top of the Eiffel Tower. For the French, a tourist is only an elevator operator’s opportunity to practice his metier in a suitably impressive setting.” From another point of view, it is the American notion that “the customer is always right” that seems strange to people from other cultures.