"We have been in France for almost 9 weeks (5 1/2 in Paris, 1 in Nice and 2+ in Provence). Tonight was our last night, spent at an airport hotel, and we went to this place in the village. Unfortunately, the experience was not atypical of many dining experiences we have had in France. I have heard all the explanations and the excuses and I don't care -- bad service is bad service and rude is rude. We have had several very good experiences with service in France, but more often they have been marginal or, like tonight, outright bad. We were given menus and a drink and then waited almost 20 minutes before my wife got up and chased down the waiter (attention owner: he is a thin fellow in his forties), who finally took our order. Despite her asking the waiter several times whether the place could actually cook her steak medium rare (something the French are singularly and consistently unable to do) and despite being assured that they could, the steak came back medium --medium well. No apology from the waiter of course when he saw that it was not cooked properly. But then he also (as is not uncommon) never asked us how our meals were, and never brought us bread or water (which is uncommon). We ordered a second drink apiece, which the waiter apparently forgot about, as he went to three other tables after our order and brought drinks to them. My wife finally got up, went inside and asked him for le addition (we have learned to do this after countless experiences where we tell the waiter that we are finished and we wait forever for the bill, despite sitting at the table and tapping the credit cad against the table and not being engaged in any conversation) and told him to forget about the drinks (which he already had, anyway). His response was that it was busy (not very much). Again, no apology. We love France and have had some great experiences at restaurants, but this place exhibited the typical French attitude. Despite what you may have heard, the typical French waiter at the average restaurant or bistro (I am not talking about a fine restaurant) not only has a nonchalant or standoffish attitude but also does not know much about how the food is prepared and has no sense of professionalism. Americans need to get over the fear of being perceived as aggressive or demanding and call a spade a spade -- bad service is bad service wherever it happens and should not be tolerated. If you are in Europe and you get good service tip appropriately and when you get bad service let the waiter and anyone you see in charge know what you think."
