Sometimes the French need a good cursing out…

Every month or so I buy “credits” to add to my pre-paid cell phone. You go to any Tabac (the equivalent of a bodega—they sell cigarettes, lotto tickets, calling cards, candy, etc) and buy coupons in any denomination (from 5€-120€) that have a 9-digit code on it which you type into your phone to recharge your minutes. Last week I bought a 95€ coupon from a new place near my apartment. When I got home, I tried to enter in the code but kept getting a message saying the code was invalid. After trying it a few times, the system locked me out. Annoying but I didn’t think much of it.

I went to the SFR store (my carrier) the next day on my lunch break and they unlocked my phone and attempted to enter the coupon code for me. It didn’t work for him either so he called and found out that the coupon that I purchased on DECEMBER 5th had already been used on NOVEMBER 30th! SFR told me there was nothing they could do and I would have to go back to the Tabac to get this straightened out. I asked him to write me a note explaining the situation in French and include his name and store phone number so I wouldn’t have any problems when I got to the Tabac.

So I get to the Tabac, handed the store owner the note and explained the situation. She immediately says, “That’s impossible”. She calls SFR and although I didn’t understand everything, I caught a few phrases like, ‘American… she doesn’t understand’, ‘her phone is broken, that’s the real problem’. She hangs up and tells me that SFR said there was a fraud situation for all 95€ coupons sold, someone had hacked in online and stolen the codes. She said there was nothing she could do but SFR said if I went back to their store they would just charge my cell over the phone without a coupon. There was an SFR store a few blocks away and she wrote a note for me to take with me to the store explaining the situation.

So I get to SFR and the guy who helped me was the biggest DICK. He looked at the note and simply said, “This is a lie. There’s no fraud situation going on with recharge coupons” and dismissed me. I tried to explain and ask what I should do nexy but he literally ignored me. I got so frustrated I called out, “This is ridiculous! Does anyone speak English here?!” A nice American man came over and said, “What’s going on?” I explained the situation, which he relayed to the guy who said, “I know what she’s saying but it’s not true. She got ripped off at the Tabac—they just printed duplicate coupons, it happens all the time. Next time she needs to buy a coupon from an SFR boutique only”. Oh, hell no!

So I walk back to the Tabac—by this time it’s nearly 6pm and I’ve been dealing with this ridiculous situation for 5 hours. Needless to say, I’m PISSED. I get there and waited calmly enough till it was my turn at the counter. When I got to the register, the woman asked, “So what happened? Did they charge your phone?”

Me: “No, they said you sold me a bad coupon”
Lady: “It’s not a bad coupon! You saw it come out of the machine. SFR is lying to you”
Me: “No. YOU’RE lying to me. You sold me a bad coupon. Now you have two options: #1, you give me a new recharge coupon. Or #2, you give me my 95€ back”
Lady: “SFR is crazy, they lie all the time. I told you there’s nothing I can do, you have to take it up with them. I’m sorry. Excuse me”. She tries to take the next customer behind me but I’m like, ‘Fu*k that, I’m not going anywhere!’
Me (raising my voice): “NO! You listen to me. I bought this coupon at your store. You cheated me and sold me a fake coupon. Now you better give me a real coupon or give me my money. It's very simple: money or new coupon. That’s it. Or we can call the police because I’m not leaving!”

By this time, the after work crowd had arrived and the line is literally out the door. Everyone is silent and staring at us. Now, I didn’t want to get loud and ghetto, but the dumb bit*h thought she was dealing with some stupid American hick from Podunk, Iowa (no offence to Iowans)… I’m a New Yorker! We do not play that sh*t. I don’t care if I don’t speak your damn language… the word “police” is the same in French, you get my point.

So I’m yelling at her in my broken French in front of her customers, announcing to the entire store that she’s a thief and she ripped me off. She looks a bit taken aback and frantically starts jabbing at her register and says, “Look! I can’t do anything. SFR froze my access to the coupons because of the fraud!” And as she’s trying to prove her fake point, a new recharge coupon prints out of the machine. She looks at me and says, “Oh… uh… well. That’s so bizarre. They told me on the phone that I can’t sell these coupons anymore…” Bizarre my ass! I literally snatched the coupon out of her hand (didn’t move out of line either, the customers can wait) and tested the coupon. It worked. I gave her the meanest look I could muster, turned and started to walk out of the store. And you know what that bit*h had the nerve to say to me?! “Wait, what about my 95€ for the coupon? Now I lost that money”. I turned back to her, threw the coupon on the counter and said, “I just lost an entire day of work dealing with this. I don’t care about your money. Call SFR and ask them to give you your money back” and I walked out. And as I was squeezing my way out the door, a man in line said to me, “I love your cute accent”. FU*K YOU! Do I look like someone you want to speak to right now?!

That day was so unreal. It pissed me off that this woman seriously thought she could take advantage of me and I wouldn’t do anything about it! WTF?! But I'm very proud of myself for solving this problem all by myself! I'd thought about returning to the Tabac with a French friend the next day, but I was just angry, I was not waiting any longer! I may speak French like a 5-year-old, but don’t try to screw me over… I’m not stupid. Go me! :o)