Last week I had the incredible good fortune to spend a week working in Paris. (Have I mentioned that I love my job?) There is a client we work for in the U.S. who was interested in learning more about our European capabilities so one of my co-workers and I hopped aboard American Airlines to meet the client in Paris and introduce him to TracyLocke Paris.
The trip came up a week before my scheduled vacation to Rome with Todd. So, after the client meeting on Monday, rather than fly back on Tuesday to Dallas I stayed the rest of the week in Paris and worked out of the TracyLocke Paris office.
Some observations of living/working in Paris:
1. Everyone smokes. Everywhere. All the time.
It's still a little surprising coming from the U.S. where there are only about three people in "smokers club" at work. There is a roof-top deck at the Paris office that's generally full of people taking a smoke break - it's a much nicer environment than under the garage, down the alley at the TracyLocke Dallas offices.
2. People in Paris work LATE
I was hanging out with the planners during my extra days in the office. While I got there after lunch to keep closer to the U.S. working hours. Jerome, the Director of Account Planning, said they typically get in around 9:30 or 10:00 in the morning and regularly work past 7:00 pm. It didn't sound like anyone made it in before 9:00 am. But, before you start feeling sorry for them. They do take an hour and a half lunch - everyday. None of this bringing in your lunch and eating it at your desk. Nope, it's off to a cafe for a smoke and a glass of wine with your lunch. I think I read something about the government subsidizing everyone's cafe lunches out but I never got the details on that. When I was making plans to come in to the office I was told not to show up before 2:00 pm because no one would be there to let me in!
3. They thought it was cool that the "Americans" were there
Okay, this shouldn't be a surprise because we obviously think it's cool when we have "out-of-towners" visit our offices, but it was funny to hear how excited the office was that the Americans were visiting. I think my co-worker, Shaun, was a little offended because although he's been working the the Dallas office for two years, he's a Brit!
4. The French are very friendly
Never once did I experience the old stereotype of the rude french waiter, pedestrian, driver, insert xxx here. Everyone was friendly and more willing to help me (who can't even count to 5 in French) buy lunch, figure out the metro, find the museum, etc. The agency people were especially generous. Nathalie, the CEO of TracyLocke Paris, actually hosted a dinner for us in her Paris apartment. And after our meeting they took us on a dinner cruise of the Seine. It made me feel a little bad that we didn't do more for all the visitors to the TL Global Summit back in April. Next time....
The trip came up a week before my scheduled vacation to Rome with Todd. So, after the client meeting on Monday, rather than fly back on Tuesday to Dallas I stayed the rest of the week in Paris and worked out of the TracyLocke Paris office.
Some observations of living/working in Paris:
1. Everyone smokes. Everywhere. All the time.
It's still a little surprising coming from the U.S. where there are only about three people in "smokers club" at work. There is a roof-top deck at the Paris office that's generally full of people taking a smoke break - it's a much nicer environment than under the garage, down the alley at the TracyLocke Dallas offices.
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| View from the roof-top terrace of the DDB/TracyLocke Paris offices. Yeah, I know, I would never get any work done either. |
2. People in Paris work LATE
I was hanging out with the planners during my extra days in the office. While I got there after lunch to keep closer to the U.S. working hours. Jerome, the Director of Account Planning, said they typically get in around 9:30 or 10:00 in the morning and regularly work past 7:00 pm. It didn't sound like anyone made it in before 9:00 am. But, before you start feeling sorry for them. They do take an hour and a half lunch - everyday. None of this bringing in your lunch and eating it at your desk. Nope, it's off to a cafe for a smoke and a glass of wine with your lunch. I think I read something about the government subsidizing everyone's cafe lunches out but I never got the details on that. When I was making plans to come in to the office I was told not to show up before 2:00 pm because no one would be there to let me in!
3. They thought it was cool that the "Americans" were there
Okay, this shouldn't be a surprise because we obviously think it's cool when we have "out-of-towners" visit our offices, but it was funny to hear how excited the office was that the Americans were visiting. I think my co-worker, Shaun, was a little offended because although he's been working the the Dallas office for two years, he's a Brit!
4. The French are very friendly
Never once did I experience the old stereotype of the rude french waiter, pedestrian, driver, insert xxx here. Everyone was friendly and more willing to help me (who can't even count to 5 in French) buy lunch, figure out the metro, find the museum, etc. The agency people were especially generous. Nathalie, the CEO of TracyLocke Paris, actually hosted a dinner for us in her Paris apartment. And after our meeting they took us on a dinner cruise of the Seine. It made me feel a little bad that we didn't do more for all the visitors to the TL Global Summit back in April. Next time....
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