5 Things that are NOT FREE in France (but ARE in the U.S!)
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- čas přidán 12. 06. 2024
- Let's talk about things that are free in the United States but are not in France. This is an interesting cultural difference between the two countries and how we talk about money. What we pay for at home in the US doesn't always correspond to what we pay for abroad in France.
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If you ask for free water in a restaurant where you ordered something, they HAVE to give it to you, it's a law. But you're right, it's important to ask for the "carafe" and not a bottle
Tourist traps...
No so. They will usually give you tap water free, if asked but, they absolutely can charge you for it. There is no law here that requires them to give it away.
@@PhilJonesIII "Les établissement de restauration et débits de boissons sont tenus d'indiquer de manière visible sur leur carte ou sur un espace d'affichage la possibilités pour les consommateurs de demander de l'eau potable gratuite"
@@goku445 "les consommateurs de demander de l'eau potable gratuite." Il s'agit de clients payants.
@@PhilJonesIII Who said they were not paying clients here?
water is always free in France, it's even forbidden to a restaurant to seel the public water, after if it's special water in bottle yes it's not free, but "l'eau du robinet" is always free
L'eau du champlure. 😊
Yup, but sometimes tourists don't know they can ask for it. Always a great option though!
I would go even further. It's illegal for every places distributing water or being equipped for to refuse serving "tap water" in France. They hate when you ask for water in nightclubs or festivals, but they are legally obliged to. Always have to insist tho :/
To be fair, this is only since January 2022. Before that, free water was only due if you ordered a meal. Since 2022 it's due as soon as you order anything.
@@etherstripit has always been free. Just as the toilets, you had to be a customer of the place to be served, which was still illegal.
I learned quickly to ask for a carafe d’eau. However, I recently visited the Netherlands and all restaurants, hotels, river cruiser, etc. made known to all tourists that tap water was the default for environmental reasons. They were proud of the fact that their tap water tasted so good (it did).
I actually liked the paid toilets. When they were nice, I was happy to see my money was going to keep the restroom nice and clean.
In France, we diffrentiate between eating a meal or "débit de boissons". In restaurants ir cafes and bars and stuff, if you're eating a meal, both water and bread are to be served free. You shouldn't have to ask, they HAVE to give it. It literally is in the law. If you're just out for a drink or a little goûter and not having a meal, then they can charge tap water IF they have written the price both inside and outside. And it's actually really rare
Yeah well, it is in the law that tap water and bread as well as salt and pepper are free if you're eating a meal but we don't HAVE to give it when customers sit at the table. However it certainly may be an indicator of the quality of the restaurant, avoiding to scam you with water is a good sign that you're not in a tourist trap. Also since 2022 every restaurant must show explicitly that tap water is free to avoid the classic water scam of the video.
Good luck trying.
I would not expect bread unless I ordered dinner. Of course, I'd never miss a chance at bread in France.
They do not have to. They may, it's a custom, but it is by no mean mandatory.
Tap water is free by law but you have to ask it (generally the waiter will offer water and that's your cue to ask for "une carafe" implying you want the free tap water and not the paid water bottle).
As for bread i don't think it's mandatory by law, just customary in most restaurant. Not in cheaper "fast food style" places.
Grocery stores in the US are changing plastic and paper bag policies,
to comply with municipal rules. Some communities in New England are banning plastic bags. You either bring your own bags or buy paper bags @ 10 cents each.
That's the way it is in france in most places, hence the no free bag policy. We used to have the free plastic bags not so long ago, but in an effort to reduce waste, the regular bag is now paper and you pay for it. (I guess you do too, when she says you get sometimes a discount for bringing your own bag, it's not free money out of courtesy, it's just that the cost of the "free" bag is spread across the goods, and you get a "discount" for having one already. Nothing is free, it's just charged differently).
Yes, all of Connecticut has that bag rule!
In Chicago they charge a small amount per bag too. You have to list how many bags you are taking.
I manage a wine shop in France and we provide free plastic bags - small businesses are still allowed to, supermarkets can't - but we sometimes are considering charging for them when we see how some people treat it as en entitlement. Plenty will ask for a bag only to then put it in another bag, like "if it's free I have to take it even if I don't need it!". Back in the days there were free paper napkins disposals at McDonalds in France, but people were taking so many of them only to then throw them away that they are now given to you at the counter.
That being said, the time interval between two orders of bags to our supplier tends to increase, which shows that more and more people are using reusable bags.
It's the same in California.
Thank you for this. I just wanted to add that I spent two months in Paris (March, April 2023) and used the free restrooms in all of the museums I visited. Like in restaurants, you’re paying to be there, so they probably have to offer restrooms as a part of the fee. Bonus: the restrooms are usually clean and attractive.
Restrooms are indeed almost anytime free of extra charges in places you must pay to be (museum, theater, etc.). As a French citizen I may have seen the opposite only once or two (and it’s a shame in this case!)
There's been an enoumous change in this front sibce we moved to France in 1996. The Restroom Ladies are à thing of the past. Only in train stations does one have to pay for the toilets anymore.
@@LauraMorlandDon't go to Nevers station, there's only one toilet and if it's out of order you're stuck until your train arrives.
First time visiting France my mom went to a gas station bathroom, when she didn’t return to the van we went looking for her. She had to pay to get out of the bathroom and had brought no money with her. She has been yelling for help but we hadn’t heard her.
She was kept prisoner in the bathroom. Nice..
When I visited France a couple months ago. I was shocked at how surprisingly cheap, affordable France is compared to my home city in California.
Yes, I got shocked the other way around when I visited San Francisco
@@DanteAngeli California is pretty adorable for sure.
French here, from Paris. The 1st time I visited the US, upstate NY, i was SHOCKED at how cheap everything was compared to back home. Then on my second trip i went to California and was shocked the other way around. Prices in SF are no joke.
Cheap for you but not for french people. Average monthly salary here is about 2k euros (net income).
Upstate NY is not NY city in fact mostly rural. ! All Americans feel the same going to Commifornia ! SF is now dirtier than Paris, has at least twice the density of homeless, drug addicts, crimes, corrupt incompetent politicians. The Bart is now a sewer but for people. Socialism does that to a country.
The code thing in restaurants for restrooms is not really a thing in most places, funny enough it's mostly to be seen in US street food outlets (McDonalds, Starbucks, etc). Most french restaurants and pubs don't have the code lock for the restroom, but yes it's still usually a customer only service (which as a french don't feel like it's fair at all but we roll with it). The common courtesy is to ask first if you can use the restroom while not a customer, and if your told it's for customer only I ask for a espresso that I'll take on my way out of the restroom.
Also, in an international fast food brand, if you ask nicely the code to any customer you'll get it and 99.9% of the time, no one will care if you use the bathroom without buying anything. On the contrary, in a small establishment you are expected to buy something and people will notice because those are famously less profitable and the french care about supporting such places.
In New York State it's been mandatory to bring your own bags for a few years now. You can usually buy a bag if needed but they're not given out free now. So when I visit France I'm already in the habit. 🙂
carafe d'eau (tap water) is mandatory to be offered at no cost in France, unless you are at the top of a mountain, or very remote place where they have no city water.
In France, tap water is free, but you may have to ask ( _une carafe, svp_ ), in many European countries it's not. In some regions, it's not standard, because people consider tap water not good and they never drink it. Disposable plastic bags were unknown before the eighties or nineties, we always had a bag for shopping.
Having worked for the customer service of software editor, I can tell you: the phone calls not being free isn't so much about making money, but to reduce the number of calls and discourage frivolous ones. We offered mail and e-mail services at no extra cost, and most often it was simpler to resolve problems this way.
I think alot of American banks charge Maintenace fees if you don’t carry a high enough balance.
TD bank and Santander did. Don't they weren't primary accounts for me, I dropped them and stuck with Wells Fargo
You can cancel it and as long as you use your card 3 times in a month you won't get charged
Major banks yes, mid range or smaller banks don't do that as much
Please describe high enough balance?
@@goku445 I googled and Motley Fool says $100 to $2500, with most closer to the lower end. Some years back Bank of America offered me I think $100 to open an account with $500, and I had to maintain a minimum $500 balance to not incur fees.
I honestly don’t think Parisians use the bathroom because I can hardly ever find one! I don’t mind paying. Just give us more restrooms please. 🤣
I’m coming back to France for vacation after 4 long years. Dang pandemic!
Thank you for all of your wonderful videos! ❤️
there are automatic toilet in Paris at no cost, about 350 in all of Paris. no enough to be at every street corner..
To be honest, (most) Parisians don't really use public toilets (seriously) - I mean the ones in the street - because they have a reputation of being used by the homeless and prostitutes. I only ever see tourists queuing up for those.
I'd say they don't really need to use them if they're commuting from home to work, but otherwise they use the ones in cafés, restaurants, department stores...
As a Parisian, I use the toilets of the place I pay a visit. Museums (usually quite clean), bars, restaurants and movie theaters. Or I wait to went back home. But I already had to go to a cafe, ask for an expresso (the cheapest thing you could find), don't even drink it and use the restroom. I also find problematic the fact they aren't enought public restroom, but it's not only a parisian's problem. I also saw it everybody in France, but at least when you live in a little city, you don't have to wait 1hour in public transportation to go back to your place.
@@BB-un2ts Tu as essayé de donner 50 centimes/ 1 euros plutôt que de gâcher un café?
I am currently on vacation in London and will be visiting Paris Thursday (so excited)! Thanks for your tips!
Oooh fun, have a great trip and glad you enjoyed the video!
More and more stores in the US charge a bag fee and have stopped using plastic. My county mandates it i think. Thanks as always, Diane,
I agree, I don't know of a bank that doesn't.
You're very welcome!
About your 2nd point: Since 2009, businesses must provide a toll-free number for customer support. That only concerns customer support though, so if you're trying to reach sales and get advice for what to purchase, there's no guarantee that that will be free.
4:12 to clarify this point, there was so many complain in France about the "paying while waiting" that there is a law about that now, you are no more charged until someones pick up the phone. That's still not free but there is no more abuse like there used to be...
yea it was really bad when I first moved to France. It would cost 15 euros to call Bouygues to fix a problem
@@OuiInFrance I totally agree, and we are millions in France who complained about that. Thanksfully, it's past now! (well, it's still possible to find some "bad company" who still doesn't apply the law, but it's less and less frequent!)
@@OuiInFrance Shopping carts going rogue 😂😂🛒🛒
About the water, you definitely shouldn't have been charged for. Since january 2022, every french restaurant, pub, etc... is required to serve tap water (it must be either fresh or tempered) for free to all customers asking for it. This was already something common before 2022, but now it is mandatory due to law. As a side-note : bottled water is not concerned, they can charge you for it; to be sure you are not getting charged, you can specify you want tap water ("eau du robinet").
I just ❤your videos. We moved from Denver to Bordeaux two years ago and I had a good amount of problems getting used to France. However, the goodness and quality of our life and community are superb compared to the USA. I love my neighborhood, my children’s school and the food that is such high quality. Everyday I’m so impressed with the kindness and curiosity that I am shown by the French. ❤❤❤❤
Thanks for another great video.
It's reassuring to hear you talk about these things and to hear that I'm not alone in noticing them myself.
Another great video! In Oregon, they have been charging for bags at grocery stores and clothing stores for several years now, usually 5 or ten cents per bag. And these are paper bags, no plastic bags. The exception is in the produce departments of grocery stores, there are still free plastic bags available for the produce.
I confirm in Italy and Spain there is no tap water at restaurants only expensive bottles
The freewater that’s important to remember of how to say it correctly so you don’t get expensive bottle water.
Actually, grocery bags used to be free 15 years ago, but France decided to get rid of disposable plastic bags for ecological reasons . Also, restaurants will make you pay for water when you seat because terraces are for customers. So, if you take a seat, even for a simple break, you need to consume and pay.
It's still quite rare to make pay for tap water, even in a bar. As for restaurants, they can't charge it. Of course it you take a seat in a restaurant, that means you're gonna pay for a meal, but in that case, bread and water are free.
I'm left to wonder what sort of people sit down at a café or restaurant and don't expect to order anything. That's quite rude. You order a drink if nothing else, and you leave a tip for the server where appropriate. I'm sorry but I can't imagine just taking a seat somewhere, even if outdoors.
Well sometimes it takes so long for the waiter to come that you can actually take a break and then get up and leave, I did this in Germany as well 😂
I live in France and water is clearly free in every restaurant... You just ask a carafe and get one, which is just normal!
The prick waiter in Nice wouldnt bring us water.
@@b.w.9244 Il's illegal. They are obliged to serve you water. To be polite to the restaurant, if you pass by and just want a glass of water, order a coffee. That's how we generally do it.
Yup, agreed! I said it was free at the 09:25 mark ;-)
@@martinquessandier3282 note that water is only due to customers. Until you order something, you are not a customer. So ordering that coffee is not courtesy, it's required. Now, many restaurants would hand out water to non-customers if politely asked. They're doing them a favor though.
@@etherstrip C'était bien le sens de ma remarque. Je donnais juste un petit tip, en tant que français, pour éviter les regards en biais que peuvent avoir certains serveurs dans les restaurants. Mais je vous remercie de votre commentaire
About the toilets: in France if a place serves drinks they are required to offer toilets to their customers. I don't think it is the case in the US
The thing is - in the states stores like Michael's, Joann Fabrics, Big Lots - all have public restrooms. Here in Poland, good luck if you have a sudden need and you aren't in a huge place like Carrefour or Castorama or a fast food restaurant. They just aren't there anywhere. I wish they had them at Biedronka or Lidl.
As always, a super informative video! The whole water 'thing' is one aspect I make sure I explain to my students when I take them to France. I always tell them, "Je voudrais une carafe d'eau s'il vous plaît." Great point to highlight!!
5:15 My humble opinion with banking fees in France is they exist due to the different business practices than in the US:
- EU Regulation 2015/751 placed a cap on debit/credit card interchange fee of 0.2% and 0.3% of the transaction, respectively. To put this in perspective, in the US, typical interchange rate span from 1.5% to 3.5%. I guess the yearly/monthly fee scheme enables the card networks to compensate for the loss of profit. Even before that regulation was passed, the national interchange network (GIE Carte Bancaires, a merger from a variety of smaller networks) was mainly used to process banking card transactions.
- Similarly, credit and debt are approached in a very different way in France: banking cards with built-in revolving credits are heavily regulated to protect consumers from getting to excessive debt and banks from consumer insolvency. Positive credit reporting and credit bureau don't exist over there, so assessing risk is harder from the banks perspective and usually requires sharing income slips with your bank to demonstrate your solvency.
- Privacy protection laws prohibits the share certain personal data (including before GDPR was enforced), so banks can't turn a profit on that point.
Très intéressant, vos comparaisons !
Some virtual bank accounts online in France are free, so long as you make at least one monthly card transaction.
I'm in Australia and when you open a savings account, there will often be a small monthly fee, which will usually be waived if your salary is paid into that account. I've never paid a fee for having a debit card though.
Also we used to have free plastic bags at grocery stores but I think most states have banned them now. I'm okay with that though.
Water is free just like in restaurants, unless you ask for bottled water. I still remember in London, being charged 4 pounds for "still" water which would have been free here (maybe because I didn't specify tap water).
You were definitely targeted as a tourist in London! Legally in the UK anywhere that's connected to the mains supply (including private residences) have to provide free tap water to anyone that asks for it.
Basically, they sold you bottled water because you didn't specify tap water.
Actually by law in France, banks must offer one free payment method. This is the reason why checks still exists in France : obviously most banks will offer your the payment method that people uses less... Exceptions are mostly for "online" banks that emit no checks; those usually either offer the debit card or wire transferts for free.
And it's also one reason why wire/money transferts (until recently) are very unpopular : banks made them VERY cumbersome to do; 10 years ago, in many banks, you had to get an appointment with your financial advisor to make a wire transfert! Needless to say, people only did this for large sums such as buying a car; but would never use them for anything smaller.
Recently most banks allow to make wire transfert easily via their bank apps, but there is still a delay of 24 hours to have it "approved" so more often than not Paypal and similar money transfert sites fill the gap.
There are places here where if you ask for water they point you their refrigerated case of bottles. Not Evian but similar price to the soft drinks in the same fridge.
You can go to the toilet for free in any restaurant in France. If you want the pass code to the restroom you can ask a customer or just go to the desk, ask for a free glass of water and the toilet code
In USA refill on coffee , cola, iced tea lemonade are free you pay once for it . Water is always free.
In New York there are no more reusable grocery bags or discounts. If you don't have a bag you have to buy a reusable one.
I've visited some restaurants and cafes in France which serve their carafes or bottles of tap water marked l'eau municipale. Tres posh! 🤣
I'll have to keep an eye out for that! I've always gotten unlabeled ones
Hi, I’m French, I was born here and lived here most of my life.
But it never felt like home to me, somehow
Your channel brings an interesting perspective to me
ouch
OMG, the tap water story is just scandalous (from a french point of view), the garçon de café had scammed you. In France, (tap) water AND bread are ALWAYS free. Even if you're not having a lunch in a restaurant, there is a law that forces them to serve you tap water simply on demand, even if you're not a customer and just passing by being thirsty. So, I think that waiter just thought "hey, let's charge those tourists a little bit more" (that often is the case in Paris, where the service is commonly known to be very bad and the waiters very rude ; this is not the case in other places in smaller cities where bartenders are mostly pretty kind)
French language tip : ask for "carafe" or "eau municipale (city water"), just to make clear you want tap water and not some fancy Evian or Badoit or stuff like that !
I learnt this at school a long time ago. But the law changed. If you want free tap water and bread, you actually must be a customer, so you must order something and pay for it. I'm sure when I was a child it was different, and I often asked tap water for free in bars when I was doing bike at summer.
the tourist don't know it's in the law so touristic area take advantage of it 🙄or maybe they was in belgium and not in france, here no free water at all
Or ask for "l'eau de la pompe". I often see people come into bar and ask for a glass of water and they are served. Often, but not always, school age. That is neighborhood bars. Maybe tourist locations don't do that.
When i visited in Paris in 1977, i was surprised that water was not brought to the table in restaurants unless asked, and then it was as expensive as the tea or coffee or soft drinks, etc. Loved France, would love to live there. Thanks, Diane👏 i enjoy your channel, great content ⚜️🇨🇵
Sadly, that's restaurants abusing tourists. French people know you can get free tap water, it's apparently a law.
Well, I do not want to challenge your memories about a trip 50 years ago, but water is free in France. Unless it is bottled and marketed (Evian, etc).
@@annab9994 No, wasn't citing that antique experience as current. Was merely saying that was the case then.
@@annab9994 if they think you're a foreign tourist and they can get away with it, they'll bring you mineral water without asking and charge you for it. It's unfortunately a thing.
In 🇦🇺 we’ve brought our own cloth bags (or reusable) to supermarkets etc. for ages now. Feel much happier about the environment. Thx for this great vid. Just got back from 🇫🇷 and *loved* my holiday.
So glad you had a nice trip, Anne! Thank you ;-)
Bags can last 10 years easily. No point in giving away petroleum plastic bags that will end up killing animals in the wild.
@@goku445 Oh shut up with that crap
In Croatia charging for plastic shopping bags is _mandatory_ in order to discourage plastic waste. The exception are very thin produce bags. Paper bags are usually free, even large, sturdy ones.
This is a good thing.
the very thin produce plastic bags here in Italy cost 1 cent. I think it's illegal to give them for free.
@@solaccursio Makes sense. Biodegradable bags are appearing everywhere now.
@@solaccursio in france they are free in supermarkets. you have rolls of free starch based plastic bags available to pack your vegetables.
@@goku445 same bags here but not free, 1 cent each (so people don't waste them)
Online banks are a normal thing already in Finland and I was a little bit surprised when my student dormitory's welcome office's worker told me in March that I have to pay my rent by bank card in the welcome office in each month. In Finland you can pay your rent easily via the online bank even when you have rented an apartment via the student housing organization. We have also a plastic bag culture in Finland and I was shocked when I didn't find any plastic bags from the food store in the beginning of my university exchange in January.😄
Regarding the payment for toilets, it's where the expression "To spend a penny" comes from way back in the 1800's in the UK
Makes sense!
As a rural American, I HATE plastic bags. People throw them out, they blow around, and get sucked up into the farm equipment causing downtime and significant expense. Not to mention that they are horrible for the environment. I've traveled for years with my reusable bags in Europe. I even take them to flea markets and the sellers are always appreciative.
Regarding water, it depends on where you are. I generally avoid the tourist areas in Paris. When I ask for water, they bring a carafe of free tap water.
Paying to use the bathroom is the best thing ever since those bathrooms are usually very clean, have paper in the stalls, and are well maintained. I would happily pay for a clean bathroom in the US.
In Austria there's also no free bags at supermarkets. It's to avoid waste. And no plastic bags.
I've lived in Paris for the past 35 years. French people aren't keen on tourists. But, because I have lived here and know a lot of people, I get a lot of stuff for free- tokens to use the toilet, free glass of wine, extra cakes from the bakery, discounts at the butcher. The secret is to be friendly and polite and a little chatty.
I'm an American in Mexico. I ONLY drink water (no juice, tea, coffee, etc.). I hate going to eat because since you can't drink the tap water here, it means buying bottled water..and well, I try to avoid single use plastics. (The drinking water for homes comes in reusable jugs; you just swap the jug out for a new one and they clean and refill your old one.) So, I've been in habit of taking my own water with me. A restaurant got upset that I brought my own drink. I politely, but also with a bit of a look, said that I try to avoid creating more trash. I'm also a regular costumer there; I'm still supporting the business!
When I was a kid in the 1960s, the ladies room stalls cost $. That was in Philadelphia
I lived Oregon for twenty-six years. The last few years I lived there, plastic bags were forbidden. The grocery stores would sell you a paper bag for a dime. They would have reusable totes available for a dollar or so.
Charges for plastic grocery bags were introduced in the EU about 15 years ago as an environmental measure. It is now the norm for customers to bring their own reusable bags.
Our Chase bank account in the USA costs $6 per month unless you have a credit of $1500, whereas my credit Agricole Britline account is €6. Per year per card. And I've never been charged for tap water in France 🤷🤷🤷
In Britain we have the old expression to "spend a penny" which comes from the time many toilets had a slot to pay with a penny. In recent times you may pay 20 pence where toilets are chargeable but on the whole they are free.
You’re right, you don’t ask for tap water in Italy. I think some of it has to do with the quality of drinking water.
I remember it was the case 30 years ago. Tap water had a reputation of giving you the runs.
For the customer service numbers, it usually is written next to the phone number with a special little thing to know if you pay & how many
if you need to go the bathroom at a train station, remember we have bathroom in the train wich are free, most of the time in order, think about it if you are departing or arriving
Bags are not free in NYC, and plastic ones not available at all. More and more people carry reusable bags. Whole Foods still now gives 10 cents per bag, if you bring your own.
Colorado now charges 10 cents per plastic bag. If you bring your own, you don't get a discount, you just don't get charged.
All of the points you’ve listed are exactly the same over here in Germany.
Maybe the “water at a restaurant” situation is a bit different as over here one doesn’t get a free glass of water aside when ordering a coffee. And most restaurants won’t offer tap water anyway as it is kind of common sense that when ordering “…a water please” one means a glass of mineral water, so the only question a waiter would ask is “still or with gas/bubbles?”…..and if the waiter is well trained, he would suggest a big bottle for the whole table to share if several guests are ordering ‘a glass of water’.
But we’ve got a law here in Germany that says ‘a glass/bottle of water has to be the cheapest item on the beverage menu’ (except for the real fancy restaurants where one could chose from a variety of mineral waters and some are really expensive). That law is kind of a health prevention, as for several decades beer was the cheapest drink on most beverage menus and people claimed, they had to drink beer as they couldn’t afford water/non-alcoholic beverages.
I was in Berlin 2 weeks ago, I think beer is still cheaper. But the glasses are so small, 20 cL, it’s not the right size. I lived in Bavaria years ago, and the regular glass was a pint, and then it was the Maß! And Coke or mineral water were definitely more expensive.
@@Redgethechemist You are right, the glass sizes of different drinks variates a lot. A usual glass of beer is about 0,3 Liter but in Bavaria one get's a Maß which is almost 1 Liter but in Cologne they serve a beer called Kölsch and that is served in small but tall 0,2 Liter glasses called Stange (=peg or stake).
Anyway, as I said, there is a German law that says, at least one non-alcoholic drink has to be the cheapest drink on the beverage menu and most likely it is mineral water but I suppose there are some innkeepers who bend the law to their liking, so they mark an unpopular non-alcoholic drink as the cheapest to make some extra money, I guess.
They had all those amenities n the restrooms of the high end Las Vegas casinos as well. Ans also a shoe shine stand. But the only cost was whatever tip you left.
Hi, about the water, this is deffo happening in spain / italy / portugal more commonly, but in France you can always ask for tap water, you need to say it when ordering
A lot of US big cities passed a bag ordinance - but in Texas our charming state government passed a law to override the city regulations - most Austinites still bring their reusable bags to the grocery store though
Texas, facepalm.
Thank God for states like Texas and Florida.
In Philadelphia they don’t give out plastic bags anymore. You can get free paper bags but they’re usually a little flimsy.
I work at a grocery store in Canada. If you have a carte de magasin. we give you 10 points per bag you bring.
Customer service is free now but is wortless both in France (help desk are in North Africa) and the US (located in India). In California, to save water you have to ask for your glass of water. (crazy isnt ?). To wire money from your US bank to an other US bank account is expensive and not as easy so you send a check !!! You must have a certain balance in your account to wave the fees. Tax plus tips add 20 , 30 % to your restaurant bill.
My Malagasy wife just told me that while you might pay for things in France things tend to be cheaper. Apartments in Marseilles and cable and college etc. So the systems are different.
In Massachusetts, grocery stores charge you per bag. In recent months, the bags have gotten smaller so you need more bags. They also put next to nothing in each bag so you need more bags. And their new trick for charging you as much as possible for bags… they double bag even the lightest items. Anything for profit.
There was a time when «Mme pipi » had a desk which her chair at the entrance of restroom and was expecting a tip as she was responsible of cleaning and hygiene of the «wee room »
This is still the case in most French shopping centers/malls. (Not supermarkets shopping alleys).
Perpignan train station, free restrooms.
Canet en Roussillon, free toilet booths all along the sea front.
Plastic bags used to be free in France, but something like 20 years ago it stopped being free to avoid people from using non reused plastic bags.
Banking: In North America, outstanding credit card balances, loans and mortgages are where banks make the bulk of their revenue. However, in much of the rest of the world, paying up front in cash for everything is more common, so there is less revenue from that side. In Poland, accounts are free, but a debit card costs money (but only 7 zł - about 1.50 euro per month).
Water: I have explicitly asked for TAP WATER in restaurants and it isn't usually a problem if I'm ordering a plate of food. But a lot of people across Europe refuse to drink tap water for reasons I cannot comprehend...
Great Show Diane
In the Netherlands you also need to pay for plasic bags. Some stores (generally clothing stores) give you a paper bag (if you want). It is to reduce the amount of plastic. It took me a little bit of time to get used to to take my own shopping bag with me, but now I seldom forget it ;-) As soon as I used my smaller bag, usually I will put it straight back in my bag. My experience is that you get a plastic bag if you pick up food at a restaurant or a snackbar (where you can get fries and a fried snacks) or a Chinese restaurant.
it's an EU decision, all EU country are required to regulate to reduce plastic bags usage. It's expected to see similar measures taken in most european country
Most people don't realize that Evian reversed spells "Naive".
God spelt in reverse is dog....so be nice to doggies ok...
OH WOW, I never noticed that before!! 😂
That's in the movie Reality Bites :)
I remember seeing pay toilets in Indianapolis in the 1960s. I also remember mothers having their child crawl under the door (yuck) and unlock the door instead of paying.
We have a wheelie shopping bag that is isolated so my groceries still are cold when I get home. It was a great investment.
Although in Italy, you do get free tap water when you order coffee at the bar.
I remember a scene from years ago when I was living in Paris, I was chilling with a friend at some Coffee, and a woman showed up asking to use the toilets, and the waiter literally told her she’d have to order something. Even as a French, I was shocked when she got to the point that she said “ I have to change my tampon” , yet the waiter was still stubborn, I was like “ dude, where are your manners ?!”.
What remains of our health care is still good, though. I’m not sure people realize how good it is to not care - or less - about your survival when you get an invalidating or chronic disease you never asked for.
I grew up in the 60s and we always had a dime on hand for a pay phone or a pay toilet. You just never knew.
I never had a problem with water in a restaurant here in Grenoble. Maybe not so where you are. I agree with your other points. Thanks for the video!
In New York here ; plastic bags are forbidden and paper bags cost five cents each. No more free bags.
Tap water and bread is always free, it comes with the meal.
As for banks, you end up paying bank fees too in the US, for instance when you get cash from an ATM, while it’s free in France, or you have to keep $1500 on your account otherwise they charge you fees…
For the bathrooms, that’s very rare.
I like to hear the words in French too, so, thank you!!❤
you're welcome!
This is a interesting and helpful. ☮️
In my part of Canada plastic bags are banned. You can bring your own, or they resorted to bringing back the paper bags for use when you forget your own, even then you pay a small amount, 10-20 cents.
About water in restaurants : it's a scam in touristy places and only tourists would be treated like that.
In my part of France, all the supermarkets have free restrooms. The only restaurant requesting a code is Mc Donald's as far as I know.
It's a good idea to buy cheap bottle water in a supermarket if you are in a touristy area.
Carafe d'eau is always free for customers. I don't know of many people walking into a café, asking for just a glass of water.
Most restaurants don't serve water automatically anymore anywhere I have eaten. They are happy to supply one if you ask. They stopped automatically bringing them when I was a kid.
ARe: water - Ah, that happens _everywhere_ and _not_ only to tourists. Tap water is free (somewhere by law), but if you just order "water", they will play dumb, won't ask anything and will bring you the most expensive bottled water they carry. Just another day I asked for tap water; the waiter brought a bottle of local brand; I insested on tap water; he was not happy. Needless to say, he forfeited his tip.
I would just get up if that happened. French btw.
@@goku445 Well, I am not _that_ principled. When I decide on a restaurant, sit down, select my meal(s), a rude waiter will not drive me out. Bot no tip; not a cent. I will probably pay with a card so that the bank charges them a bit.
Here in the US you paid $3 for a big statement each month if you want it printed out to you but you can also not have them printed and then you won't get a bank statement you can just look at the app on your phone and you have to use your debit card at least three times a month in order for them not to charge you to have your checking account
I think you’ll find that bank fees and ways around them vary enormously among US consumer banks, but yes, anyone with a regular employment check can usually avoid them. 1) as you describe; or 2) by maintaining about a $500 deposit in savings, or 3) by having a routine pay check direct deposited by your employer.
There are places in the US with pay toilets and attendant restrooms. During covid, some chain stores wouldn't let you bring your potentially covid-ridden bags for them to, ugh, handle. I think that isn't the case anymore. It's possible to get a bank account or card that costs a fee in the US, especially if you have bad credit or no credit history and want a bank card. In some areas, they don't want American Express cards because the business is charged a much larger fee than with Visa or Mastercard, so notice which cards are listed on the sign. In areas of the US with a prolonged drought, they might have stopped automatically giving water at restaurants. I guess the takeaway with the US is how many normal things are much more local than the media would have us believe. The US isn't homogenous.
I love the paid restrooms in France and Italy. They are generally attended and well kept. I especially love the street ones in Paris, though not nice, but super convenient. Try finding a paid or free toilet in Manhattan (not that they are totally non existent just lacking). PS NY is no plastic bags period and most stores charge 5¢ for paper.
Over the course of my life, banking in America has changed a lot. When I first interacted with banks back in the 1970s and 1980s, banks would compete with each other by things like giving out a toaster for opening an account. Every account had a monthly charge, and there wasn't anything like overdraft protection. The banks themselves were open from 9 AM to 3 PM. OTOH, interest on savings was non-trivial,
In some US cities, the local government sets the price for a store shopping bag. Having your own bags is worth it. I also have mesh bags for produce.
I’m in Washington, and I routinely pay closer to $6 per gallon of gas for my BMW. $6.50 is nothing. I’ve actually paid more than that in this past year.
France also has great transit, so people can’t really complain. In much of the US, it’s all we have. My nearest transit stop is over a mile away, and getting 15 miles away can take up to three hours with all the transfers.
A tip not very well known but you can try in Paris is if you must go to restrooms (for a child for exemple), kindly asking (with “Bonjour” 😉) to a café, a shop, may work! Even in metro stations (all of them have staff only restrooms). But it depends on staff kindness.
Well it really depends on said shop location. I manage a shop in Nice on the Côte d'Azur and if we started granting that kind of request we would have to employ one guy full time to deal with it.
@@branlotin and I fully understand. It is, as always, a question of logic. Furthermore, I suppose their is plenty of cafés, and even some public restrooms around your shop.
I've seen many people (both French natives and foreign tourists) asking and being refused in no uncertain terms... I guess it does depend on the staff and their mood, but I'd say being allowed to use the restroom without being a customer in a restaurant would be the exception. And I've never heard of anyone using staff ones in metro stations...
@@mgparis Didn't even know they had one in metro stations. I go sometimes in Starbucks to sht because they are a crap company.
Hi---Yes indeed I remember the water thing very well. I lived in France for a year and the first time out to a restaurant got pretty pricey....we quickly learned "une carafe d'eau" . I find your other examples of differences interesting as well
I was in Milan and i always asked for tap water. I didn't get a look🤷
Never saw a pay per minute service customer here in France
Lucky you. They used to be very common, until it was forbidden in 2008.
Most pharmacie allow you tu use restroom if you need.
Fun fact, in Paris there is an app to localize free restroom !