mojomartha comments

That is not the case in France. Again, understanding the etiquette of the culture you are visiting should be part of any traveller's protocol. "The customer is always right" is an American tenet, not a French one. The customer is not always right in France. Wait staff in France are not subservient either in the manner they are in Japan and also in America.

Like I said it's a matter of understanding foreign etiquette. If you enter a restaurant in France with an imperious attitude and expect immediate service and a subservient attitude you will wait all night (or 40 minutes until you leave in a huff).

That is France and that is their culture. A savvy traveler should learn the culture of the place they are visiting and observe how locals handle things. This isn't a case of racism. It's the case of cultural ignorance and arrogance on the part of the customer. I'm confident that the waitstaff would have ignored ANY person who tried that approach with them regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, gender etc... if the customer treated them in that manner.

Is it how I would run my restaurant? No. But I'm an American raised with the understanding that the customer is always right and good service means taking their lack of cultural sensitivity into account.

The idea that other cultures need to conform to your own culture's etiquette is the issue here. When in Rome...do as the Romans.

It's helpful when travelling to know the etiquette of the place you are visiting. It's clear here that she did not.

This article doesn't indicate at what stage in her dining experience she was at -- but in France, one doesn't always order their entire meal at once and drinks aren't served immediately as they are in many other cultures. Waitstaff may begin by taking appetizer orders first, then go around again for the main course etc...

You certainly don't raise your hand or snap or click your fingers and you aren't ever loud or agressive. It would be considered extremely rude to raise your hand and shout or raise your voice to say "excuse me".

Eye contact and a gentle nod of the head is generally sufficient And above all else, in France, one doesn't shout at waitstaff imperiously.

A far more typical way to indicate that you are ready to order is to simply close the menu and place it face down on the table -- if the wait staff fail to respond in a reasonable amount of time, the next step is to make eye contact and nod politely so they know they are needed. If the wait staff is standing nearby you may politely say "Monsieur,s’il vous plaît" to let them know they are needed. And then you wait....

if you've behaved appropriately they will come and take your order when they are available to do so. If you've been rude you might be waiting all night.

Leisurely bath with a short rinse shower at night, and then a quick wake me up and fix bed head shower in the morning.