Must be some pretty bad acting American tourists out there

debd

Senior Insider
Had a couple of atypical experiences yesterday.

Was at the U, and only needed four items. People were using the customer service desk for small checkouts, so I went over, only to be told that the express line was “for employees only.” On vacation, so not wanting to get into an argument, though knowing she was not being truthful, I went back to the longer lines. I was none too pleased though when, moments later, she rang up a local with a very full cart.

Then, last night, we headed to le Select for a rum punch and beer. Once, during vacation, we indulge in their frites. When the man at the counter went to give me the ones that were sitting there, I asked if it would be possible to get some of the ones that were just finished cooking, to which he said - “it’s the same.” Brought them to my easy going hubby who remarked they were cold so I went back up and kindly asked for warm ones, to which he begrudgingly complied. In the meantime, I spotted and greeted “just back from skiiing” Didier at the take out counter. All of a sudden, the man working the counter was all full of apologies.

In our nearly thirty years of coming here, this just has never been our experience. Deferring to workers or parents or other employees running in and out of the bakery to get to work, schools, or jobs is normal to me. The experiences yesterday were disappointingly not.
 
When people treat you badly, or you perceive that they are, I think the best thing to do is act super nice and smile. It unnerves them...just sayin'...and you feel good about yourself!:blush-smile:
 
Daves Mom- Being rude back only makes it worse. Part of the fun at Le Select is the “guff” you get when ordering- we always get a chuckle!
 
Daves Mom- Being rude back only makes it worse. Part of the fun at Le Select is the “guff” you get when ordering- we always get a chuckle!

That is why I said above, "I think the best thing to do is act super nice and smile"! I hate rude people! Mostly I feel sorry for them that they feel like they have to treat other people that way. I don't remember being treated badly at Le Select, though. The only place we ever had a problem was at the old Tom's Beach restaurant with overcharging us egregiously. I left a post about it. But of course, those people are gone and now it is the Pearl.

 
I agree when dealing with rude people. We work too hard to allow negativity to destroy the wonderful vibes of St. Barth. We just deflect negative energy.
 
Those of you commenting about how one should deal with negativity or rude people, me thinks you may have missed the point. Onward and upward.
 
sorry to hear your experiences. As many have said its best to just smile and move on. I do notice there are a some spots on the island that treat visitors less than locals, but I wouldn't take it personally and move on to another place. In MY experience American visitors to SBH tend to act much better than visitors from mainland France.
 
Those of you commenting about how one should deal with negativity or rude people, me thinks you may have missed the point. Onward and upward.
I get it. We had a negative experience at Barts Food Lounge in April. They wouldn’t take credit cards from Americans. Happily taking them from French tables. Their explanation was that the “phone line to the US banks was down.” That was a new one. A couple dining beside us were in town on a cruise ship and didn’t have euros; they made them go find an ATM to pay. We won’t go back there.
 
I love the French, but invariably, once or twice a trip, you have to make one of them understand that being an American does not mean that you are a wide-eyed rube.
 
I have only been to the island a few times and I can't say that I ever remember anyone treating me any differently than anyone else local or not. Most of the bad interactions that I have had occur on the flight over with other passengers from the US. That is usually a group of people I love to leave behind and never see again. In fact, after my last two vactions (one to Grand Cayman and one to SBH) I am beginning to understand why people don't like tourists from the US.
 
From another thread à propos to this topic:
“I have been scammed twice there(Bagatelle) on drinks, the first time with a Rude waitress, when i called her on it. First 4 yrs ago and decided to give it another try last yr. Same result”
 
That's unfortunate. I can say that has never happened to me while on island, however I can say that I have been scammed in the US on similar situations. I would like to think the amount of scamming is the same in the US vs SBH, but maybe I am wrong.
 
This reminds me of years ago my wife and I were at the old restaurant K'fe Massai in L'orient..I think it was 2007. We stopped in for a drink before heading to dinner. We sat at the bar.. When I ordered a beer the bartender stated " this is not a bar, this is a lounge" very condescendingly toward me. I asked again, and received similar reply.

So I looked over the "lounge" drink menu, and ordered some complicated cocktail that required muddling and all sorts of work..

It took him longer to make the drink than it did for me to drink it.

Paid the "lounge" tab and left...never went back...and no, I didn't leave a tip.
 
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