CULTURE QUIZ - CultureShock! A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette - page 355

... profusely throughout the entire evening, in order to
convey to your hostess how truly sorry you feel.
... sincerely once and then drop the subject immediately.
Who wants to ruin an otherwise lovely evening?
... once in private, and then help pick up the pieces.
You mention nothing about paying for the figurine, as
the French are sensitive about issues relating to money.
Instead, you send a bouquet of flowers to the hostess the
next day.
... once sincerely and publicly, help pick up the pieces and
tell your hostess you are going to look for a replacement
or to pay for one. You add that you will call your insurance
company to alert them that there might be a claim.
Nevertheless, you still send a bouquet of flowers to your
hostess the next day.
Comments
Only is acceptable in this difficult situation. Your apologies
should be sincere and profound, but you don't have to
bring it up all evening, spoiling everyone's enjoyment of the
event. Apologise, help repair the damage, offer to pay for
the replacement, then drop the subject, but do send flowers
the next day. Remember that in France, everyone has multi-
risque (multi-risk) household insurance, so offering to pay
for the repair or replacement of the item is both courteous
and responsible.
SITUATION 8
You and some American friends from home have eaten quite
well in a crowded restaurant, but now it's time to pay the bill
and go home. Since the waiter is obviously occupied, one of
your friends takes out his credit card and puts it on the corner
of the table, assuming that the waiter will see it, take it, then
bring it back to the table with the bill. Nothing happens and
the waiter doesn't come. After about 10 minutes, your friend
starts to get annoyed. Finally you catch the waiter's eye, and
when he comes over, your friend points to his credit card
but says nothing. Both your friend and the waiter are clearly
annoyed. He brings the bill with the little credit card machine,