After many, many rants about La Poste and the incompetence of the employees, my visit this morning was one I was not particularly looking forward to, but I didn’t quite count on it ending as it did…
I was to collect a registered letter (which should have been delivered to my home but of course the post man hadn’t bothered to ring the doorbell). A relatively simple task you may think, simply present the post office worker with the delivery slip and ID and hey presto they’ll give me the letter.
Not so simple. The letter was for a business and normally I have a business La Poste card which I show to avoid the need to present any further paperwork. A thorough rummage through my very disorganized handbag resulted in me realizing that I did not have said card on me.
I tried to explain my plight to the post office worker who wasn’t having any of it.
“Who are you” she demanded, “Are you the owner of the company?”
“No, no, I’m his wife and employee” I tried to explain, “my husband’s just had surgery so I’m coming in on his behalf but I don’t appear to have the card”.
“Well, I can’t do anything then” said the women rather rudely, but in fairness I understood that no card and no ID meant that they couldn’t give me the letter.
What happened next rather took me by surprise and is really unlike me. Instead of leaving admitting defeat, I heard a loud wailing and shouting and basically what can only be described as hysteria. I suddenly realized that I had tears streaming down my face and that it was me making all this noise.
As I realized that I had had a major outburst and people everywhere in the post office were looking at me, I felt overwhelmed with embarrassment. What had just happened? It was so not like me to just totally loose it like that. I mean, I had really, really lost it.
The manager was there and I was surrounded by postal office workers trying to calm me down. I rather timidly explained that I was pregnant and that it must be the hormones and apologized for my outburst. Thankfully the manager joked that she had never screamed as much as when she was pregnant and she understood. Unbelievably she then went off and got me my letter! Now who would have expected that? Even I cannot believe it now that I’m writing about it and have the letter on my desk!
It’s a shame you can’t swap post offices in France like you can swap bank branches as I think it’s going to be an awfully long time before I dare brave them again, so utterly humiliated and embarrassed I am by my pregnant woman drama queen performance.
Mr Piglet & his operation:
Above I mention that Mr Piglet has just had surgery, don’t panic, all is well and Mr Piglet is in good health! He had an arthroscopy on his right wrist which basically consisted of the surgeon screwing two of his bones together. The surgery was planned but just wasn’t expected to take place so soon, although I’m rather pleased it has done as it’s now out of the way and in a few months he will be right as rain and more importantly in six months he will be able to hold his baby.
Piglet in France 
That is totally out of body!
Hey, at least it worked. I know people use pregnancy as an excuse to eat whatever/whenever they way. I’ve never heard of it used to get whatever you want from gov’t people. Good for you!
I’m teasing but I hope you don’t feel too badly about it all!
Tell me about it! I couldn’t believe when I realised that all the noise was coming from me!!
Thankfully I don’t have too much of an appetite so I’ll be using pregnancy as the excuse for my temper!
Wow, Piglet, I think this is actually a *good* post story! When I read the headline, I thought, uh-oh, this is going to be bad. BUT, you got what you went for – if it takes a few tears, I say that’s a-ok. Don’t be embarrassed! (I almost cried at a government office yesterday and I’m not even pregnant!)
Good on you. Really. And I’m so happy they got your letter. Wow, I guess pregnancy is really the answer for all that ails us in France…
LOl! You’re right Sion, looking back it is positive! Can’t believe I got the letter!
French bureaucracy has that effect on people doesn’t it? I cried at the prefecture once and have been close to tears on a number of occasions 😦 but this was as Tanya states, an out of body experience!!!
Being Pregnant always seems to magnify things, but I have had moments like this when I wasn’t pregnant. Glad all is well with your husband.
I wonder if it lasts all the way through or if it’s just the first couple of months?
That’s the second time this week that I have heard that if you just shout and say no the unbudging french official just gives in. May be this is the new way forward 🙂
I found myself in tears last year whilst explaining an ongoing dispute, just because someone asked ‘how are you?’. I didn’t know I was so upset by it until I found the tears……
Maybe it is! I’ll certainly advocate for it as it works! I don’t know if I’d be able to reconstruct as much hysteria again maybe I should practise my acting?
Its funny how emotions can build up and escape when we least expect it. I try and let them out but have a tendency to bottle – not good!
You have every right to freak out on La Poste! They are my nemesis!
You are not alone!! You should see my local post office, it is huge and always full to the brim… its such a depressing place 😦
I always used to burst into tears when I was pregnant if anybody asked “How are you?”. Really weird what those hormones do.
Still, a useful lesson learned – that a fit of feminine hysterics is a useful thing to keep up your sleeve for when all else fails. 🙂
Yes, weird, no other way to put it! I spent the whole of that day crying for the slightest thing… I’m glad to know the hormones made you cry too (although that doesn’t sound very nice it is comforting to me).
I had already learned that female and tears in the car when stopped my policeman helps get me off without ticket I’m afraid to admit. Sexist but true, I’ve escaped from countless tickets for bad parking, driving down one way roads the wrong way (not my fault, TomTom’s) and other silly things all because I burst into tears at the right time.
Piglet – Nice rant!
I’m going to try bursting into tears in the post office next time I go!
All the best
Keith
P.S. I’ve just heard that the bookies have made you odds on favourite to win Rant of The Week next Tuesday!
P.P.S. I understand that, all over France, female expats are desperately trying to get pregnant just so they stand a chance of beating you!
P.P.P.S. Can’t you hear the bedsprings creaking?
Thanks Keith! I’m not sure if you’d get away with the “I’m pregnant…” wail, you might just get arrested or carried away to the local loony bin! LOl 🙂
I guess I’m safe for this week then, these hormones take weeks to get THAT bad! Be forewarned fellow female expats! My best competition has to be Amber at the moment surely?
Poor Delana will soon be writing another post about her noisy neighbours then especially if they belong to the expat community.
Don’t feel bad about it…you’ll get a lot of smiles when you go in again…
I have an LRAR to send, I’m currently researching sending it by internet or by UPS instead!!
No need to be embarrassed. Hormonal tears during pregnancy are par for the course…and it worked didn’t it? Well done you!
Thanks Ayak!
Piglet, just so that you don’t feel so alone here, I had that kind of emotional break down about two weeks ago, and unfortunately it was at my boss.. and not at a bunch of strangers who get paid to sit around with their thumbs up their backsides. You’re not the first one to have that kind of outbreak, and you definitely won’t be the last, so don’t be embarassed 🙂 I mean, i’m not an expert or anything, but being preggo in your own country probably has its ups and downs, and i’d imagine that being in a foreign country just makes it that much more frustrating.. plus we all know how competent postal workers are.
I hope Mr. Piglet heals up quickly and in the mean time, don’t forget to stop and take some time for yourself here and there 🙂
Thanks Amber for making me feel less alone and more human. I guess you’ve been experiencing this for the last 6 – 7 months now so can really relate to what its like especially being in France with all the usual frustrations etc.
Not so cool that you lost it with your boss, but if you’re going to lose your temper with him one day might as well be whilst you’re pregnant – at least you have a good excuse right?
I loved your recent post on BS parenting BTW
My laugh of the day Piglet! When I was pregnant the first time, my then-husband got so he would timidly open the door when he got home every day…he said he just didn’t know who I was going to be on any given day. And way to go, that’s all I’m saying! If the post employees would even remotely believe that I could be pregnant, I would try this out on them. You’re lucky you even got the notice that you had a letter. They always seem to forget to give me that and the letter goes back into never-never land for several months.
Glad I made you laugh Delana!!! I think my Hubby has decided to ignore most of what I say at the moment, LOL! Last night I backed up into another car real hard and he started having a go at me, one wail and he quickly stopped, got out of the car to inspect damage and not one more word was muttered… not at all like him so I must have been someone different! It’s like having a multiple personality disorder at the moment LOL!
I always have the urge to cry when dealing with La Poste or my bank or France Telecom, or the Prefecture for that matter. But I’m not pregnant. I have no excuse, damn it!
Hi Andrea, thanks for stopping by. I think that it’s perfectly normal to have the urge to cry when dealing with these places even without pregnancy hormones. They are just so frustrating to deal with!
I’m sure you could make up some excuse like how you got a parking ticket and then a speeding ticket and now they’re giving you hassle and it’s all not fair – I normally find (when I’m being logical) it helps to make them feel important and then they’ll do their best to help.
The pregnancy brain is a weird thing. I remember I couldn’t watch tele programmes that had images of animals (seals in one case) or kids without welling up in uncontrollable tears.
I felt perfectly ridiculous of course, but was overtaken by the tidal wave of emotion.
oh thankfully I haven’t reached this stage yet! Do you have a special liking for seals? although I did find myself with tears welling up in front of a tetley tea bag ad???
I have had a friend send me a few things from france. He has told me the horror stories of waiting 2 hrs just to mail something to the USA. Mail even got lost .:( I empathize.
The french postal service is a disgrace most of the time and doesn’t deserve to be called a postal service… it’s all rather hit and miss here I’m afraid 😦
Plenty of expat bloggers in France have had problems, I’ve noticed that those in Paris seem to get it worst though.
You have to milk this pregnancy thing for the whole 9 months, I have a good feeling about it’s effect with fonctonaires. So if you’ve got any administrative stuff to sort out, now is the time!!!!
Yes! Good idea! Now I just have to pluck up the courage to deal with the paperwork!!!
I’m sorry I am so late to get here! I confess: I have been spending a lot more time on FB goofing off that reading my friends’ posts. I’m sorry.
Buuuuuut, I love this post!!!
“I think it’s going to be an awfully long time before I dare brave them again, so utterly humiliated and embarrassed I am by my pregnant woman drama queen performance.”
Noooooo, no, no, no!!!
Don’t be embarrassed, be PROUD. I mean, hell, you got the freakin’ letter!! I totally agree with Deux ou trois choses up there. 🙂 You just milk this for all it is worth, m’dear!
I hope all is well this week so far, and that Mr. Piglet continues to heal up nicely. Hang in there, Piglet!
on FB goofing off that reading my friends’ posts
…THAN reading my friends’ posts. 🙂
Hey Karin! Thanks for stopping by! I know exactly what you mean about FB, it’s easy to goof around on there! You have to be in the mood for reading blogs online, it’s not something that always suits us.
Thanks for the encouragement – I am going to learn to embrace!
[…] under the stairs) but, if I could have my time over again, I make sure that the award went to Piglet in France for her brilliant, Oscar worthy rant called Losing it at La […]
Wish I had been there, so glad that you ended up with the letter 🙂 My French would not have been good enough to sort that one out. Diane
Hi I just came over via A taste of Garlic .. and see that one of my good friends has too .. Karin 🙂
As Karin says “Be proud” they can be so annoying at the post office, not just in France, but in the UK too…
This is wonderful !
I read mention of your blog on a Taste of Garlic, which led me to your Rant. Which was so perfect ! And to ice that cake, you are pregnant!
I wish I could try that but they know me here , they will shake their heads and pucker up their faces and a member of the policia will escort me from the premises.
So I just stand in line like a drone for hours for the pleasure of asking for my mail. Which will have been opened for some reason and I will be thinking to myself how lucky I am it even made it to me.
Congratulations and Please, enjoy those meltdowns while you can .. do not be ashamed. 🙂
You can’t beat the French for being bureaucratic. Happened many times to me, even got a slip with MY name on it to pick up at the post office, only to arrive and them refuse to give me the package because it was addressed to my wife. HUH? Why did they write MY name on the slip then?
My wife is far more expert than me at cajoling and complaining until they give up.
I absolutely know where you are coming from with the out of nowhere blasts. And you know what? They are perfectly acceptable!! I mean afterall your just messanger! I bet that la poste employee thinks twice before she drops the “non” word to someone! I use to hear myself going off on someone and say “uh-oh hear you go again.. why dont you jsut hush up and walk away…” which, never ever happened. Thanks for the post I laughed and smiled and am still just cracking up.
Diane: Thanks for stopping by Diane. Don’t worry, the French will come in time and you will be amazed at how much you realise you know when the time comes for a major outburst!
Candicewow, I’ve just seen you live in Buenos Aires, how exciting!
so they open your post there sometimes do they? I bet their excuses are a million to one! It sounds like the post offices there are very similar to the ones in France – maybe this is an international thing?
Simon: hi, thanks for stopping by. I’ve had the name thing too, very frustrating! I think the female touch is a definite requirement to negotiate with La Poste.
roamingmommy Hello future Lyon Lady! The post lady probably certainly does think twice now – I reckon she was scared for her life! You may be cracking up but I’m still cringing – I still haven’t been back!
I have to admit something. I am NOT pregnant, but i completely broke down in tears in the Virgin Megastore the other day trying to solve the problem of a broken phone (company).
It was desperately embarrassing, that is to be sure, but you know what? It works…. suddenly i had the manager of the store in her office trying to call everyone she could for me to solve the problem. Of course, this is France, so there was no happy ending, but the moral of the story is that TEARS WORK!!
Maybe next time, to lessen the embarrassment, i will just SAY that i am pregnant!
Hi! There must be some special school for postal workers here in France, they’re the same all over! 🙂
To the point… Once I met a new, and therefore fairly kind postal worker in my local branch. And like you I was picking up something for my husband, despite lacking the card, signature and passport she handed me the parcel. Then she gave me a little secret to make these things smoother
In case you are the one to pick up yours and husband’s stuff on a regular basis, you and hubby can sign a special form at the post office which will allow you to always be given his letters and mail. Instead of passport, signature etc etc all you need to bring is the special card they give you…
Of course that means that they still will be just as rude the whole affaire a little quicker at least…
[…] owner averted us that the postman had left a calling card and that the local post office (remember the incident I had here when I was pregnant?) was holding the items. We were in Lyon yesterday and as we had […]