Since I’m not French and all, I accept things as “normal” here even when they aren’t. Most of the time, if something feels strange to me, it’s just because I’m used to the way Americans do things. But sometimes when something feels off, it is.
Let’s take our current French roof maintenance as an example. A while back, I mentioned that after buying our house we’d need to have some maintenance work done on our roof and were encouraged to do it sooner than later. Getting roofers to call us back for estimates was proving difficult, but we finally found someone who was professional and fairly priced. We sent back our signed contract confirming everything and then heard nothing for six months.
Finally, last week we got a letter saying our work would start the second week of February. Great! So long story short, the roofers are here this week changing out some slate, working on a gutter and doing other little repairs. All was going well until my doorbell rang this morning. I figured it was the post office, but nope. There was a weird guy standing there with a clipboard and I knew this wasn’t going to end well…
French roof story where a weird guy shows up at our door
People who ring our doorbell fall into two categories: postal workers delivering a package or people trying to sell us something we don’t want/scammers. That’s it. I’m naturally suspicious of people who come to the door (conversations with Jehovah’s Witnesses have worn my patience thin) and am not overly trusting. I admit I watch too many crime TV shows. Anyway…
The guy who rang the doorbell today looked like a character out of a movie. He looked like he was trying too hard to appear professional and work in construction. He had a bright white hardhat without a logo anywhere, a new bright blue coat, clean and pressed jeans and shoes that didn’t have a speck of dirt on them. He had a big old clipboard and pen, and nothing about him looked like he’d ever done any type of construction work.
I was waiting for him to sell me some bogus home maintenance service.
So who was he? I had some trouble figuring that out.
Here’s how our conversation went about my French roof:
Me: Hi? (upon opening the door)
Him: Yes, madame. Are you doing some work on your roof?
Me: Maybe. Why do you ask? Who are you?
Him: My name is Mr. Badreau (name changed) and I’m an inspector and I see that your roofers don’t have the safety equipment set up properly. There’s a risk of falling. May I come in and take a closer look? (as he peers inside)
Me: No, sorry. How can you even see the back of my house from the street? Do you have a business card or work ID so I can verify who you are? It’s just that I’m not French, not expecting anyone today and I’m not sure who you are exactly. My husband isn’t here right now and I just want to make sure this is all legitimate.
Him: (checks pockets) Uhh, no sorry, don’t have any business cards or ID. I need to come in.
Me: Well, sorry again but you’re not coming in. Your hat and jacket don’t have a company name, what about your car? Does that have your business name on it?
Him: No, I walked here.
Me: OK, sorry, I can’t let you in. Bye. (and I shut the door. I called Tom but he was in a meeting at work.)
**10 seconds later the doorbell rings again and I’m getting flustered**
Him: Madame, I really need to take a look — it’s for their safety.
At this point, I wasn’t sure what to do so I asked the man to wait outside and I shut the door. I then asked the two roofers to come down and help me out because I had no clue where this guy was from and he was being weird about giving me proof of who he was. I figured if the two roofers saw him that at least there would be witnesses and they’d maybe scare off a scammer, if he was one. And if he was legit, they could sort it out before giving him access to my house and yard.
I was then able to get Tom on the phone to talk to this guy, too.
As it turns out, this guy is an inspector from the Inspection du Travail (health and safety inspector) and could see our roof from his office (a few streets down from us but in plain view). Apparently, it’s part of his job to verify workers’ safety and note violations, and the way the scaffolding was set up on the back of our house violated code.
Until the roofers could properly set up safety equipment, all work had to stop. This was a whole big deal consisting of a report that had to be filled out, me being interrogated, the owner of the roofing company coming, etc. If I hadn’t let the inspector in, I was told he had the right to call the police. And if the roofing company owner doesn’t get the safety violation cleared up, he will face a significant fine.
In retrospect, when Tom got home from work last night and looked at the “scaffolding” he remarked how strange it looked and even dangerous. It was kind of a makeshift structure with ladders and jacks wedged up against the house using the angle to lodge it in place.
It looked weird to me too, but since I’m not French and didn’t know what was normal here, I just shrugged it off and figured it was how French roofers do this sort of maintenance work.
I’ve accepted that things are done differently here and no one wants to hear, “But in the US, we do it like this…”
But no, Tom’s instincts were right that the scaffolding was dangerous. My instincts about the guy were wrong. He was harmless and just doing his job.
What had me worried was the fact that the inspector guy shows up at my house without any proof of where he was from or who he was.
I knew better than to just let a random guy into my house and was well within my right to ask for some type of official identification, that he never provided. Maybe I was a little too suspicious of him but sometimes you have to be vigilant.
So our roof won’t be done until Monday now when the new scaffolding will be put up.
***
What would you have done? Ever had a person show up at your door like this?
Have an excellent weekend!
You were absolutely correct in your behavior and he was totally unprofessional! I’d file a complaint with his superior.
My mother-in-law said the same thing when I called her. She said he should have displayed credentials of some sort or shown me something official, especially when asked directly to do so. Glad he wasn’t a scammer. He’ll be back Monday and I will get his card then or he’s not coming in
How disappointing that such kind caring people leave you irritated. It is only out of love for neighbor that Jehovah’s Witnesses even bother using their time and resources to try to help people learn about a future when you can actually trust the person knocking at the door and not worry about being taken advantage of in anyway. The world would be a much safer place if we modeled their behavior.
Thanks for your comment Angelina. I’m sorry if I hit a nerve there. I didn’t say JW irritated me. I just said my patience has worn thin. I’m sure many JW are kind and caring just like many non-JW. Anyone who comes to the door and won’t take “no thanks” for an answer does test one’s patience though.
In my experience, the Jehovah’s Witnesses have come to my door at 8 am on a Sunday which is a major no-no in France. They refuse to take no for an answer and have illegally gained access to my building when I lived in an apartment. I don’t really think one’s salvation should be tied to going door-to-door and spreading the word especially if someone has politely declined the information. You said it’s out of love for the neighbor but isn’t it more about gaining converts?
I do respect everyone’s beliefs though even if I don’t agree with them — like the lack of birthday celebrations, not being allowed to vote, the fact that only JW prayers are heard by God, refusal of blood transfusions, etc. I think if people want to learn about a certain religion, they can approach the congregation directly. And if religion makes someone a more helpful and trusting person, that’s awesome and I’m all for it.
I agree 100% with you Diane and would have acted the same way. No one should ever push their religion or beliefs on anyone. That is very disrespectful in my opinion. Unfortunately we live in a world where you can’t trust every person that knocks on your door, especially unwarranted like this gentlemen. It’s much better to be safe than sorry and I don’t agree with the woman’s comment above. I’m with you, Diane!
I don’t think Diane was singling out a particular religion or belief. I think it was more of her trying to give an example of what she had experienced with the Jehovah’s Witnesses she had encountered in her life. And I have to say, I have experienced the same. As a child, I lived in a neighborhood where Jehovah’s Witnesses would frequently knock on our doors. Now, when a child answers the door, first, you should ask if there is an adult in the home and NOT continually ask to be let in for a conversation. The point I believe Diane is trying to make is that each person has the right to refuse a stranger from entering their own home for the sake of their own safety. In terms of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, if the homeowner declines politely, they should respect their wishes. We can even use fundamental Christians as an example if you prefer. Bullying people with the notion that you will go to hell if you do not follow their beliefs and lifestyle is not what Jesus had taught his disciples – but rather with love and understanding show the way of God. Everyone should be able to express their beliefs but also respect and accept each other whether they have the same beliefs or not and try to do their best to live harmoniously as possible. Now, going back to the real point of this blog post is that we do NOT live in a world where we can ignorantly believe that nothing bad can happen. Unfortunately, bad things happen when we least expect it. Not that we shouldn’t be open to the fact that there are good people, but it’s always better to err on the side of caution.
I feel your pain, I am a french woman living in the States (50 years!!) everything is so much easier here, I thought of going back home permanently, but my Mother would tell me all about similar things, e.g. taking 2 months to have her vacuum repaired etc… and of course the bureaucratie is unbelievable (well I can say that!!!) I thought I would only go back for visits!!!
I do enjoy your blog, it keeps me in touch with all the fun of living in France ,it does give me a chuckle..
Did not want to write this in french as I dont know how well you are doing with it, but could if you would like me to.
Annie vanderven
Hi Annie, thanks for commenting (French or English is fine, whatever you prefer ;-)) It’s funny how seemingly simple things aren’t so simple everywhere. I guess it’s the French way. Then there’s this layer of French politeness and how you still have to be cordial to people where as in the US, I feel like Americans can be more direct and not put on a superficial politeness if they’d rather not. So as much as I was suspicious of this guy, I still said s’il vous plait monsieur and all that when I asked him to wait.
So glad you enjoy the blog! Have a wonderful weekend! Where in the US do you live?
I would have done the same as you. Always go with your gut feeling and never let anyone into your house unless you know them. This was very unprofessional and you can’t excuse this behavior ! I think it’s the same for any other type of service as well. If I’m not comfortable with someone I don’t work with them. If I can’t trust them, their gone !
Yup, excellent advice to always go with your gut. It usually is right. As the homeowner we have the final say as to who comes and goes so even in the moment if we seem rude, it’s only natural to want to protect yourself and your home.
You absolutely did the right thing! I am very surprised that he didn’t show any credentials and have a better explanation as to who he was and why he was there. Quite unprofessional, even for France.
Love France and love your blog!
So strange, right? If he didn’t have a business card for me, I expected at least an ID card or anything that would show me where he’s from. But nope. Will definitely ask again on Monday when he checks the scaffolding structure. Thank you for taking the time to comment and so happy you love the blog! Really means a lot
I think you did a great job, and good fast thinking on your feet to ask for ID, etc (sometimes when I get people at my door, I’m just flustered as it is communicating in French and all). I totally agree – living here I just think things are normal, just “how the French do things.” And I’ve had my share of people showing up – trying to check our chimney, a mailman insisting I take a package on behalf of the gallery next door, a woman from town hall giving us a survey as our building was selected to participate for the census…and the list goes on!
Oh man, you have it way worse than I do! I just get scammy home maintenance offers and Jehovah’s Witnesses. See the Law & Order watching part of me says OMG maybe this will happen or that will happen when most of the time everything is legit. Luckily I have Tom to tell me what’s normal or not and today I had the roofers here to come down and figure this out but I know one day someone is gonna scam me with a donation or something. One thing that WAS totally normal was buying the yearly fireman calendar (money maker for them) and it’s customary that if you open the door you give like 10 euros even though the calendar isn’t anything special. Well, I didn’t know that and said “oh no thanks i already have a calendar” not realizing what the norm was. Tom laughed later and said oh god you are supposed to give them money. SO I guess we all learn little by little. 😉
I use to be polite and always open my door to a stranger but not now. I have finally realized that anyone showing up without an appointment will be a time waster or worst. If something is important, I figure I will be contacted by phone, e-mail, or even snail mail. It took me a while to truly follow this basic safety rule: do not open your door to a stranger.
That’s absolutely true. If someone needs to get in touch they’ll find a way without coming to your door. I try to look out my window from above to see who it is and if it’s not a delivery man, well then I ignore it. And will from now on. It’s just that yesterday I thought maybe the roofing company owner came back or something. The new thing here is hiring kids to drop little flyers in the mail for a new salon or rug sale in town and they don’t just quietly put the flyer in the mailbox — they actually RING THE DOORBELL. Why? No idea. The lady across the street just opens her upstairs window and yells down without even going to her front door. Hahah maybe I’ll do that. Or maybe I should get a peephole. My door doesn’t have one. Thanks for weighing in
You were 100% correct not to let him in! He not having his ID card is a MAJOR professional mistake, well at least it is in Belgium! We even have a poster (by the police) with a list of the official designs of professional ID cards (for gas/electricity workers etc) to make sure the cards they show us are the real things! Scammers like that are a real issue here, and that guy sure was suspicious! Glad it wasn’t one this time, but it is good to stay on your guard 🙂
Yeah, I mean I didn’t need his diploma or anything but a little business card or even a logo on his car would have put me more at ease. And yes, the scammer thing IS a real issue and one I never had to deal with before moving to France. So many people have “no pub” or similar signs on their mailboxes and it’s because SO many people come to the door to sell stuff. I’ve had a guy selling frozen food, huge sacks of potatoes, roofing services, knives and more. So strange!
This might be one of the only great perks of living in an incredibly small village, nobody ever comes to our door! lol But I definitely would’ve done the same thing as you did…and if he just happened to see your house from his office not too far away, why didn’t he just say that when you were asking him about his company and why he didn’t have a car?? Anyways, glad you got it sorted out & he wasn’t a scammer! 🙂
Luck you! Where I live, you can go door to door really easily so I guess I should just expect it and ignore the doorbell. No clue why he wasn’t more forthcoming with the information, oh well. It could have gone much worse so thankful he wasn’t a killer or anything
Hi Diane, a good story, well told. Lots of comments — you must have hit a nerve. It sounds like it’s almost as unthinkable in France as it is in the US that someone employed by the city would not have introduced himself/herself properly and produced an ID.
Hi there! I think everyone has had unwanted visitors at one point or another but in a different country where the person answering the door might not know what is normal and what’s not, it adds a whole new level of uncertainty. Is the person legit? What do they want? Is this normal? What do I do? Had anyone come by your place yet? I know you have a digicode but sometimes they still find their way in…
Agreed! Thought you handled it perfectly.
I wouldn’t have had a clue. I think you were right being cautious.
It took me a few minutes to get a clue! But now I know what an inspector looks like. 😉
Diane, if my wife was part of that situation I’m sure she would do the same thing and call me. The scaffolding part that your husband saw it’s something that also happened to me when a group of guys were doing their slate roofing project on my home. The project itself looked somewhat unsafe and something that I thought the workers would easily notice.
If this guy was an inspector he should have known better than to expect access to your property without an sort of ID. I’d have done exactly the same as you.